Mater Dei Holiday Classic
By DREW BRUNO
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7523 or brunoa*courierpress.com
A few yards beyond mat number one in Mater Dei’s gymnasium, Jerry Parkinson approaches his father, Bud.
“Good luck, champ, “the father says, his son warming up for his upcoming championship match in the Holiday Classic’s 130-pound division.
The match before Parkinson’s has gone into overtime. Bud, standing slightly hunched forward, has removed his reading glasses and replaced them on his nose again three times already. Twice he has wiped the lenses clean on his shirt.
“I’m nervous for every match, though, “Bud says. Not just the finals.
The place is packed. Bud calls it his favorite tournament because of the fans. Jerry says the crowd helps carry him through the field. But no matter where he is wrestling, Jerry always counts on at least one fan.
“He’s been at every one of my matches, “Jerry says of his father, “my whole life.”
And his wrestling career nearly encompasses each of those years of his being. Jerry started in tournaments, he says, before he can remember. Bud says it was first grade, if not before. He was born into it.
Bud jokingly calls himself the real Jerry – his son is Jerry Parkinson III, Bud is Jerry Jr.. But as much as their names bond them together, so too does wrestling.
Bud was a Wildcat from 1973-1976. He says he was “average, not as good as “Jerry.
Now he coaches at St. Phillips, one of the feeder elementary schools of Mater Dei. They make up an educational family tree; one that pipelines wrestlers to Wildcat coach Mike Goebel, in much the same way genealogical lines have been sending wrestlers his way for years.
Mater Dei’s heritage is built on multiple generations of family wrestlers. Goebel calls it a not-so-hidden secret to the program’s success, and it goes much deeper than just the Parkinsons.
Paula Parkinson, Jerry’s mom, is just as devoted to the program as her husband. She is coordinator of the MatCats, a group that takes photos and runs scores for the team. When she and Bud had Jerry, the third of four kids and the only boy, Goebel remembers being awaken at 2 a.m.
“The day (Jerry) was born Mike Goebel was the first guy I called, “Bud said. “I figured I had a wrestler on my hands.”
Despite his dad’s history in wrestling, Jerry said there was never any pressure toward him to be involved in the sport. There also wasn’t any doubt.
“Never, “Jerry said. “I love it. I’ve always wanted to wrestle.”
Now in his second year on the varsity team, Jerry is trying to win his second consecutive Holiday Classic title Friday. By the time the match began, Bud had moved a few steps forward and was bouncing between standing on an inclined ledge in front of him, and standing below. It was hard to tell if the stair-stepping did more good for his heart than the stress is doing bad. Maybe this is where the gray in his goatee came from.
Asked who gets more nervous before these matches, Jerry quickly answers it’s his father. “He’s in the corner squirming.”
Along with Jerry, there are a number of wrestlers Bud has coached. As he watches their matches – intently but quietly – he works his right foot as if he’s positioning himself on the mat for them, then silently punches upward with his right fist imitating a move. A friend jokingly asks if he’s made weight. But he’s just there to watch.
“I try not to say a word, “he said, “that’s what the coaches are for.”
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