Brad Vering

My hero is my cousin Brad Vering. Brad is a great person and I really like being around him. Brad has done many things to get my respect and the respect of many others. Brad runs wrestling camps for little kids. I've gone to a few of Brad's camps and he always seems to make it fun for the kids. He is just like a really big kid because whenever we play a game he goes nuts and cheers the kids on.

Brad has come to many little kid tournaments and given kids autographs. This almost got some of his fame taken away from him. Last year at Huskerland (little kids state tournament) he was giving people autographs. The person who was running the tournament was charging people to get in and take pictures of their kids on the medal stand with Brad. This got people thinking that all the money they paid to get pictures was going to Brad. But you can take it from me that he didn't get paid a penny.

Brad competed in the Olympics in 2004 for Greco-Roman Wrestling. Brad just didn't quite make it to the medal round because he drew a really good guy in the first round. Brad wrestled his guy really well and only lost by like 2 or 3 points. Man, was he disappointed in himself. But just making it to the Olympics is an incredible thing to do.

Brad currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When he was a kid he lived in Howells, Nebraska (a small town not too far from where I live). In Colorado Brad trains approximately 5 hours a day or even more. Being in a gym more than 5 hours every day can really make a guy get uptight and sometimes get them stressed. So every now and then Brad takes a day off and goes fishing in the mountains. I hope someday that we can go and visit him and go fishing with him.

Brad is one of the people I really like because he is a real show to be around. Every time I go to one of his camps he always has something to tease me about. Sometimes he has a cool story or a new joke to tell me that he learned in some country that he was in. Brad always seems to make things fun. My only wish is that I will get to see him more often as I get older. Brad is my hero for these reasons.