February 11, 2004

"LIKE A GREEK GOD"
WITH "JUST" TWO STATE TITLES UNDER HIS BELT, IT'S TOO EARLY TO SAY GREAT BRIDGE JUNIOR PATRICK BOND WILL BE THE GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLER THE REGION HAS SEEN. BUT HE LOOKS TO BE HEADING IN THAT DIRECTION

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About 15 years ago, there was a wrestler at Great Bridge High School named Jody Staylor who was so athletically gifted, so technically sound and so dominant that coaching him meant merely pulling up a chair and watching the show. "I really didn't have to say anything,'' recalled Wayne Martin, Great Bridge's coach at the time. "I used to just sit there and think, I hope people are enjoying this, because I don't think we'll see anyone like him again. And I hadn't. "Then the Bond kid came along.'' It's probably too early to call Patrick Bond, a junior at Great Bridge, the greatest high school wrestler ever in South Hampton Roads. With "only'' two Group AAA state titles to his credit, Bond still has some work to do to match the accomplishments of seven other four-time state winners, or someone like Staylor, who went 121-1 in high school and never lost a bout in Virginia. Clearly, though, Bond has wrestled his way into the discussion. Like Staylor, Bond brings the bala! nce of a dancer and an instinctive athleticism to a sport dominated by the methodical, by-the-numbers approach. Like Staylor, Bond has a staggering number of career wins, 134, against just six losses. Great Bridge's national schedule has added to Bond's loss total. But he still hasn't lost to a Virginia wrestler. Like Staylor, Bond has the technical acumen of a guy who has been doing this since he was 5 years old.

Unlike Staylor, though, Bond is built like a linebacker. Ever humble, Bond swears he never has the urge to flex as he passes a mirror. ''Nah,'' the 17-year-old Bond said, smiling as he shook his head. "I don't do anything like that.'' Others certainly notice his physique. Muscles flare from Bond's narrow waist. His chest and biceps ripple with power on the kind of 6-foot-3, 189-pound frame usually on display at football stadiums in the fall and winter. "Let's face it, he's built like a Greek god,'' Granby coach Ken Whitley said. "You're thinking, 'Why isn't this guy playing football or basketball?' '' Most athletes of this build do gravitate to these sports, where possible fame and fortune await. But Bond couldn't get enough of wrestling 12 years ago, and he can't get enough now. That's why he could wind up as this area's greatest of all time. "I've never seen a big guy like him, a guy that actually wrestles, does great holds,'' current Great Bridge coach Steve Martin said of Bond, who is ranked No. 3 in the country among high school 189-pounders. "I mean, some of the stuff he does is unbelievable.''

Ironically, Bond's size, such an asset these days, almost kept him out of the sport in the beginning. When Bond showed up for a Newport News youth program, organizers initially wanted to turn him away - because he was too small. "He was real skinny, kind of tiny, back then,'' said Jimmy Bond, Patrick's father. "They didn't think it was a good idea.''

The Bonds persisted, though, and the doubts evaporated quickly when the little boy began displaying uncanny skills and a near-insatiable appetite to improve. By age 7, Bond had lost all interest in other sports and dedicated himself to wrestling. Being the youngest of four brothers helped Bond know a thing or two about wrestling at a young age. But, even then, Bond displayed the ability not only to master various techniques but also to add his own flourish to them. High school fans caught their first glimpse of this when, as a freshman, Bond confounded standing opponents by dropping to his knees before stalking them.

"People were like, 'What's he doing out there?' '' said Jamie Bond, one of Patrick's brothers and a Wildcats assistant. ''But that's Patrick. He can take various styles and make them his own.'' There's a motto in the Bond family - "Always Do More'' - and young Patrick took this to mean that it was a virtual sin if someone was working harder than he was in a wrestling room. Even now, Steve Martin, who built his reputation on outworking opponents, finds himself occasionally having to chase Bond out of that extra, extra workout session. Jamie Bond said it wouldn't work if his brother wasn't addicted to all things wrestling. But Patrick eats it all up, from takedowns to travel to training. "We learned a long time ago, if Patrick wasn't having fun doing something, he wasn't going to do it,'' Jamie Bond said. "Nobody ever forced him to do this. There's just always been things he's wanted to achieve.'' Patrick puts it this way: "I just like getting better.'' Just don't expect him to talk too much about it. Or anything else for that matter. He's unfailingly polite and possesses a winning smile. But if the Wildcats were ever waiting for a fiery speech from Bond before a big match, they might never come out of their locker room. It's fitting that Bond's one passion besides wrestling is fishing in the pond behind his house. Too much talking scares the fish away, so it's doubtful fish ever realize Bond is even out there. "A funny Bond story? I can't really come up with one,'' Steve Martin said. "He's steady, composed, but he kin! d of stays in the background. He just doesn't say much.'' Then again, when it comes to wrestling, he doesn't have to. When Bond was in the fourth grade, then-Cox assistant Bill Gutermuth remembers Patrick dominating the Falcons' sophomore 112-pounders. Later, upon moving to Chesapeake after sixth grade, Bond won national titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman before he ever began high school.

Even before Bond's first high school match, Steve Martin was predicting confidently that his newest star had a chance to be the best wrestler he ever coached. Nothing that has happened since has given Martin cause to revise that prediction. As a freshman, Bond announced his national presence by winning his division at the prestigious Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev. That summer, he won the Cadet National Freestyle Championship at Fargo, N.D.

As a sophomore, he went 50-3 and added his second state title. He has won 42 of 43 bouts this season and is the most prohibitive of favorites to roll through the postseason again. The first step, the Southeastern District tournament, begins Saturday. "I probably work the hardest for these matches coming up,'' Bond said. ''Being a four-timer is really important to me. So I don't want to take anyone, or anything, for granted.'' Bond said ultimately, he would like to wrestle for a major college - Martin said some of the nation's top programs have been positioning themselves to lure Bond since the kid was a freshman - and make a run at the U.S. Olympic team. But that's something to deal with in the future, as is any debate about where Bond ranks among the all-time greats. For now, the only consensus is that he's one heck of a wrestler. But a year from now, these same folks may be convinced that South Hampton Roads never has seen better.

''You can't put him up there with the best yet because he's not finished,'' Wayne Martin said. "But I'll say this - he's on track to maybe being considered the best. He's definitely on track.''

Copyright (c) 2004 The Virginian-Pilot
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