Roy Hall isn’t just a high school coach.
He’s an engineer, an architect, a motivator, a molder of young minds and bodies.
Hall took over a Davison wrestling program that was flat on its back in the 1990s and raised it into a nationally recognized power.
Along the way, he has sent wrestlers into the top NCAA programs in the country and built his own reputation as one of the most sought after clinic instructors in the nation.
Hall likely would have gotten into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame on his own wrestling record — two-time state champion and four-time state placer at Davison; 1988 Dream Team All-American; second and fourth place at the junior nationals; seventh at the junior world championships; two-time captain and four-time NCAA placer at Michigan State University.
But his rapid transformation of Davison into a wrestling hotbed has earned him induction barely a decade into his coaching career.
Hall started wrestling at age 6 and knew by high school that he wanted to coach the sport.
But it wasn’t the thrill of victory that got him hooked.
“We never point to it’s just about winning,” Hall said in an interview with WIN Magazine last year. “It’s about testing yourself.
“It’s a sport where you are on your back and learn to fight off it. If you choose not to fight off your back, it’s probably a good indicator to how you are going to deal with life.”
When he became varsity coach in the fall of 1997, Davison hadn’t had a winning season in eight years or a state champion since he graduated in 1988.
Along with assistant Kent Elliott, he established a freestyle and Greco-Roman state regional training facility and steered youth wrestlers to the Junior and Cadet National programs.
In 2000, Davison won its first state championship and posted a school record 38 wins (38-2). After finishing second in 2001, the Cardinals ripped off five Division 1 titles in a row, a streak unmatched by any school completely under the team format.
Through his first 11 seasons, Davison was 309-48-1 with 10 Big Nine championships, 10 district titles and 11 regional crowns. Cardinal wrestlers earned 8 All-State spots, including 17 individual titles.
In 2005, his eighth year on the job, Hall was voted Wrestling Coach of the Year.
“Roy Hall is the foundation of my career,” said Brent Metcalf, a four-time, undefeated (228-0) state champion now at Iowa. “He built who I was, built my attitude, the way I approach wrestling, the way I approach life.
“He set expectations high for me and was able to get across high standards that I set for myself.”
Jon Reader went 234-6 with three state titles and was an NCM qualifier his freshman year at Iowa State.
“His philosophy is basically refuse to lose, and that works well for me and lot of guys,” said Reader.
Hall travels the country with his Attack Trained wrestling clinics, but he’s wise enough to bring other coaches and wrestlers into his own camps in Davison.
“He’s very knowledgeable about the sport,” said Metcalf, “but growing up in the program, I noticed it was always ‘look at this college athlete, listen to this college coach.’
“He really reached out to other resources to make us better wrestlers.”
After 11 years and with a young family, Hall stepped down as coach in the spring of 2008.
But when Davison couldn’t find a suitable replacement, Hall couldn’t leave it alone.
“The best move for the program,” he said, “was for me to stay on board and keep it moving forward.”
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