Takedown Report

Corey’s Stories: How wrestling and a pair of positive mentors reshaped the life of a troubled teen

Josh Chapman is eager to get his final high school wrestling season started. He’s excited to compete and ready to show his gratitude to those who helped him reach this point.  He’ll savor his senior year at Taylor High School in Cleves, Ohio, a village nestled in the state’s southwest corner. He’ll enjoy the euphoric triumphs and he’ll appreciate the lessons learned from the setbacks, too. He knows how to navigate around setbacks.  High school seniors tend to pause and reflect about where they’ve been and where they’re headed.
Unlike most, however, Chapman will think of struggles — struggles he prays are behind him. He’ll think of his parents. He’ll think of the example he wants to be for his younger brother and sister.  And he’ll think of a coach, a cop and a community he wants to make proud. Chapman was arrested as a freshman. A police officer told him to retrieve a water bottle Josh had thrown at a football game. Chapman refused and then violently resisted. “He went crazy,” Sgt. Dave Bingle said. “But that’s how he was then. We were ready with the pepper spray and taser. It was that bad.”
Officers eventually got the flailing freshman into the back of a police cruiser and Chapman was booked into the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center. “Josh lost it, but I knew his story,” Bingle said. “I knew the family background.” Like many small villages, Cleves is a proud, tight-knit community, but one not exempt from epidemics invading other American towns. 
“Most of our calls are drug-related — (things) related to addiction of some sort,” Bingle said.  At the time, Chapman’s parents were struggling. “I wasn’t a good mom then,” Amanda Chapman said. “As long as I knew my kids were breathing, I did my thing. That’s how bad it was. “Josh’s behavior was a result of how bad things were at home.” Rest of this encouraging story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1571024718492&twSessionId=kiohdqrisq&postId=1689991132&mc_cid=5f8d57f429&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 18, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized