Davis High gives grand sendoff to former wrestling coach Quick

Bob Quick was a freshman in Binghamton, N.Y., when the school’s wrestling coach stopped him in the hallway.

“Bill Layton was the Binghamton North High wrestling coach in upstate New York,” said Quick, 62. “He put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘How much do you weigh, kid?’ I said, ‘I weigh 85 pounds.’ He said, ‘You’re coming out for wrestling.’ ”

Four years later, Quick would wrestle for UCLA, where he met his future wife, who would lead him back to her hometown – Modesto.

After teaching at Roosevelt Junior High School for two years, and Davis High for the past 27, Quick will retire at the conclusion of the current school year.

The former Spartans wrestling coach was honored during a ceremony prior to the Modesto Metro Conference dual meet between Davis and Gregori at Robert H. Taylor Gymnasium.

Quick guided the Spartans’ wrestling program from 1991-99, though he served as an assistant before ’91 and after ’99. Under his tutelage, Davis had three Central California Conference championships (’92, ’93, ’98), 24 individual league champions, 16 state qualifiers, eight state medalists, three state finalists and two state champs – Matt Demers and Billy Blunt, both in ’96.

“You see that wrestling mat,” said Quick, pointing to the near 40-foot by 40-foot mat that would soon be in use for an MMC dual meet. “See how it’s cut into three sections? That’s because it wouldn’t fit in our wrestling room.

“And some years we had 85 kids out for wrestling.”

Many of Quick’s former wrestlers were on hand for the pre-match ceremony, where the former coach received a Davis letterman’s jacket, with his name on the back and 105 – his high school weight class – on the right sleeve.

“The best thing is to get to see a lot of these guys again,” said Quick, who also coached volleyball and cross country during his career. “It’s just neat to have them show up.”

Quick also received a plaque from the school, thanking him for his years of service.

“Coach Quick was a tremendous leader who cared about his athletes, both as people and as wrestlers,” said Davis athletic director Tim Garcia, who was a student at the school when Quick was coaching. “He is a great teacher who got kids to work extremely hard and compete at a high level. He always did things the right way.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Davis High gives grand sendoff to former wrestling coach Quick."