THE TULLAHOMA High School Wrestling team has had a challenging and successful year, and their coach, Bob Callison, has been a pillar of support throughout it all. The 2024-25 year will be his second in Tullahoma, but Callison has over 30 years of coaching experience and a passion for wrestling and the impact it can make on students.
After all, it made an impact on him. Callison started wrestling at just 8 years old, as a ward of the court with a chip on his shoulder. He found success in the sport through elementary school, middle school, high school, and into college.
“It was a great outlet for me,” Callison said. “I was one of those students [who] needed something like a sport to help me get good grades and get me through. And it’s crazy — I never really liked school, and here I’ve been doing school for my whole life.”
Wrestling alone wouldn’t have changed Callison’s life the way it did. He also had wonderful coaches and mentors. Those people drove him to be better and, in turn, led him to coach.
“My high school coach had a big impact on my life; he was just a good role model,” Callison said. “I decided … I was going to be a teacher and a coach and try to make an impact on my students and my athletes like he had for me.”
Last year, the Tullahoma High School boys wrestling team finished as state runner-up in dual team wrestling, earning Callison his 500th dual match victory.
Winning isn’t the only goal, however. Callison said having a good relationship with his students is one of the most important things he can achieve. It helps them work harder, push further, and achieve things they may have never thought they could.
“There’s struggles that we have,” Callison said. “We’re working through those — myself and the team together — and so I think we continually get better because of that.”
Tragically, the team’s tight bond was put to the test on Sept. 7, 2024, when Brodie Minor passed away after a motorbike crash. That first night — and the one after — Callison kept the wrestling room open until midnight as the team and community tried to make sense of what had happened.
“I think giving them a place to talk and to work through that was good. We were there together like a big family,” Callison said. “I was just praying that I would do the right thing for our team — for us to get through that [and] to heal.”
The wrestling team was also there for Callison, and the community came out to support the Minor family.
“We were kind of all in this thing together. It was new ground,” Callison said. “We stayed together, and it probably made us tougher as a team.”
Callison said that many of the team wrestled for Brodie as well as themselves, and they rallied together to achieve a fourth-place finish. These past two seasons have been the best finishes in Tullahoma’s wrestling history. He said the Tullahoma community was very supportive, as they have been throughout the year.
“To have a good program, you need a supportive community, and our community — great support for wrestling,” Callison said. “We couldn’t do the things and give our kids opportunities that we give them without that support.”
Callison was drawn to Tullahoma because of its support for sports — wrestling in particular — and said the wrestling team’s booster club members are some of the best people in the world.
“We’ve fallen in love with this place,” Callison said. “We’re thankful and blessed to be part of the Tullahoma community.” GN
