By Ken Hansard
Nathan Burke took a different route than most when it came to wrestling. Most wrestlers come from “wrestling families” and begin wrestling at a very young age. Nathan joined wrestling after watching the sport from a much different point of view, “I was manager when I first joined. After watching just one match, I wanted to give it a try, and I fell in love with the sport.”
Starting wrestling at such a late date was not the only challenge that Burke faced in adapting to the sport, “I had many challenges. I wear hearing aids, and with the head gear, it was difficult to keep them on, so I would take them out, which made hearing my coaches difficult. And then there was the self-doubt. At first, I was afraid to fail, because I saw so many great wrestlers around me. My head coach told me, ‘To get where you want to go, you have to do something you never have done.’ That stuck with me, and I decided to commit to being patient and working twice as hard as the next guy. So, I didn’t complain when I didn’t get my way; I just put my head down and went to work.”
Heading into his senior season, Burke was confident that he could place at every tournament. So far; so good. Nathan, who is an avid film studier, had this to say about his season thus far, “I am finally seeing the fruits of all the hard work I put into this. I am proud of the fact that I have placed at all my tournaments and seen improvement in my wrestling. I see myself as a hardworking individual and a leader. I was always like that, and I just want to continue to be someone that others can look up to.”
Burke also participates in track and field, and he was a football manager for the Jaguars. He carries a solid 3.4 GPA in the classroom. After high school, he plans to join the Air Force or continue his education at Butler Community College.
