Ask any of his wrestlers, or better yet his protégés, and two words remain constant when talking about Marty Calder (BEd '92). 

Passionate and intense.   

Calder was once that student and protégé, but now he's the man behind the most successful university wrestling program in Canada.

The Brock Badgers have won 20 national and 31 provincial titles under Calder's reign as either assistant or head coach of the wrestling program.

However to ask the 48-year old, St. Catharines native about such achievements - you get a very honest, blunt answer.

"I just won CIS coach of the year (men's and women's) and I almost felt embarrassed," said Calder. "We have an extensive staff. I don't like being singled out that way. There's a big contribution from a lot of people here."

Calder's love for wrestling actually stemmed from his love of sports in general. The 5'7" 160-pound former Canadian Olympian was also an accomplished lacrosse player. 

"I grew up in Port Dalhousie with an outdoor (lacrosse) bowl and we could play year round. I won many awards at many levels, but I was just a kid that loved sports.  It was my passion. I ran cross-country, I played soccer – I did anything that was thrown my way. I loved it all. I even boxed for a couple of years."

As for wrestling, it all started in grade 5.

"I was at Sheridan Park (Public School) and my brother started wrestling at Lakeport High School, and they had a kid in grade 9 that was really small that wanted to wrestle but he didn't have a partner," explained Calder.  "So I got volunteered as a training partner, and in grade 5 I was taking off from Sheridan Park to Lakeport and practicing with this kid."

Calder is always quick to bring up his past and some tough love, or lack thereof, in the backyard with his brothers.  But he's also quick to praise his previous coaches.

"Wrestling is an individual sport. It's a different enjoyment. Team sports are great, the camaraderie and all the stuff, and even though you have that in wrestling, the individual sport is hard on people – it's taxing. 

And the reason I stuck with it was because I had Bill Smith as my coach. He was a mentor, and in some ways a father figure.  He was great wrestling coach.  That's really why I stayed with it and found some success."
 
Success might be an understatement.

When it comes to wrestling in Canada there isn't a bigger name than Marty Calder.

He's a four-time Canadian University Champion. Four-time first- team All-Canadian. Five-time OUA Champion. Two-time Olympian (1992, 1996). Seven-time National Champion. Three time Olympic Trials Champion, five time Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award winner, and three-time Brock Male Athlete of the Year.

The modest Calder freely admits his Olympic experience was the biggest of his career, but feels a certain match at the Canadian Senior Wrestling Championships really gave him the confidence to take his career to the next level.

"The first seniors I was at I placed fourth and I got invited to the Olympic trials which was in 1988. I was still a junior," Calder said. "The next cycle in 1990 I won my first senior title. 

I went there with a goal to finish in the top six and I won. (I beat) Gary Bohay (Arizona State University). It was a shocking win for me. I couldn't sleep that night. It was a two day tournament and all I could think about was - I can't screw this up, I just beat this guy and can't lose to someone else. I ended up winning. It gave me some hope and after that, the next year I never lost. I went to every seniors and went to every Olympics and worlds."

But remember Calder doesn't like the attention. In fact he feels embarrassed.  That's why this might shock you:

"The one thing I will say is that I don't reflect a lot about my career. One day I pretty much threw all of my medals away. All of my lacrosse medals, all of my wrestling medals - I put them in the garbage.
Some kid was driving by on a bike and I said you want them?  He got them. I kept some. I kept my Commonwealth Gold Medal, my Pan-Am medals, but not my CIS medals, not my national medals."

It's that no nonsense attitude that has likely led to Calder's success as a coach.    

From Bill Smith at Lakeport High School, to Richard Deschatelets at Brock, Calder felt he learned from the best and wanted to be the best.

"When I finished my CIS career in 1992 I was an assistant coach immediately and I coached from that point on," said Calder.
 "I always dreamed of being a coach, I was ready. I felt like I could be a great coach and it's been very gratifying."

Some might feel his coaching style is harsher than a wrestler trying to make weight for their next match, but Calder feels it runs a lot deeper than that.

"Richard was a really good technician.  Even now looking back I realize how smart Richard was technically. I owe them (Richard and Bill) a ton, but for me I think what has made me and the program successful is my cerebral nature, the tactical stuff. 

I think coming into wrestling I brought as much all around athletics as anyone has. I brought in my tactics of being a small lacrosse player and being taunted every night I played, and being matched up against the best defender…so I took that into wrestling and that's how I coach now.

I think people look at the Brock (wrestling) program and see the hard work, the determination. I think some people honestly look at it as a detriment, but I've taken that passion for winning and brought into coaching." 

Twenty-one years, and 26 coach of the year titles, later Calder is still going strong including leading a number of wrestlers into the Canadian Championships this weekend at Brock.

As for what he wants his legacy to be. Calder has a few words, but most importantly wants to let people know that his story is far from finished. 

"I'm a good person. I'm a level headed guy. That's probably as important as anything. I don't take a compliment too well, but I don't like it when people discredit me either," said a laughing Calder.

"Richard and I, and others, we took this program that started in the mid 1980's from two athletes, and now this program is an absolute powerhouse. Sometimes I wonder whether the team or the program has to lose for people to appreciate us winning. It's not easy, and wrestlers work hard.

I want them to think that we try and be the best that we can be, legitimately. We're not scared to try and be our best. To try and achieve goals that may seem impossible.  We're not talkers. 

In today's society expectations are sometimes low. Brock Wrestling – our expectations are not low. People might think are expectations aren't attainable…but we've proven them wrong…many times.  Any goal is attainable for us.
 
I'm a long way from done."