Class of 2008

Dr. DAVID G. CURBY, Lyons

Dave's career runs the gamut of the wrestling world. His view of the sport as a competitor comes from his scholastic experience at Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School in Michigan where he placed 3rd in the State Tournament. From high school Dave ventured on to the "neighborhood school" (Michigan) and went on to wrestle four years as a starter under the guidance of IWCOA Hall of Famer, Rick Bay and then Bill Johannesen. His accomplishments on the mat are indeed impressive: he was a Junior National Champion, an Espoir National Champion; a 4th place in the Junior World Tournament; a Big Ten Champion; and a runner-up in the National Open. Dave graduated from the University of Michigan in 1975.

Following his graduation Dave took a position with Lyons Township High School as a Physical Education instructor and coach. Interestingly enough, Dave became an assistant to and old Michigan teammate, IWCOA Hall of Fame coach Mark King. For the next nineteen years these two guys worked hard (and successfully) to continue the great tradition of "LT" wrestling inherited from IWCOA Hall of Famers Max Armer and Bert Kraus. Dave not only worked with the high school program, but he also shared his talents with the budding grapplers as he worked long and hard with the feeder program the Lyons Wrestling Club. Of course, during the spring and summer Dave was always involved with the Illinois Junior Greco National teams. Dave is a USA Wrestling Gold Certified Coach as well as a member of the National Coaches Pool. He has taken wrestlers to France, Bulgaria, China, Morocco and Iran to name just a few of the countries.

Dave became the Department Chair of Physical Education and Health. He pursued advanced degrees, earning first his Master of Science and then, in 1993, his doctorate in Educational Psychology. From 1994 through 2001 he served as the Director of Physical Welfare at Niles North High School. His present position is as Lead Teacher for Physical Education at Niles - a state Blue-Ribbon Award winning program, as well as a Demonstration School for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Dave's experiences as a competitor, a coach and as an administrator in and around the sport of wrestling has led him delve deeply into sport science relative to wrestling. He has established a website on Recent Wrestling Research and over the past two decades has compiled over 2,000 articles of published scientific research on wrestling. He has studied abroad as a Fulbright Scholar and has worked with wrestling coaches worldwide. He has written numerous articles concerning sport science and wrestling; and in 2006 he presented the keynote lecture at the National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Dave annually publishes The Science of Wrestling - Annual Reviews of Wrestling Research with the hope that this work will spark further research, along with helping to educate those who are in a position to apply this knowledge.