Jan. 28—CHAMBERLAIN, S.D. — For 22 years, Chamberlain wrestling coach John Donovan has stood matside and called for his Cub grapplers to push through "tough time."
Traditionally, that has referred to the final 30 seconds of a period when wrestlers need to dig deep within themselves and put forth an extra effort to get to the final bell.
But lately, Donovan's signature phrase has taken on a double meaning.
As June turned to July last year, Donovan, 57, was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor, a fast-growing form of cancer, located on his brain stem. All of a sudden, Donovan was faced with battling through his own version of tough time.
While his own fight is ongoing, Donovan has made his way back to the mat to push others, too.
"I woke up one day, and everything changed, and I had to learn to change with it," Donovan said. "Being here has helped me to be strong for my own kids and for my wrestling team and set an example that you've got to persevere. That's what I'm trying to do."
Adding to his motivation to return to coaching, Donovan said, was having two high-school-aged children still on the wrestling team. His son Xavier is a senior (and one of the top Class A 175-pounders), while his daughter Zoey is a sophomore. Donovan's wife, Amy, is also an assistant coach on the Cubs' wrestling staff.
While he admits some days are better than others, Donovan said he feels pretty good overall. He finished a six-week-long treatment stay at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in October and shortly thereafter returned to teaching in his sixth and seventh-grade science classroom full-time.
"I enjoy being in the classroom as much as I enjoy being on the wrestling mat; it's just kind of a different facet there, but it's all good," Donovan said. "The kids definitely keep me motivated."
At home, Donovan's current treatment includes chemotherapy pills on a one-week-on, three-weeks-off schedule. The weeks when Donovan is on the pills are quite tiring, but he prefers to look at the bigger picture.
"By the grace of God, I've come through this pretty well unscathed," Donovan said.
The Chamberlain football program usually wears pink in October in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but this past fall was a little different. To show support for Donovan, the Cubs introduced new gray football jerseys, since gray is the color associated with brain cancer. Every jersey's nameplate, which would typically display the last name of each individual, reads "Donovan."
Even before that, T-shirts were made as a fundraiser. On the front, they read, "It's tough time," and on the back, "In this together. Every match. Every round. Every fight." Once again, gray was chosen as the shirt color, along with the Cubs' red and white school colors for the print.
Several schools that Chamberlain has faced on the wrestling mat this season have contributed to Donovan's ongoing battle. Many more individuals have reached out to Donovan and family.
"Sometimes you don't realize the impact and the influence that you have," said an emotional Donovan. "I cannot express enough how humbled I am by the outpouring from our community, our school and from teams around us — everything they've done and are still doing. It's quite amazing, and it's hard to put into words how special that they've been."
Donovan said he's had numerous people remark in recent weeks and months that they can't believe he's still coaching. Early on, Donovan didn't know how his situation would play out, either, but he's grateful that his health and the timing have worked out to allow him to be with the wrestling program this season.
"I didn't know how this was going to go, or how hard this was going to be," Donovan said. "You just have to do everything you can to win and be tough."
