Mike Juby named USA Wrestling Junior Person of the Year
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
07/25/2008

Mike Juby of Hutchinson, Kansas has been named USA Wrestling’s Junior Person of the Year by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States. This award goes to a nationally respected leader who works with athletes and programs on the Junior level (grades 9-12).

Juby has served as USA Wrestling’s state chairperson in Kansas since 1998. Kansas is one of the largest and most active state associations in the nation, with more than 8,200 members. He was named 2004 USA Wrestling State Chairperson of the Year.

Juby was instrumental in developing the first combined Kids/Cadet/Junior Regional event, which has been held in the Southern Plains Region for the last two years in Hays, Kansas. The concept has been a success, and has led to participation growth in the tournament, expecially among the Junior-level athletes.

He is a member of the Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee, which deals with numerous state-level activities within USA Wrestling, including Junior-level issues. He is also a member of the USA Wrestling Finance Committee.

In 2007, Juby was selected for the “Presidents Award,” and represented USA Wrestling’s grassroots program as a member of the official U.S. delegation to the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Juby started his involvement in USA Wrestling in 1988 through the Hutchinson Wrestling Club. In 1991, he was named a District Director of Kansas USA Wrestling. He was named Assistant Kids Director in 1994, and assumed the office of Kids Director later that year with the passing of longtime Kids leader Bob Cairns.

During his service in Kansas, he was actively involved in hosting the USA Wrestling Kids National Folkstyle Championships in Topeka, Kansas six times. Kansas USA Wrestling also has hosted the Southern Plains Kids/Cadet Regionals and the Southern Plains Junior Regionals during his tenure with the association.

Juby has actively created an online presence for his state association, working with a webpage as well as a large e-mail newsletter system. Currently, Juby has a list of over 4,000 e-mails, including club directors and individuals who have signed up for the information. He regularly sends e-mails to these people to keep them up to date with the state association and wrestling in Kansas.

In addition, the state’s webpage (www.usawks.com) has a large and loyal following, providing extensive information to the wrestling community in the state. The number of hits to the website grows….

Juby has also served as an assistant wrestling coach at Buhler High School for four years.

“I am humbled about this and am proud to be recognized,” said Juby “The Junior division at the state level is the pinnacle of our sport and its programs. From the beginning, my focus with USA Wrestling started with young kids. As they grew up, my focus on the older kids has grown. It is a thrill to see young people from Kansas and across the nation go through the program, and follow them up to the Junior level. USA Wrestling does a phenomenal job offering opportunities for high school wrestlers to grow and in some cases move on to represent our country at the higher levels.”

Junior Person of the Year
1997 - Tom Lehman, Michigan
1998 - Don Murray, New York
1999 - Bob and Sue Siar, Pennsylvania
2000 - Al Billings, Iowa
2001 - Gene Krebs, North Dakota
2002 – Ed Gould, New York and Pete DiBiase, New Jersey
2003 – Sam Harnsongkram, Louisiana
2004 - Patricia Fox, New Jersey
2005 – Mike Dowden, Indiana
2006 – Chris Curtis, New Jersey
2007 – Sue Siar, Pennsylvania
2008 – Mike Juby, Kansas