FOWLERVILLE — Dan Coon has never been one to sugar-coat his words.
The Fowlerville wrestling coach has been around long enough that he doesn’t feel a need to tip-toe around what he really means to pacify anyone.
His athletes always know where they stand with him, for better or worse.
So, when asked why junior Matt Jeffrey has made such huge strides this season, Coon was blunt as ever.
“He’s becoming more coachable,” Coon said. “He’s starting to listen. He knew more than I did, much more.”
Jeffrey doesn’t have an issue with the assessment of his coach, whose successful track record speaks for itself.
“I used to have different coaches I was listening to and I started to focus on coach Coon more,” said Jeffrey, the Livingston Daily’s Athlete of the Week. “We kind of got along better. That really helped. I started listening to him and not being stubborn and stuff.”
The payoff has been a breakout season for Jeffrey, who is 36-4 after going 23-13 last year. He is 33-2 since losing 7-5 and 8-5 decisions in the season-opening Herm Wilkinson Highlander Classic Dec. 9 at Howell.