Where Are They Now?!?

DERRICK MARTIN

1.) What are you up to these days?
     I'm married to Heather ('98) and have two sons; 2 year old Cole and 2 week old Emmett.  I'm a water resources engineer at V3 Companies in Woodridge, IL (just east of Naperville) and we live in Park Ridge (just east of O'Hare airport).  When time permits, I still try to make it over to wrestling practice now and then (every year I get older but the guys are "forever young") and to as many meets as possible.  I'm also on the Alumni Board at the college.  Heather (or H-Mart as she's affectionally known to the wrestlers) and I try to maintain some level of fitness by training for triathlons (we did our 3rd Ironman last fall), marathons, and other outdoor activites when we can find the time (right now - not so much).
 
2.) What is you favorite memory from you North Central Wrestling days?
    My favorite memories from my competition days are almost entirely of the relationships and experiences I shared with my teammates, Coach Miller, Coach Farris, Coach Selby and the mysterious BC.  Near the top has to be the story of how we missed our plane after the Florida tournament my senior year and since it was New Year's Day evening we couldn't find enough alternate flights for everyone.  The result was 6 or so wrestlers crammed into one room with Coach Miller and his new, but very understanding, wife Kristin (they had gotten married Dec. 3rd) and we all watched the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeat the Miami Hurricanes for the college football national championship (Fish was a happy man).

Although almost all of my best memories had nothing to do with my matches, the one exception is the last match I wrestled at regionals my senior year.  After losing in the championship match to a kid I had beat the week before, I had to wrestle a "true second" place match to even be considered for a wildcard selection to nationals.  I was on the brink of breaking mentally.  Coach Miller came over and told me what I needed to hear; that I was too mentally tough and had worked to hard to break now.  The match itself was jacked up because the score table set the clock for 2-2-2 (instead of 3-2-2) and as luck would have it, I had the guy on his back with a two count when the buzzer went off.  Needless to say, there was a bunch of confusion and subquent discussions at the head table about what should be done.

With all of that as background, the part I remember best is what happended while the coaches were sorting out the chaos at the head table.  My teammates all gathered around the mat, sitting on the other mats that had been rolled up during the rest break before my match (there was only one other true second match and it was a light weight so all the other mats were rolled up).  Pretty soon all my friends that had come to watch came down out of the stands and started surrounding the mat as well.  I'm not sure who started it, but the next thing I know everyone is chanting "Let's Go Derr...ick".  I remember it being loud and in mind, lasting the remainder of the match.  It's tough to adequately express how much that meant to me other than to say it's a memory I will never forget.


3.) What is one thing that you took from North Central College/Wrestling that has helped you throughout your career?
    There are no substitutes for hard work; shortcuts will not result in sustainable success.  Good people that work hard generally have good things happen to them.  I try to surround myself with as many good, hard-working people as possible.