Ben Clymer 4-27-25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports ninet
twenty in your iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm Mike McGivern flying solo this week.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church will be back
in studio with me next week. We're coming from the
Donovan and Jorganson Heating and Cooling studios and I can't
thank those guys enough. They were out this week and
we had some issues, and in typical Donovan and Jorgans
and Heating Cooling fashion, they came out, took care of

(00:27):
us relatively inexpensively and did it completely right. And it
was tough because the young guy that came in and worked,
my wife likes him more than she likes me. And
I was like Jake, like, my wife is a huge
fan of yours, and he said, thank you for that.
And I thank the guys at Donovan, Jorgans and Heating Cooling.
They are so happy to be a sponsor for a

(00:49):
show like Faith in the Zone once a while. Welcome
our guest and he'll be with us for the entire hour.
He's the head wrestling coach at Faith Christian Academy.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
The Mighty Lions.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
He is Ben climber Now, I think Josh Beers for
introducing me to coach.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hey, Ben, how you been.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
I'm well, Man, Thanks so much for having me on
the show.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Mike, Yeah, man, I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
You know, you're a big time three sport I think
athlete in Pennsylvania, but wrestling is kind of what you're
doing now. I know you're working in construction and with
some family members, but coaching over at Faith Christian Academy. Man,
did I read this right? Are you a state champion?
Did you guys win state this year?

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yes? Yeah, I absolutely love a bunch of different sports
like you mentioned, but very grateful that I get to
be a part of the Faith Christian wrestling family now
for the last almost twelve years. And we did. We
captured a state title as a team in Pennsylvania. How
wrestling works like, there's a team portion of the state

(01:57):
championships and then there's also an individual of the state championships,
but they keep a team scorer even for the individual part.
And so we captured the team state championship and the
individual state championship, and it was actually the third year
in a row we were able to accomplish that. So
it's pretty cool. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
I knew of too.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
I knew it was two in a row and I had,
you know what, coach, I was lucky enough at one
point to win back to back state championships in basketball.
And after you do it one time, now you're not
hunting anymore. Now you're the hunted. And obviously your team
and this program, you're okay with that obviously, because you know,

(02:39):
if you can win back to back to back, you're
on everybody's radar and everybody's circling when they get a
chance to compete against you. Guys, tell me where the
program was twelve years ago and when you came in
to be the coach. Did you have any thoughts back
then of look, one day we're going to go back
to back.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Well, I guess I'm the first point. As far as
being the hunted, it is. Uh it is a different
slant on things. But uh, I just I credit the
moxie and the competitive nature of the guys I get to,
you know, run along with, and the coaching staff and
the wrestlers obviously that they're able to, uh, you know,
withstand that pressure and and and approach it with joy.

(03:24):
But you know, the three years in a row of
enjoying that success is really achieved by uh, maybe not
focusing so much on that uh uh being hunted and
more so just on uh enjoying the grind, that is
competing and getting better and keeping the focus on Christ
more than anything. And so when our when our viewpoint

(03:46):
is that and when our focus is on impacting people
and we're enjoying the process, uh, you know, it's it's
easy to divert all that you know, so called pressure
and people hunting us and what have you. So, uh,
it's it's been a it's been a really neat thing
to see how the group has been able to enjoy success,
albeit with a big target on their backs. And you know,

(04:06):
we got another another fun year approaching next year, so
we'll see how it continues. But almost twelve years ago,
this is our eleventh year, they did not have a
program at the school, and so my my uncle, who's
the headmaster, wanted a starter program. They had a teaching
position open. I was just out of college and he

(04:26):
called me to see if I would pioneer that process.
And I got to do it a little bit alongside
my my grandfather who was involved at the school and
an old wrestling coach at Penridge High School in the area,
and you know, God wired us in a very competitive way.
So I did have goals and aspirations of you know,

(04:49):
competing at the state level and leaving a group in
due time. But you know, our our team finished ranked
number one in the nation this year, and there's no
ay that was ever on my goals or radar or possibilities.
So it's a huge compliment to uh, to christ to

(05:09):
our schools and a lot of people that have made it, uh,
you know, a possible feat So pretty cool man.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, obviously they didn't let any of the Wisconsin teams
in that that national thing because come on now, yeah,
don't bring that weak wrestling stuff from Pennsylvania here to Wisconsin.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Coach, you want no part of these boys.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
Yeah, the rankers, the national rankers have a heavy bias
towards the eastern side of the country. So yeah, obviously
they didn't factor in the Wisconsin talent. But uh, they're
just rankings, you know. Now.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
You know what though, that's that's something.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
How big is the school, how big is is Faith
Christian Academy?

Speaker 3 (05:49):
I would I'd have to guess to me, Like I said,
I've I was teaching in the school. I was the
athletic director for a few years, but for the last
you know, going on five years now, I've been in
construction with a family business, and so it would be
somewhat of a guess, but I would say twelve hundred
students K to twelve, with you know, the elementary levels

(06:13):
being you know, less precise, but about about one hundred
and twenty kids a class.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
Wow, it would be my guess, smaller, smaller school then,
and not one of these big mega schools.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
And I love that.

Speaker 1 (06:25):
Hey, coach, you went to Northwestern Lehigh High School in
a new trip. I wait, where is Faith Christian Academy?
What town is that in?

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Quaker Town?

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Quaker Town? That's awesome. How far is that from where
you grew up?

Speaker 3 (06:41):
A half hour forty five minutes, so it's relatively close,
you know. Even though I wasn't like attached, you know
to the school as I was growing up, a lot
of my family was from down in this area, and
so there was a connection through that, and so when
I got done college, it was as a neat thing

(07:03):
to get to, you know, join into their efforts down
at the Christian school.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Hey, let's talk about college. You went to Hofstra, I
believe correct.

Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yes, yeah, university.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
And you know I I read a couple of bios
on you, and you said, look, football was my favorite sport,
but no division ones were coming knocking my door down.
And and I got a chance to go to to
Hofstra and and and I know that, uh yeah, you
spent for either four you spent four years there or five?

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Yeah, four years. I got to start four years and
then finished up my student teaching in my in my
fifth year.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Man, that's awesome.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Good, good for you to If I had talked to
you as a freshman or sophomore at Hofstra and I said, look,
in the future, you're going to coach at at Faith
Christian Academy where your grandfather and you have family members,
and at one point you're gonna win three state championships
in a row and be ranked nationally number one in
the country.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
As a sophomore in college, what would you have said
to me?

Speaker 3 (08:05):
No way, man, I love the beaches of Long Island,
and I was I was staying put. Nothing was drawing
me back. You know, I love my family and it's
close enough to get back. But I man, I love
Long Island. I loved the people of the pace, you know,
like I said, the beaches to kind of calm you down,

(08:25):
just fifteen twenty minutes south. No, I was. I was
staying on Long Island and doing my things. So yeah,
there's no way I would have I would have believed you.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
Well, you know, God has plans for us hell and
obviously this plan that He's put together for you is great,
and I hope that you know.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
As coaches.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
I'm retired now, but I can tell you my five
worst losses in the thirty six years I coached. In fact,
I could I could tell you exactly where things turned,
what I could have done differently. I can't tell you
much about any of the state championships I've won. I
can't tell you about that stuff, but the losses, And

(09:06):
I'm wondering, you know, how you are with that. Are
you able to take a breath and kind of enjoy
the journey or are you always thinking, Okay, look, we're
losing these seniors and I've got to make sure I've
got some kids in that weight class ready to compete.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
Uh. It's it's such a great point. I think I
think most elite competitors like yourself and others that might
be listening, Uh, like typically gear into Yeah, the losses
and and how do we how do we get better?
How do we get more competitive? How do we plan
for the future? And I think, uh, that's definitely how
I'm wired. But I'd like to think, Uh, through God's

(09:42):
testing and just his growth in my life, I've gotten
better at just pausing and being grateful for where we
are because because the talent of the group that's at
the school right now, they're buying to living for Christ
and using their stage ultimately for His glory is just
it's a special thing. And so I try to be

(10:03):
better and better each year at just being where my
feet are and enjoying the process, maybe more than I
did in my early years. So yeah, I can definitely
resonate with you. I definitely have that tick to me.
There's definitely a lot of planning and practicing and training
and plotting as it pertains to our season upcoming, but
there's also a lot of a lot of tangible things

(10:25):
that we're doing still to enjoy this year, and like
I said, be where our feet are one of them.
You mentioned the Easter weekend that we got to just enjoy.
One of our practices is good Friday morning, we basically
have a workout on the hill at my grandparents' house,

(10:46):
and it's our way to sort of it's like a
workout communion, if you will. It's our way of remember
what Christ put himself through. And it's got a, you know,
the physical connotation to remember just how brutal that was
for us to kind of go through it while uh
it just pausing together and and and being grateful and
uh so, just little things like that. That's how we

(11:09):
get ourselves out of the wrestling grind, get ourselves out
of that competitive nature, because you can get sucked in
pretty quickly to worry about the next thing, and that's
not really what God hash for us. And so we
try to try to be get those disciplines just the same.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
So, Coach, I gotta tell you, as and we had
talked off the air a couple of times, and you
were a basketball player, you're a football player and a wrestler.
At six three, You're you're tall for a typical wrestler,
right am?

Speaker 2 (11:37):
I not right on that.

Speaker 3 (11:40):
It's not that there are are the tall wrestlers out there,
but the typical standard for wrestling is five to five
and and uh, you know callflower ears and a little
bow to the knees, and that's that's not uh, that's
not how I'm strong. Yeah, six three, it's it's a
little bit of a different look to a wrestler. But

(12:01):
but nonetheless it served me will and I can still
compete in basketball with it.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
As a basketball coach, I didn't have any guys that
wrestled and played basketball all the same season here in Wisconsin.
And and look, if if I had a six to
three wrestler, I would probably try to get him in
and make sure that all five of his files were
were used. And I don't know what kind of basketball
player you were. Were you a guy with your back

(12:28):
to the basket, down in the paint or were you
floating outside shooting threes?

Speaker 3 (12:33):
I should have been I should have been down in
the paint. It's not that I'm not willing to get
dirty taking a charge and crashing the boards, but but
I like to float man, and I like but I
kind of facilitate a little bit more than I am
the trigger hand. So I don't know, I don't know
what exactly that looks like. But if you're the player.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
But if you're you're willing, if you're willing to take
a charge and rebound a little bit and facilitate, come on,
you can play for me any time, coach, anytime, because
you know today's world, you don't find too many guys
like that, too many guys that are not before they
get to the locker room.

Speaker 2 (13:11):
Find it out.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
Hey, now I'm averaging seventeen a game. I don't care
we lost by thirty. What are you looking at?

Speaker 3 (13:17):
What?

Speaker 1 (13:17):
I don't care if you scored eighteen today? So I
would love to have that. Hey, when you were in
high school, you had a really really storied career, right,
you want to state championship your senior year forty six
and six, thirty eight and ten as a software just
a lot of a lot of wins. Did you know

(13:38):
going into high school that wrestling you were going to
have that kind of success? Did you go through all
the junior programs and stuff like that.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
So we started wrestling like late in comparison to what
a lot of people do. My brother and I is
when I say we, and so we started like fourth
and fifth grade, and I was not very successful. My
older brother was pretty immediately successful and and so I
kind of got roped into it. Definitely did not like that.
But the unbeknownst to me, the group that we were

(14:10):
a part of at Northwestern Lehigh so had already been
kind of grinding in the in the youth circuit before
we got there. Like, they were very talented. So yeah,
by the time we were going through like the junior
high stage and I started to get a little bit
more success with it, that was definitely the outlook for
the program. We had a really talented bunch of kids.

(14:33):
A lot of guys who went on to wrestling college too,
at Edinburgh and Lehigh and Liberty University, so there was
a lot of Division one talent that was already in
the program. So like humbly speaking, we did have an
outlook that it was going to be a a pretty
successful high school career. But I'm telling you, I've told

(14:54):
you off the air before, Like I still button heads
with my dad about wanting to play basketball as a
post of wrestling right up until high school. And he
always told me, when you get to high school, you
can choose one of the others. And I said, all right,
I'm here, and I choose basketball, And he just knew, Mike,
Like the group of friends that I would have been
surrounded by playing basketball were not good. I'm not saying

(15:20):
they're not good people, but it was a different, different
mentality in the wrestling program as a whole just had
a special tick of people that were very driven, very disciplined,
and and you know, to this day, here I am
twenty years later spending a lot of my time on
this wrestling thing. I'm grateful to my parents for that tutelage.

Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, I love that he is Ben Climber coach. Ben
Climber head wrestling coach at Faith Christian Academy. They were
ranked number one in the country this year, won the
team state championship, won the individual state championships in Pennsylvania,
and at the end of the year rank number one
in the country. The Mighty Lines from Faith Christian Academy.

(16:05):
We're going to get to a break. Other side of
the break, We're going to ask Ben Climber for his testimony.
This is Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine
twenty in your iHeart Radio app. Welcome back to Faith
in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty in your
iHeartRadio App.

Speaker 2 (16:22):
I'm Mike McGivern again flying solo this week.

Speaker 1 (16:24):
Pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church will be back
in studio with me next week. We're coming from the
Donovan Jordanston Heating and Coolian Studios and.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
Our special guest.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
He's the head wrestling coach at Faith Christian Academy in
Pennsylvania and he has Ben Climber again. This team was
ranked number one in the country. He wrestled for four
years at Hofstra and now he's been the coach over
at Faith Christian Academy for twelve years and back to
back to back state champions and he has built this program.

(16:56):
And I love the fact that when he talks about
this program, if you listen to the first segment, he
talks about these kids utilizing this sport as their platform.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
And we had Tony Dungee on years ago.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
That's what he talked about a lot, utilizing the platform
the Lord gives you and the fact that Ben and
the kids at Faith Christian Academy are trying to accomplish
that goal much much more important than the state championships.
But once you start winning state championships, if you want
to talk to another wrestler about faith and you're competing hard,

(17:32):
and we believe in Pastor Ken believes that you know,
we can do that as Christians, we can do that
five of the rules. Compete really hard and win or lose.
Then you know you have that opportunity to share your
faith and walk worthy not only in the locker room,
but once you walk off the mat and even when
you're on the met And I believe that, hey Ben,

(17:54):
the second segment is always our favorite. And if we
could ask you to share your testimony, that would be great.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
I I'd love to nothing. Nothing brings me more joy
than to share, share the gospel, and uh, just tell
people what God has done in my life. So thank
you forgiving me that opportunity. Mike My My salvation testimony
is somewhat of a simple one. And that like, I
grew up in a good Bible believing home with great
parents and and I'm one of nine siblings, and so

(18:27):
we just had a great family, had a great upbringing.
We were in church all the time, Sunday morning, Sunday nights,
Wednesday nights, and the gospel, uh and scripture was presented
to us early and often. And for that I'm very grateful.
It's a common testimony, but nevertheless it's it's the one
that I'm very grateful for. So when I was seven
years old, I made a commitment to trust Christ as

(18:49):
my savior. Uh. My mom had come up for bedtime,
and and and I can still vividly remember giving my
life to Christ. I understood that I was a sinner
and needed a savior, and the only way that I
was going to be able to spend a tourney in
heaven some days if I called on the name of
the Lord, so I did. I asked Christ to be

(19:10):
my favor when I was seven. I think part of
my testimony that that should also be shared, is, you know,
I growing up in a Christian home. Uh. You know,
at some point in high school, started to get just
a little bit bored with the Christian faith and uh,
and my parents were very strict, So I thought I

(19:30):
was a little bit like sheltered and uh and definitely
craved things not of Christ. And when I went to college,
I strayed away from my faith in a big way,
so much so that that most of my college teammates
and people that I came in contact with would have
never known me to be a flower of Christ. And

(19:52):
only by God's great mercy, did he uh lead me
to my wife who was unsaved at the time. I'm
but she happened to be a girl that that was
very eager to know more about the Bible and God
and what life's all about. And had it not been
for this, you know, random uh person that uh that

(20:14):
was interested in all that stuff. You know, I don't
know if I've ever would have came back uh to
my faith and following Christ and really trying to impact
people as for His glory and so getting to lead
my my now wife to Christ, my girlfriend at the
time now she's my wife and mother of our four children.
You know, I don't I don't know where I would be.

(20:35):
So I'm very grateful for for that part of my
testimony to and and uh, coach.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
I'm sorry, what is your what is your wife? Sam?

Speaker 3 (20:44):
Kaylee Kayley?

Speaker 1 (20:45):
You know, I thank you so much for for for
talking about that, because I think, look, I believe that
there's a special place in heaven for coaches wives. I
believe that you know what, bet we we with them
through some stuff. Man, I I and and and I
appreciate that. And I didn't mean to stop you in
the middle of your testimony.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
But I think it's.

Speaker 1 (21:07):
Important that if Kaylee hears this, that she understands how
important she is in your life.

Speaker 3 (21:14):
She I definitely don't get to tell her enough, but
but I am. I am eternally grateful for her. Not
only that impact that unbeknown to her she had all
my all my christian walking, all my life then when
we met, uh, but for all the sacrifice that uh
you know goes into her lifestyle now as a coach's wife.
And I got to acknowledge out our bankwet this year

(21:37):
because there was there was definitely a shift. Uh. We
just had our fourth kid, fourth girl, in September, so
right right before the wrestling season. And at that time
we had four children, all of who we were five
years or younger. And so the Climber household is an
absolute circus. Definitely ground from wife saying, hey, this whole

(22:02):
wrestling thing needs the pause. I need you on the
home front. We need to, uh you know, concentrate our
efforts here. Uh you know, those would have been totally
uh common things to the ass but she she like
doubled down. Man. She she was helping with some of
our marketing and and some fundraising and different things that
we do. She just she's got a heart for for

(22:24):
sharing the gospel and seeing what God's doing in our
group here. So, uh, she is amazing and special on
on so many different fronts. And yeah, I'm glad you
brought that.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
I love that.

Speaker 1 (22:35):
Hey, so you've met her, and at that point where
you were faith wise, was was not obviously not walking
completely worthy and and and a little bit bored as
those were your words in the Christian faith. Was the
idea of being able to get her to understand, Uh,
you know, if if you were going to move on

(22:56):
with with this relationship, that being a Christian woman was
important to you. And I'm wondering where what that did
for you in your in your walk.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
I mean, it just it revived it, right because because
at the time we were talking, we had met at
a wedding, We weren't dating or anything like that. And uh,
not that I wouldn't have dated her, mind because like
I said that I had walked away from the faith.
Not like I was living a totally evil lifestyle, but

(23:26):
I was ready for a break. Man. I was along out,
I was doing my thing, and so dating a girl
at that time, was you know her knowing crisis or
savior was was probably not going to be a prerequisite
for me like it should have been. But like I said,
in God's great grace, uh, he introduced me to this
girl who was working in Manhattan, in the city at

(23:47):
the time, which was her big goal and dream and uh,
and all of a sudden, she was just in this
like mundane lifestyle of taking a train to the city,
working all day, taking a train back. It's like she
has to go to bed, She's got to get up
the next morning. And so as her and I are talking,
she was at a frustrated place of like, man, this

(24:08):
cannot be all that life is. And she on her
own started like searching out scripture and reading and checking
up on things and just a normal conversation, said, man,
do you know anything about this Bible thing? And it
was like, you know, one of those lightning bolt moments,
like okay, God, you serve me up a soft pitch here.
I better, I better take advantage of it. And so

(24:32):
I got to start walking her through the planet of salvation.
In January twenty ninth, she came to don't ask me
the year, because now the years are starting to get fused.
January twenty nine, she came to No crisis or Savior.
About a month later we started dating officially and then
you know, five five years after that, six years after that,

(24:54):
we got married and moved back to Pennsylvania. So yeah,
just just amazing regardless of me and how is living God,
God chose us so mercy on me and introduced me
to her and just align our steps and dating and
getting married and moving with what his will. Was so

(25:16):
eternally grateful for that.

Speaker 1 (25:18):
A coach, I wish pastor was here because when you know,
you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior at seven, and
I'm one hundred percent Irish, and it took me way
too long, very stubborn in that. And and I envy
you know, you said, look kind of a you know,
kind of typical. Some people use Sunday school testimony, and

(25:40):
mine is not mine is the opposite night envy people
that figured it out. And the pastor always says, look,
you know, in God's grace and and and it's so
easy to understand how to get to heaven that even
a child can do it, can understand it. And and
I love that part of it. And coach, I gotta

(26:01):
tell you, I'm now on uh on Instagram looking at
your family. It's a beautiful family and welcome to the
Welcome to the out Kicks your coverage club.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
Pal.

Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, oh come on now, come on, yeah, yeah, you
know that you've heard that before.

Speaker 3 (26:16):
Right, yeah, very often? I did.

Speaker 2 (26:20):
I out, Hey, coach, you have four kids?

Speaker 3 (26:24):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (26:25):
Three girls and a boy?

Speaker 3 (26:28):
That's it. The leader of the Pat Colton is our boy,
and then three girls Hayden Kelsey and the newest to
the bunch is Hannah Man.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
Well, I I love that. And you guys, obviously you
guys look very busy. But the picture, the Christmas picture
is incredible, just a beautiful family. My favorite is the
one girl sticking your tongue out at people. I thought,
you know what, that's a that is a wrestler's daughter
right there.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
I'm just telling you that, Hey, do they come out
to me too? Does your cold news? Is he is?
He got wrestling? Do you think in in his future?

Speaker 3 (27:05):
I tell you what they they do all come out
like with how young Hannah is now, I definitely want
to be a coach true family like uh his attached
at the hip and where I go, they go and
that's how we still fellowship together and serve people with
With Hannah being so young, this year was not a
ton of that, but they still come out to home

(27:27):
meets and too, local tournaments and different things that we do.
And and Coulton is at an age now he just
turns six. Uh, so he got to travel, you know,
over if we did it overnight. I think he came
to one of those type of tournaments this year, but
his his wrestling journey just in the last couple of months,
he's gotten a little bit of a bug and so

(27:48):
we're doing some practices, but otherwise, like he's uh, we're
trying to sort of be careful and show wisdom and
maybe even in doing so, it would be a good
testimony to the people around us here as it relates
to the youth scene, because I don't know how it
is out there in Wisconsin's but uh, people are chasing

(28:09):
the scholarships and nil deals early and often, and I
just see it consume so many families life where they're
they're playing three sports a season and uh, they're just
non stop, and uh, I want to be careful to
to have that not be our story. So Colping is

(28:29):
doing some stuff. Uh Like I said, with practices and
him and I just spend a time. But but otherwise
we're we're trying to uh not get sucked.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
In, coach.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
And now I'm looking at a picture from Fall, and
I love to stay a bit of mid Fall, filled
with Mayhem and a new baby girl to learn and love.

Speaker 2 (28:48):
We are so blessed.

Speaker 1 (28:49):
And I look these these these kids that you have
are absolutely adorable and I just would give them my wallet.
And see, I can't say no to these kids, like
there's no chance they're there's absolutely no chance. Our special
guest he is Ben Klimber, head wrestling coach at Faith
Christian Academy in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and big time wrestler, big

(29:11):
time multi sport athlete, and they were. They ended up
the year rank number one in the country, the Mighty
Lions from Faith Christian Academy. I just love that he's
been the coach here twelve years and coach before we
get to a break. Being with that you have that
many siblings. I think there's eight did you say eight

(29:32):
kids in your family?

Speaker 2 (29:33):
Is that correct? Eight siblings?

Speaker 3 (29:35):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (29:37):
Man, And I don't know where you fall in that
very competitive family what's it like like Thanksgiving?

Speaker 2 (29:43):
Do you guys play a little turkey bowl?

Speaker 1 (29:44):
And and how much of that wrestling background comes out.
I know you're your brother Scott NCAA championship qualifier champion.

Speaker 2 (29:53):
Over at Liberty University.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
Obviously he's competitive, but I'm wondering the rest of the
Climber family Thanksgiving, you guys compete a little bit.

Speaker 3 (30:02):
Yeah, we absolutely do. With with how much everyone's grown
up in a little bit spread out that it's not
always the traditional uh uh Thanksgiving football game at Heritage Baptist.
But but at some point there is definitely uh uh
a Thanksgiving game going on at one of the churches
that we attend. But uh yeah, Scotti is uh is
my brother, He's the oldest, I'm the second oldest, and

(30:25):
then and then another seven after that. Uh. In total,
it would be five boys and four girls. And there
was actually somebody would tell a story maybe five or
six years ago, so not that long ago. Uh, me
and me and one of my younger brothers had a
little bit of a scuff uh at the Thanksgiving day
football game, uh, which is totally immature and inappropriate, But

(30:46):
there's a there is a a deep competitive tick to
to the Climer family and that and that spills over
to my uncle who's the headmaster at Faith and uh,
you know, God gets all the glory for for what's
going on at that school, but my uncle has definitely
been blessed with that same competitive tick and athletic prowess

(31:08):
and a lot of the athletic success to all the
programs that Faith Christian could could point back to him
and his leadership. So yeah, yeah, a lot of competitives
going on in the Climber family and it's all fun.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Man. I love that.

Speaker 3 (31:24):
I just do.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
We're going to get to a break. The other side
of the break.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
He is Ben Climber, head wrestling coach Faith Christian, big
time wrestler at Hofstra, and he is doing a great job.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Man.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Three back to back.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
To back state championships in Pennsylvania, ranked number one nationally
in high school wrestling from this school, Faith Christian, the
Mighty Lions Faith Christian Academy. If you want to look
at some of these beautiful pictures of this guy's family,
it's Ben A. J.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
Climber.

Speaker 1 (31:52):
Last name is spelled C L y Mer, so it's
Ben J. Climber And I can tell you that when
I'm telling you guys that he'll kick.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
This coverage a bit.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
Yeah, he's on the I'm the president, but he could
be the vice president.

Speaker 2 (32:06):
I can tell you that.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
On his Instagram, it's a follow of christ and husband
of Kaylee and the coach at Faith Christian Wrestling, and
I just I love these pictures because look, it's it's
just it warms my heart to see this beautiful family
and a wife that understands.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
Look, you were the head of our house.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
You go, coach, Go win a state championship, go win
the national championship. But when you get done, you come
home because you got to take the garbage out. Stuff
like that. Trust me, I know exactly where this guy's at.
Get to a break on this side of the break.
I got a few questions for him on the coaching side.
This is Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nineteen
twenty and Your iHeart Radio App. Welcome back to Faith

(32:48):
in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your
iHeartRadio App. And Mike mcgiffrin find solo this week coming
from the Donovan and Jorgensen. He didn't at Cooling Studios
our special guests. He's a good one. Man, this is fun.
Ben Klember, head wrestling coach at Faith Christian Academy. Hey, coach,
with the success that you've had at the high school level,

(33:09):
has there been colleges coming to talk to you, other
high schools coming to talk to you? Have have have
people been reaching out at all to say, hey, look,
doing a pretty good job at Faith Christian. How would
you like to move up into the college ranks? And
how have you answered those questions?

Speaker 3 (33:28):
That's a great one. I I I had a phone
conversation this morning with a college coach as it related
to that, and I would definitely say in the last
year there there has been more and more of those
and and sort of what I communicate to them is appreciation,

(33:49):
because that's, uh, you know, I'm not somebody, given my
college success, Mike, that would warrant, you know, hey, come
come coach at our our Division one university as an
assistant coach, as somebody that could be a recruiter and
talk to people and mentor guys like if you looked
at my college stats, well they're not bad, I would say,

(34:11):
it wouldn't warrant that sort of attention. So the fact
that some of these people are reaching out and showing
an interest is high praise and indicative of what God's
doing in my life and in the program. So it's
really cool and I tell them thank you. But you know,
I always say, is something that would have me and

(34:33):
my wife praying and talking about discussing as they give
different offers and opportunities, but I do sort of quickly
point them to I feel that God has my feet
right where they are. We have a special group coming
up next year doing some things on the family where
I just feel I just feel God's hand leading and

(34:55):
different things working out. So it's not to say that
would not ever happened that that college scene or somewhere
different wherever God would lead, But for the time being,
I definitely feel calm and at peace saying that's that's
probably not the route we're going to go.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
So yeah, hey, coach.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
A few years ago, I had a young man in
that that wrestled here at Heartland Arrowhead and and was
I think ranked number one or two in the country,
and he ended up going to Missouri and I had
him in studio for the high school sports show that
I do, and we talked about wrestling and and you know,
wrestling is a different breed.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Man.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
You guys are different. It just is.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
And he said, look, I can sit in an airport
and I'll be by myself, and I'll know when when
another wrestler walks by. I know he was a wrestler,
and whether it's because of the ears or it's just
how he carries himself and I kind of nod and
they nod, and if I get to talk to them,
it's because I knew that they were a wrestler. And

(35:59):
I said, man, how how is that he goes? I
don't know, but I've been part of the wrestling world
for a long time and I've been able to travel
the world with my sport. And I'm just telling you
I can pick out you. If you show me ten
guys walking through the airport, I'll tell you the five
that wrestled. And I said, man, that's awesome. And then

(36:20):
we had this conversation about how wrestling similar to I
guess gymnastics and maybe track and field. It's very individual,
yet it's very team and I said, how you know,
how do you how do you do that in your head?
He said, look, you know it's easy for me. I
want to win for myself, but I want to win
more for my team. And I'm wondering with you as

(36:41):
a coach, you know, do you have that conversation with guys, Look,
we're one team. We're doing all these drills together where
it's almost like the military at this point. But it
is an individual sport, and how do you break that
down when when you talk to kids that that might
be new to the wrestling world.

Speaker 3 (36:58):
Yeah, it's definitely a difficult one, you know what I mean,
because it is a delicate ballance of both of those
things you mentioned. It's individual and you've got to be
self motivated, and you also have to have the humility
to want to build up the teammates around you. And
it's especially difficult at Faith while we're enjoying this time
of just having a bunch of elite competitors on the team,

(37:21):
because how can you focus on your individual effort but
then also focus on your teammates, some of who are
also nationally ranked and you have to beat them out
for the spot, Like how do you find the balance
and all of that? And so it's a difficult one.
But I think going to Proverbs seventeen seven seven seventeen
seventeen seven from Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpen's

(37:44):
account and some of another. I think if we're if
we're focused on, first and foremost honoring Christ with our
stage and all that we do, and trying to sharpen
each other towards that end, everything else that we're trying
to do and accomplish will take care of itself. Maybe
not how we exactly imagine it, but if that's our
if that's our first step, man, we're we're gonna make it.

(38:06):
And and also as it pertains to being a competitor
and athlete, man, if you are living the lifestyle and
what time you wake up, and what you put into
your body, and how hard you train, and you know
the education that you're trying to get as it relates
to wrestling, if you're taking care of all those things,
when you get your opportunity to train with your teammates

(38:29):
and and maybe more importantly, like what they're watching you do,
that's going to manifest itself in in the team benefiting
does That's what it makes sense?

Speaker 1 (38:38):
One hundred percent, one hundred percent, Hey Ben, with these
with these wrestlers, how involved as their high school coach?

Speaker 2 (38:46):
Do you get involved with your recruiting side of it.
Do you help guide them? Do you answer questions?

Speaker 1 (38:52):
Do you get a lot of calls from college coaches
and did you just passing one and let the family
deal with that.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
I'm wondering, as a.

Speaker 1 (38:59):
Guy who wrestled at Hofstra, you know, are you able
to give them some guidance on the recruiting side and
with the NIL thing. It's all changed now, but I'm wondering,
do you help those guys in their decision process?

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Yes? Yeah, they Ultimately they and their families are or
who's going to make their decision. I'm careful with that
because I don't ever want to be you know, given
relationships that I have with college coaches, some people I
wrestled with and all of those things, I never want
that to come into, you know, my conversations with them

(39:35):
or their families. So at the end of the day,
you know, the decision is for them and their families
to make and what's best for them. But obviously how
I try to steer them is pay careful attention when
you go on these recruiting trips at what the kids
talk about about, what their lifestyles are. When you get
a chance to talk to the coaches like is anything

(39:56):
about these programs pointing to being in church together on
Sundays or doing Bible studies and and some of these
things that we know to be foundational to life. Uh, don't,
don't go somewhere where you're going to deprive yourself of that,
because I think if you do, you learn the hard
way that that wrestling is not going to satisfy your soul.

(40:19):
And and so, uh, that's my biggest tutelage to them.
Luckily for us in the sport of wrestling, Mike, Uh,
so many of the leaders in our sport, at like
the senior level training for the Olympics and even at
the Division one college level coaching these programs. So many uh,
you know, proclaiming prices a savior that it is h man,

(40:41):
it's it's it's it's a nice thing.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
It is. Yep.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
It's a comfortable place for these kids, you know, if
they if they get to college, and our our goal
is is so that they continue to walk worthy and
and and the idea when you said, look, I got
a little bored in my faith walk And I think
that's so important that you said that, Like that was
really a big part of our conversation, right here because
I think people have to understand if they're feeling that way,

(41:07):
they're not the only one.

Speaker 2 (41:08):
They're not And and and it's okay.

Speaker 1 (41:11):
You know it certainly took Kaylee to kind of come
through and have you kind of reinvigorate your whole faith
walk to be able to help her. And I think,
you know, God's timing is perfect and and and that's
what that was. Last question before we get to a break.
Have you seen the movie Vision Quest?

Speaker 3 (41:29):
Of course, any wrestler who hasn't is not a wrestler.

Speaker 1 (41:33):
Hey, coach, you know what. And there's some junkie parts
of that movie, and I get it. My favorite part
of the movie is when when the guy that the
old guy that worked at the hotel, he's getting dressed,
he's putting a suit on to go to this match,
and and he comes to knocks on the dirry is
what are you doing, And he goes, I'm coming to
I took the night off because I'm going to come
watch you wrestle. And he's like, look, you don't have

(41:53):
to do it's not that big of a deal. And
he talked about watching Pele for the first time, and
he goes, look, it's not about who wins, is about
what might happen in those three minutes that I want
to be a part of. And like, I got goosebumps
in my arm. I gotta tell you, Ben, I gotta
get a life like why that movie would have that
kind of impag and when that older guy said, look,

(42:15):
I just want to be there just in case something
amazing happens, and I just love it. Hey, we're gonna
get to a break. Other side of the break, we
have a short forced segment. As always, we're going to
ask Ben Kleimber, the head wrestling coach at Faith Christian
Academy break number one in the country this year in
high school wrestling. We're gonna ask him all the uniforms

(42:35):
in the multi sport athletes, all the uniforms he's ever
put on his entire life. We put him in a closet.
He gets to pick one out to get one more game.
What uniform is it? Who do they play against? Or
who does he wrestle against? And why? And we'll get
that answer on the other side of the break. This
is Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty
in your iHeartRadio app. Welcome back to Faith in the

(42:58):
Zone on Fox Sports ninety twenty, your iHeartRadio app coming
live from the Donovan and Jordans and Heat and Coolian Studios.
Our special guest. We could do another hour if he wants.
I'm telling you I've got a whole list of questions
I have not gotten to ask him yet. He is
Ben kleimber head wrestling coach at Faith Christian Academy in
Pennsylvania and Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The Mighty Lions, a heck of

(43:21):
a program, and I congratulate him and his staff in
these kids. And that's school for putting the resources, putting
the energy and the sweat equity it takes to run
a really good high school sports program.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
And I love that.

Speaker 1 (43:36):
Hey, Ben, this last segment is a throwaway question a
couple of years ago, and I keep asking it because
I love the answers. All the uniforms you've ever put
on your entire life. We put him in a closet.
You get to pick one out to get one more game,
one more match. What uniform do you pick out? Who
do you compete against?

Speaker 2 (43:54):
And why so I.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
Have to I'm not ticking to uniforms. I'm just saying
Mike that, like, man, if I could go back and
play one more Friday night football game, we lost the
Blue Mountain in the district championship my senior year. You know,
if I could, if I could put on the pads
under the Friday night lights, that would be an amazing thing.

(44:20):
But that wouldn't be my answer. If I could, if
I could put on one uniform, uh, it would be
my junior year at Wells Fargar Center down in Philadelphia.
The National Tournament was held there and I went one
and two, didn't have a good showing. H If I

(44:42):
could go back, it would be to uh to compete
at the Wells Fargar Center at Nationals because I don't
think I totally understood, uh, you know, in my immaturity
during that time, just how cool thing that was. I
got to go to the National Championship this past year,
a month ago, and it was down at the Wells

(45:02):
Fargus Center in Philadelphia, and man, it was just electric.
It was so cool. Philadelphia, You're not Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is
definitely the hotbed of wrestling, and it was like Who's
who at that event, And I honestly was thinking back, like, man,
you had this opportunity, you should have traded a little
bit harder and got yourself where you needed to be

(45:24):
and whatever else. So if I could go back to
that time, I probably clean up the lifestyle a little bit,
put my best foot forward and it compete better than
I did in that stage. But that would be it, man, coach.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
I got to tell you the I'm the sideline reporter
for the high school football game of the week. Now,
every football game you watch, they have a young, attractive
female on the sidelines. I don't know why they keep
sending me contracts, right, I like, why I've been doing
this fifteen years? Guys, why don't you go do what
everybody else did? They go, No, no, you're a guy.
Well I was on the sidelines for a game years

(45:57):
ago and it was probably an hour for kickoff, and
a guy, younger guy, came up and he said, you
Mike mcgivverren. I said, yep, He said, you have a minute,
I said I do. He said, I played here at
this high school and now I work for the company
that rents you guys the lights that you need to
do these Friday night rivals games. And I just have
to tell you I was a first team All Conference,

(46:19):
first team All State football player. And I would give
everything I own except my truck and my dog if
you could get me one more week. And I want
Monday through Friday. I want the practices, I want everything
leading up to it.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
I want a home game, and I want to play
against our rival.

Speaker 1 (46:39):
And I go, really, he goes, I didn't know back then,
and that was five years ago. I didn't know how
much I was going to miss it. I took time
off practice, I took plays off because I was a
little tired.

Speaker 2 (46:51):
He said.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
He basically had tears coming down his cheek. He said,
I miss it so much, and I didn't know how
much I loved it until was done. And I would
do anything to get one more week back. And all
I want is a Friday night home game. But I
don't want just the game. I want Monday all the
way leading up to that game. And I would do
anything except give you my dog and my truck to

(47:17):
be able to have if you could get that for me.
I said, well I can't, but can I use that?
And he goes one hundred percent? Because you know, Ben,
and you'll find this out as you get a little older.
Some of these high school kids don't think you know
what you're talking about. Oh he's the old guy. I
didn't know what he's talking about. Well, this kid knows
he got it, he understood it, and he said I

(47:38):
would do anything just to get one more game, one
more feeling of walking through that that, you know, walking
through the locker room, walking through the school, high five
and kids on Friday with my jersey on. And so
your first answer with that that that high school game
against Blue Mountain. Yeah, I get it, and I certainly
get the national thing. There's some regret there for sure.

(47:59):
Ben Climber, he is, he's been a great guest and
the head wrestling coach again at Faith Christian Academy.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
Last name is a c. L y m e Er.

Speaker 1 (48:09):
Guys, do yourself a favor and and follow him on
some of the social stuff that he's doing. I can
tell you that he's doing a great job as the
as the leader of this Faith Christian Academy program.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
But when we talk, he never wants to talk about
the job he's doing.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
He talks about his assistants, He talks about the people
that run the school. He talks about these players in there,
or these wrestlers in their families and how much time
they put in to this sport. But I can tell
you this, the guy at the top of that program man,
that's where that's they're walking in in march step with him,
and I congratulate him.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
Coach, Thanks a lot for a couple of minutes of.

Speaker 3 (48:45):
Your time, right, Thank you so much for having me.
And just like you alluded to all the people behind
the scenes and at PASECNA, I didn't get to meet
you guys. Keep up the good work out there in Wisconsin.
And and I can't wait to talk to you guys
against man.

Speaker 1 (49:00):
Yeah, you ever want to bring that team up here,
I got a couple of programs that would love to
get a piece of that team. Just so you know,
you let me know that I'll do a little fundraiser again.
I'm not getting out of the matt I told you
that their never doing that again. But I could get
a couple of the teams up here that would be like,
you bring those boys to us, We'll sell out.

Speaker 2 (49:19):
We'll sell out to Gymnasium for a team like that again.

Speaker 1 (49:22):
He is Ben Kleimber, head wrestling coach at Faith Christian
Academy in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
This has been faith in the Zone.

Speaker 1 (49:30):
I'm Fox Sports ninety twenty in your iHeart radio app