Bob Purcell, as nice a guy as you'd ever want to meet, has dealt with more than his share of tough characters during his 20 years of coaching at Minnesota West Technical and Community College. And more than a few of the stories he has accumulated deal with the abrasive side of wrestling.

There was a devoted Iowan in the wrestling room one year, Purcell recalls, who was easily agitated when the Minnesota kids spoke ill of his beloved Iowa Hawkeyes. Cuss words flew in a stream from the Iowan's lips whenever his Minnesota teammates teased him.

A coach, of course, can only take so much. One rainy night during a bus ride home from a meet in Colby, Kan., the Minnesotans were once again successful in goading the Iowan into uttering a string of colorful adjectives, and getting the whole bus worked up. Finally fed up with all the bad language, Purcell ordered the bus to stop, emptied all of his wrestlers to the side of the road and forced them to do pushups in the rain.

"The following year, we weren't having that problem any more," Purcell remembers.

More Bluejay wrestling memories are waiting to be made at Minnesota West, but they will be made in the future without Bob Purcell. He will retire effective June 30 as wrestling coach, though he will continue to serve as the school's men's athletic director and physical education instructor.

Why now? It's time.

Purcell actually began thinking of stepping down, he said, a few years ago, but he wanted to wait until he could be assured the wrestling program would continue.

"I didn't want to be that wrestling coach that lost the program," he said. "I put too many years of energy and life into it to be the last one."

During his tenure, he coached 22 All-Americans including at least one All-American in every weight class. He coached three multiple All-Americans and three times had his Bluejays among the top 10 teams in the nation.

After he was hired in August of 1997 while teaching at the Heart of the Earth Survival School in Minneapolis and coaching freestyle wrestling at White Bear Lake, he had big dreams. His goal was to build West into a national championship program.

"I knew the formula for it, and the kids were ready to work hard for me," he said.

The national championship proved elusive, but he nevertheless proved able to recruit for his Division III non-scholarship program some of the top high school student-athletes in the region. And as proud as he's been about the on-mat accomplishments of his wrestlers, he's even more proud of what they've been able to accomplish in the classroom.

His favorite thing?

"Probably the 90 percent graduation rate that I've had. I've had kids who had nothing when they came here, and they came here and they graduated, and they had an opportunity to make something of themselves for the rest of their lives," Purcell said.

In recent years, it's been increasingly burdensome for Purcell to do all the things most wrestling coaches take for granted in the mat room. He's had both his hips replaced, and a few other operations, too. In June, he'll have surgery done on his right knee.

With those kind of limitations, it's difficult to display techniques. Fortunately, Purcell has had a few outstanding assistants, including Jeff Stuckenbroker, Bryan Cowdin and 10-year community volunteer Don Wasmund to aid in the fulfillment of his duties. Whoever becomes the next head wrestling coach at Minnesota West, Purcell plans to offer help in recruitment efforts.

The veteran mentor remembers the year he arrived at Minnesota West. It was right after the Campbell's Soup plant closed in Worthington and he began to wonder if he'd made the right decision to take the job. Working in its favor, though, was in spite of the fact that it was too late for him to recruit, he had basically a full team that very first year.

"What I also found was the people were just friendly," he said -- which was a big plus after having lived in Burnsville.

"That ain't the same," he admitted.

When Purcell began in Worthington, the wrestling room was 30x30 feet, and it's now 82x42. The Worthington Open wrestling tournament has gotten bigger, and the booster club remains strong. The budget has been maintained, and remodeling has led to better facilities for not only wrestling, but for all sports.

He is a two-time MCAC Coach of the Year and has also been named NJCAA Man of the Year.

"I enjoyed every minute of it. And I'll miss the athletes and coaches aspect of it -- hanging with them," Purcell said. "I got lucky to be the wrestling coach here. That's the way I look at it."