I was shocked tonight when I looked at the Pick North sectional brackets and did not find the name of Jake Donatelli. I just heard from his Dad that Jake recently suffered a concussion. He is still suffering from the effects of that injury, and will not be cleared to wrestle on Saturday. Unfortunately, as a senior that ends his high school career.

My heart aches for this kid and his family......

Some of you may remember that last year at the district tourney, Jake suffered a shocking disappointment in the "go to the Schott" match. He literally lost in the LAST SECOND to Seth McCurdy (Delaware) after leading most of the match. I could not get over how "classy" he was in defeat. So close......yet so far.

I guess most of us assumed that he would make amends this season. Bucksman and BoroFan each had Jake as the #3 wrestler coming out of Darby at 132lbs. I know he has battled the injury bug, but never thought for a moment that things would turn out this way. As in life, there are no guarantees though. That is why it is such a treasure to be able to walk through that tunnel at the Schott.

As difficult as it is for Jake right now, I also feel for his Dad. Many of you know Mr. Donatelli, as he is very entrenched in the Central Ohio wrestling scene. I'm only 2 years removed from my own son's career, so I know that at times it can be much harder to have to watch your kid out there on the mat, than it is for him. When you are living it, as we all know, it can be consuming.

Kids are resilient......Jake will bounce back. His Dad may take a little longer, but knowing him he will be OK too. He has a younger son to root for, which will help ease some of the sting he is feeling now. My boy had the opportunity to wrestle Jake twice......and in doing so I had the chance to meet his Dad and was fortunate enough to start a friendship.

Sorry for the long post........just wanted to let the Donatelli's know I have them in my thoughts.

Nice post D4S... Thanks for the info. I hate to see something like that happen but his health is most important. Jake. if you're reading this, keep your chin up and your chest out. Hopefully you can continue wrestling in college (if YOU want to). But be a good example and mentor to your younger brother because he has watched you for a long time:thumbup:. (and believe it or not, he will probably take your advice).

I'm really sorry to her about this. Best of luck to him.

Two thumbs up, D4S.

Jake went up to Solon once (maybe twice) with us. Great - scratch that - GREAT!!!!! kid. If that wasn't the first time I met him, perhaps it was one of our open mats or tournaments. From whenever we first met, it was easy to follow his results. You find yourself rooting for kids like this.

Best of luck in the future, Jake. My guess is you'll do well no matter the field. Hope to see you soon.

Cruiser,

You have a private message.

My heart goes out to him and his family. What a talented young man, season cut too short and hopefully we will continue to read about him in college.

My heart goes out to Jake. the same thing happened to my son last year. very tough way to end. BUT your future is bright!

I feel so bad for Jake and his family. He's a terrific kid.

My son use to train with Jake. They were drill partners for a short time. I use to sit and talk with his dad during those workouts.
They're both good men.
I'm very sad to see Jake's high school career end this way.
I can relate to the heartbreak they must both be feeling.

Jake, if you read this, don't let anyone tell you that this is the end. You're good enough to wrestle at the next level. Your work ethic and character will matter more to college coaches than any result.
Best of luck.

Horrible to hear. Concussions are taken very seriously these days -- I'm not a doctor, but for good reason I'm told. The most important thing is to stay healthy and strong. Everything up to this point is about preparing you for the next step, and it sounds like this young man is more than prepared. I wish him the best.

Sorry to hear that, quality kid from a quality program! GL in the future whatever the endeavor!

First of all, from the Darby Wrestling Family, thank everyone for the wishes for Jake. It is nice to see that the Central Ohio community truly cares for each other.

With that said, Jake's injury has left the Darby Wrestling Family speechless. We know that there is nothing that anyone can say that can make Jake feel better right now, but we hope that all of the kind words can allow him to reflect later on the amount of people who care for and love him.

Jake has been an instrumental part of the rebuild of Darby Wrestling for the past 4 years. The kid is a blue collared worker who loves the daily grind and is very internally motivated. He also has the ability to motivate the people around him to constantly strive to be better than they have ever been before. I am proud to have been able to work with him on the mat for the last few years and would like to thank all of the other coaches in Central Ohio who have invested time into working with Jake as well.

I like to think that Jake's end to High School wrestling was with his boots on; he was training extremely hard to be the best Jake Donatelli that he could possibly be when he was injured. While he will not be sporting a Darby singlet anymore, he will still be a huge part of the team as we head into the post-season. He still is self motivated, he still possesses the ability to motivate people around him, he is still a Captain of our team. If he chooses to, he will still be a fantastic addition to a college roster.

Thanks again for all of the kind words about Jake... He is a wrestler to the fullest extent of the word.

Great kid. Tough lesson in life. I was expecting to congratulate him on making it to State. He deserved it. Hopefully this thread keeps going to let him realize how much everyone respected him. Congrats on a great HS wrestling career!

My son is a year younger than the younger Donatelli boy, but was in Darby's novice program and on the middle school team with him.

So I've spoken with their Dad many times. But I did not really know Jake until this year.

I saw the heartbreaking loss Jake had in the "go-to" match last year at districts.

I watched him battle through injury this year to get to 100+ wins in his career.

I was ready and excited to see him exorcise that disappointment from last year.

When I heard about his not being able to go this week, I couldn't believe it. What unbelievably bad luck for a kid who has worked so hard.

I don't know Jake very well, but I do know how proud his dad is of him, and the work he has done.

Good luck in your future endeavors, young man. The type of work ethic you've shown will undoubtedly make you successful in whatever you try.

Thanks all who have sent their prayers and well wishes to Jake the past week!
All the PMs texts and calls have been much appreciated.
We definitely feel the love!
Makes me feel good about my decision to put my kids in the Hilliard mat cats program some 8 yrs ago to try wrestling. The wrestling community is a different breed! Different being BETTER. I have met so many great people thru my kids wrestling and on these forums that I can call alot of those people friends for life.

Jake is heartbroken right now as am I and his family. To see a kid who works so hard have his dream crushed so quickly doesnt make sense. But alot of things dont make sense in this world so we just have to work thru it and persevere. And make no mistake, Jake will persevere. Ive seen it after the heartbreaking go to loss last yr and when he still busted his but to make the weight cut as the alternate. I was really proud of the way he handled things last yr(much better than Dad for sure!)
He battled thru a bunch of injuries this yr while never missing a workout or the extra workouts he always did. Coming off his injured shoulder last yr, it just never was healthy since that first scrimmage of the season when it got reinjured. He battled thru it all looking towards the post season as the carrot. He knew he wasnt going to be healthy but knew he could gut it out like he did last yr. He wanted to be there for the team for the duals. It was hard for him last week to not be with the team when they won the OCC and when they battled Marysville for the Regional Duals. For me the victory for the OCC was hollow since Jake couldnt be there to celebrate with his team.

As far as college, Jake has some nice options. He has already been accepted and asked to walk on at some big D1 schools and has been recruited by a few nice programs in D2.
At this point I dont know if he will continue or not. I think this time away from the mat will help define where he wants to be.

Concussions are scary as I have recently been educated. Jake's was pretty severe. His cousin just went thru this and lost his Jr yr of football. He missed 21 days of school. Jake will be missing at least 2 weeks of school if he gets cleared next week to go back. Jake just ran out of time to get healthy. Im sure he will be close to health by the time Darby District rolls around next week. If it happened a week earlier I think he would be able to wrestle. Thats what hurts even more is the timing. He was still pretty bad this week and I knew there was no way the Dr was going to clear him. I even told Jake that I will cancel the appt but Jake still wanted to try to pass the tests to get cleared. Unfortunately it wasnt even close. Im an old school football guy too. You know the smelling salts and how many fingers do I have...OK get back in there. But things have changed and for the better in that regard for safety.

Good luck to all wrestlers these next couple of weeks! Enjoy it!
And stay healthy!

To all the Dads and Moms(and family) out there...
ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Your Friend,
Mark Donatelli

They don't make em better than Jake Donnatelli! God Bless, the best is yet to come.

Best of luck to Jake, there is always an other Championship to win!

Very sad. Keep your chin up young man! Go on to the next level and do amazing thigns! Very polite young man.

Great kid that I am very sorry to hear this I have seen him wrestle his butt off for years and to have this end his SR year is very sad but I am glad he is making a full recovery good luck to Jake on whatever path he may choose.

Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings. It's always a pleasure to see you. Good luck to you !!!

I was shocked when I heard this news Monday night, Jake is a great youngman ...Jake has a good family that will give him a lot of support. He will be successful in what he decides to do in the near future...hang in there Cthelites !

This is very shocking. Having gotten to know the Donatelli's in a difficult situation. I can testify that they exude class and dignity. I know my son and I were rooting for Jake with everything we have. We wanted him to get the chance to walk the tunnel at the Schot. I know Jake will be successful in whatever he does because he is a wrestler in every sense of the word. Jake if you are reading this keep pursuing your dreams and if college wrestling is in your future know that Seth would love nothing more than to have you as a teammate at Mount Union. Keep your head up and know that god has a plan for you!

Cthelites, thanks for the update on Jake and a little personal history on him. Jake, good luck to you in the future. Remember to pass some of your wrestling knowledge down to your little bro.

Life throws ya curveballs sometimes, you just gotta deal with em' how ya can. Good luck to him in the future.

Sorry to hear about Jake. Our prayers are with him.