In his 44 years of coaching in Colorado, Bob Sisler has coached district champions, regional champions and state champions. His teams have regularly been among the best in their league and have annually been a respected presence at regional and state meets. But along with those accomplishments, Sisler is also proud of another facet of his career: the number of his former wrestlers who have gone on to become coaches themselves. "I'm proud of that because they're giving back to the sport "” and they must have gotten something out of it or they wouldn't be doing it," Sisler said. "I think that's one thing that's so special about wrestling. People get involved at a young age and then they want to help the next generation." One of those helping the next generation is Sisler's son, Steve Sisler, who took the reins as Arapahoe's head coach when Bob stepped down after three decades in the position. Bob, though, still serves as an assistant at Arapahoe and also still runs the Arapahoe youth program. "One part of the wrestling that is so great is the friendships and the people you meet along the way," Sisler said of his lifetime devotion to the sport. "I think you bond with people because they all recognize how hard it is to compete. It takes so much dedication and discipline, and those kinds of people tend to form relationships and give back. It's a different type of sport, there's no doubt about that." Sisler grew up in Illinois and wrestled at Elgin High School. He then wrestled at a community college for two years be- fore finishing his career at the University of Northern Colorado. After graduation, he was hired as a teacher and coach at Arapahoe High in 1975 "” where he's been ever since. Through the years, Sisler has coached nearly 100 state qualifiers including both his sons, Steven and Patrick, and 31 state placers, including state champions and runners-up. He has been the Continental League coach of the year, has coached in the Colorado All-State dual meet, and has also been honored by the Colorado High School Activities Association as well as being inducted into the Arapahoe High School Coaches Hall of Fame. He has also earned the respect of his peers. "He is a man of integrity, impartiality and high moral character," said one of his nomination letters, submitted by a fellow coach. "He is committed to education and continues to always focus on what is best for student-athletes." "I've been fortunate," he said. "I've had good people around me all these years and the support of my family has been wonderful. I wanted to do this since high school and I've been lucky enough to be able to do it for as long as I have." But he never really considered being a Hall of Fame inductee. "As the years go by, you hear of people being recognized and you say, 'Wow, that's awesome,"' Sisler said. "But then when you get such an honor... it's really special. There really aren't words to describe it."