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The fastest fall Jimmy Hoffman ever recorded in his historic career occurred this past season and came in just 16 seconds.
The Hazleton Area standout wasn’t trying to prove his dominance. For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to wrestle. He didn’t want to participate in the Wyoming Valley Conference Tournament at Lake-Lehman High School in early January.
He wanted to be at a hospital with his family where they had been with James Hoffman, Jimmy’s grandfather, who had taken a turn for the worse. With his family missing a wrestling event for the first time ever, whether it was during the season or offseason, all Jimmy wanted to do was be with his family and one of his biggest supporters — his “pop” — for one last moment.
“I just wanted to be in the presence of my family,” said Hoffman, the two-time Times Leader Wrestler of the Year. “And I was told that that’s not what my pop would have wanted, and I went out there and just did it.”
After making quick work of his first opponent, he went to the hospital and stayed there until very early in the morning when his grandfather passed. He then returned to Lake-Lehman for his morning semifinal. Later that day, Hoffman secured his third WVC title with a heavy heart.
“You could tell something was off. It kinda hit my heart a little bit,” Hoffman said. “And I’d try not to be emotional. Seeing my gram, I knew I had to stray strong. I knew it was different and that he was still here even though he wasn’t. I knew he was still there on my shoulder.”
“Everybody knew there was part of him that was missing after that day,” Hazleton Area coach Keith Maurer said. “And Jimmy knew there was nothing he could do and that he just had to go out and perform. And he still was able to do that at the highest level.”
Despite the loss of his grandfather weighing heavily on him, Hoffman ended his career as one of the top wrestlers to ever don a singlet in District 2 history. With 161 victories, he’s fourth on the all-time wins list in the district and lost just three bouts in his whole career to opponents within the district. Just one of them came against a WVC foe, Wyoming Area’s Charlie Johnson, in 2015. The other two came courtesy of Scranton’s Rui Evanitsky.
He’s been to two state finals, the first from the conference to do that since Joe Rovelli graduated from Meyers in 2004.
Even when he fell in the state final to rival Zack Trampe from Council Rock South, Hoffman didn’t need days to regroup after the toughest loss in his career. A few hours later, he was back on social media expressing his gratitude.
“Life goes on. There’s always going to be ups and downs and it doesn’t matter how hard you get hit, it’s how you get up,” Hoffman said. “I knew my pop would be proud of me and there’s nothing to hang my head about because it was a great four years.”
Maurer had the task of helping Hoffman have a wonderful four-year career and guiding him to the dozens of accolades he racked up along the way. And for that, Hoffman couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.
“He was the most respectful man I’ve ever met,” Hoffman said about his coach. “If you show him that you care and that you’re gonna work hard, he’s gonna be there for you forever. I wish I could be half the man he is because he’s a great guy.”
When told about the remarks from Hoffman, Maurer got emotional while stating the following about the most successful athlete to ever wrestle for the Cougars.
“That just reaffirms to me that Jimmy is a very fine young man. He has his values at a very high level and that comes straight from his family,” Maurer said. “He’s got his head straight on his shoulders not just because of me. This is very emotional for me to say that because I think he’s a great kid and he’s gonna go places.”
Hoffman will now take his career to Division I Lehigh, where he may be redshirted next year as a freshman. But he still has high hopes for a successful NCAA career and hopes to claim multiple NCAA championships for the Mountain Hawks.
“Believing you can do it is half the battle,” Maurer said. “He has the focus, the desire, the work ethic and the belief to do whatever he wants.”
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