Pulver on Team Miletich: They’re all gone
Jonathan Snowden: “When you left Bob Shamrock you were looking for a home. What attracted you to the Miletich crew?”…
Jonathan Snowden: “When you left Bob Shamrock you were looking for a home. What attracted you to the Miletich crew?”
Jens Pulver: “All you ever read about in Full Contact Fighter was Extreme Fighting and all these guys. Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes, Jeremy Horn fighting there. Sean Sherk, Denis Hallman. I knew if I went out there, at least I’d be busy. Because we were only legal in three states. And I chose to do this for a living like an idiot. It was only legal in three states and they didn’t even have my weight class. This is what you chose to do? You’ve got a job at a high school, you’re going to be the head wrestling coach and you do this? I was hooked on it, so I went out to Iowa, for Pat but even more because I wanted Monte (Cox) as a manager.”
“Was there something special Pat was teaching there that made the team so succesful?”
“People always ask for Pat’s secret ingredient. There wasn’t no secret ingredient. That’s why I made that comment about our “supposed leader.” There was no one leader man. We all did it together. Jeremy Horn was the leader when it comes down to it. We all ran after that guy. We all said ‘teach us coach.'”
“What is your relationship like with Pat today? Have you fallen out with all the guys on the old team?”
“How could I have a falling out? Fallen out with who? There is nobody. They’re all gone. There was Pat, but Pat is too busy trying to make cash, making a living. He ain’t coaching people. Everyone always thought Pat had a magical touch and was teaching us all these magical things. No he wasn’t. No. Never. Never ever. It was a great combination of things that left. Jeremy left, Matt left, Robbie left. Matt Pena left. Everybody grew up more or less. We weren’t there anymore. And that’s why the great experiment is over.”
“So, there was no magical Miletich secret?”
“If there is a key ingredient, and Pat Miletich was teaching it, then that key ingredient would still be there. Correct? The young bucks would still be coming. Correct? I wasn’t trying to talk mess about Pat himself. I’m just ready to go. I’m 34 years old. How long was I supposed to stay there? I hadn’t been home in 10 years. I’m tired. I want to build my own gym. I want to build my own fighters. It’s my time.”