Larry Gelwix

Last updated
Larry Gelwix
Born (1950-07-25) July 25, 1950 (age 74)
Oakland, California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesGetaway Guru
Occupation(s)Teacher, Travel Agent, Radio Host
Known forRugby Coach

Larry Gelwix (born July 25, 1950 in Oakland, California) has been the coach of the Highland Rugby team since its founding in Salt Lake City in 1976. The movie Forever Strong (2008) was inspired by him and his team's history. The Highland rugby team has compiled an unrivaled winning record since its founding in 1976. He also hosts a weekend travel show, heard on KNRS and KNRS-FM in Salt Lake City and syndicated to other radio stations. [1]

Contents

Team win/loss record

Highland Rugby's 35-year varsity record (1976–2012) is 419 wins and 10 losses, including 20 USA Rugby national championships in the 26 years USA Rugby has sponsored a national championship. In 1998, Highland represented the United States at the World Schools Rugby Championship in Zimbabwe, Africa, which brought together the individual country high school national champions and top teams from around the world. Highland represented the USA. Highland came home with a bronze medal and a third place world finish.

Coaching principles

Gelwix is known to be very demanding on the athletes, requiring all players to adhere to a non-negotiable honor code that includes, among other things, avoiding alcohol, tobacco and drugs. [2] Gelwix formulated what he called the "5 Championship Strategies for Sustainable Success." These success principles focus on Horizontal Leadership; staying away from things you know are wrong; attitude and effort, W.I.N. – What's Important Now – which encourages his players to make decisions now that support what they want in the future, or "tomorrow"; and to focus on the final score of life. Gelwix encourages his players to be true to the beliefs of their own individual faith.

Personal story

Gelwix is a native of California. He was born in Oakland, CA to Betty Jo Mercer and Kennth Gelwix, Jr. and raised in Lafayette, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the second of four children. Gelwix graduated from Del Valle High School in Walnut Creek, CA. After attending one year at BYU, he served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the Central States Mission. He earned a BA and MA from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Organizational Communication. [3] He also played rugby for three years at BYU under coaches from New Zealand. He became an instructor at an LDS Church seminary adjacent to Highland High School to earn money to pursue a doctorate at Purdue University. He became an assistant football coach during the fall season and a wrestling coach in the winter. He missed coaching in the spring, and having played rugby at BYU, decided to start a rugby team at the high school.

Gelwix left teaching seminary full-time after four years and pursued a career in the travel industry. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Gelwix became a co-owner of Morris Travel, which operated travel agencies throughout the western United States. Gelwix and his partners sold Morris Travel in 1995, at which time Morris had 50+ offices and over 400 employees. Following the sale of Morris Travel, Gelwix was hired as CEO of WinAir Airlines, a charter airline operating nine 737 aircraft. In 2000, Gelwix and former business partner, Mark Faldmo, formed Columbus Travel, headquartered in Bountiful, Utah. Columbus Travel has become one of the largest and most successful travel agencies in Utah and won the "Best of State" award three times as the "best travel agency in the state of Utah" and was named by Mark Travel Corporation (one of the largest tour operators in the world) as one of the "Top 10 Travel Agencies" in the country. Columbus has been awarded numerous other honors, distinctions, and citations in the travel industry.

Gelwix is best known in the Rocky Mountain area as the "Getaway Guru" and host of the syndicated "Travel Show" radio broadcast. Gelwix has been an on-air radio talk show host for more than 20 years (12 years at KSL and 8 years syndicated by Clear Channel Communications). Gelwix is also the feature on the "Getaway Guru" segment broadcast weekly on KUTV channel 2, the CBS network affiliate in UT, ID, and western WY. Gelwix serves as CEO of Columbus Travel.

Gelwix has received many awards, honors, and distinctions, including the "Best of State" award as the best high school coach in the state of Utah, the "Education Service Award" from the State of Utah Department of Corrections; and the BYU "Outstanding Service" Award.

The movie Forever Strong was based on Coach Gelwix and the Highland Rugby Team.

Though retired from active coaching, Gelwix continues his "coaching" by the letters and daily inspirational quotes that he sends to former players and many others

Personal quotes

Gelwix is known for his quotes, known as Gelwixisms. Among them are:

Legacy

Bob Nilsen, who played Highland rugby under Gelwix, was formerly president of Burger King and is now co-owner of Cafe Rio restaurants. He was asked at a business meeting in Hong Kong what teacher had most affected his life. He named Gelwix. [3] Another player, Matthew Cole, became president of Bluestreak Sports Training in Stamford, Connecticut. While playing for Highland from 1996 to 2000, he says Gelwix was his father figure after his parents' divorce. [2] Professional pianist and composer Jon Schmidt says Gelwix is "unusual in his ability to be an influence and be an example." [2]

Church service

Gelwix was interviewed by Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, on December 1, 2010 and was called the same day to serve as a mission president for the LDS Church. He received his call to the California Fresno Mission in February 2011 and began service as its president on July 1, 2011. He and his wife, Cathy, completed their service in June, 2014. They returned to their home near Salt Lake City thereafter, whereupon Gelwix resumed his service as CEO of Columbus Travel and began once again hosting his syndicated radio and television segments. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey R. Holland</span> American educator and religious leader (born 1940)

Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the third most senior apostle in the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell M. Nelson</span> President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1924)

Russell Marion Nelson Sr. is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. As church president, Nelson is recognized by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Cowley</span> American religious leader

Matthew Cowley was an American missionary in New Zealand and then served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1945 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaVell Edwards</span> American football player and coach (1930–2016)

Reuben LaVell Edwards was an American football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among his many notable accomplishments, Edwards guided BYU to a national championship in 1984 and coached Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil O. Samuelson</span> American religious leader and physician

Cecil Osborn Samuelson Jr. is an American retired rheumatologist and professor of medicine who served as the 12th president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2003 to 2014. Samuelson is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a former dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah, and a former senior vice president of Intermountain Health Care (IHC). While he was president at BYU, Samuelson pushed professors and students to raise their expectations and encouraged mentored learning. During his presidency, student enrollment limits stayed constant, new sports coaches were hired, new buildings were built, and a hiring freeze during the Great Recession reduced faculty.

Devin George Durrant is an American retired professional basketball player. From 1984 to 1985 he played with the Indiana Pacers and with the Phoenix Suns. He later played in European basketball leagues until 1988. In a Deseret News poll in the year 2000, he was voted one of the top 10 college basketball players in the state of Utah over the previous 100 years. In 1999, Sports Illustrated listed him as one of the 50 greatest Utah sports figures.

<i>Forever Strong</i> 2008 American film

Forever Strong is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Ryan Little, written by David Pliler and released on September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the team his father coaches at the national championships. Forever Strong is based on a compilation of individual true stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Reid (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Roger L. Reid is an American former college basketball coach who most recently guided the Southern Utah University (SUU) men's basketball team. He served as head coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1989 to 1996 and assistant coach for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. He has also coached at the high school, junior college and international levels. In addition, he played for former NBA coach Dick Motta at Weber State University.

Eli Herring is a former Brigham Young University (BYU) offensive tackle who decided not to play in the National Football League (NFL) for religious reasons involving working on the Sabbath and made his intention clear to all NFL teams prior to the 1995 NFL draft. Nonetheless, the devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was drafted in the 6th round by the Oakland Raiders. He is one of few people to get drafted in the NFL after declaring an intention never to play. He is now married with seven children and works as a school teacher and assistant football coach at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah.

Stephen Douglas Nadauld is an American academic, the former president of Dixie State University and Weber State University (WSU). Nadauld was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1991 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos E. Asay</span> American Mormon leader (1926–1999)

Carlos Egan Asay was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1976 until his death.

Gary L. Browning (1940-2024) was an American Russian language academic and was the first mission president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Whitney Clayton</span> American religious leader

Lyndon Whitney Clayton III has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2001. He became a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy in 2008 and was its senior president from 2015 until 2020.

Richard Olsen Cowan is a historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a former professor in the Church History Department of Brigham Young University (BYU). He was one of the longest-serving BYU faculty and the longest-serving member of the Church History Department ever.

Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake is a Tongan–American football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2015, and is the first Tongan to become a collegiate football head coach. Sitake played college football as a fullback for the BYU Cougars under coach LaVell Edwards, and graduated in 2000. Prior to becoming head coach at BYU, Sitake was the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at the University of Utah, and the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Oregon State University (OSU).

Highland High School is a high school in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah, that opened in 1956 and has a student body of 1,546. It is located at 2166 South 1700 East, next to Sugar House Park, and is part of the Salt Lake City School District. The current principal is Jeremy Chatterton.

Reid Larkin Neilson is the assistant academic vice president (AAVP) for religious scholarly publications at Brigham Young University (BYU). He was the Assistant Church Historian and Recorder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2015 to 2019, and the managing director of the church's history department from 2010 to 2019.

Mormon abuse cases are cases of confirmed and alleged abuse, including child sexual abuse, by churches in the Latter Day Saint movement and its agents.

Joseph Layton Bishop Jr. is a retired administrator of colleges and other post-secondary educational institutions and a Latter-day Saint devotional and motivational author. His books include The Making of a Missionary and Peace be Unto Thy Soul.

Peter M. Johnson is a general authority seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the first African-American general authority in church history.

References

  1. ↑ "The Travel Show with Larry Gelwix" on KNRS"
  2. 1 2 3 4 Shill, Aaron (May 28, 2009). "Rugby's rewards — hitting, winning and building 'championship boys'". Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  3. 1 2 "Man of the hour Larry Gelwix". Deseret News. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Press Materials" . Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  5. ↑ "New mission presidents". Church News. Deseret News. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Famed rugby coach to serve as California LDS mission president". ksl.com. KSL Broadcasting. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.