TAMPA, Fla. — Iurii Kalinin, 18, is not one to be taken lightly on the mat for the Jefferson High School wrestling team.
“Very aggressive, very aggressive,” Carmine Morton, Kalinin’s teammate, said. “He’ll wrestle anybody. He’ll try to take down anybody. He ain’t scared of nothing.”
Kalinin grew up in an eastern Ukrainian village about six miles from the Russian border. His family moved to Moscow for the next five years before immigrating to the United States for a “better life.”
The family moved from Ohio to Tampa two years ago for Kalinin’s junior year of school. That’s when football coach Joe Midulla took notice.
“We watched him go through the wrestling program,” Midulla said. “He seemed pretty aggressive. He looked like a good fit for a football player.”
Kalinin is always up to trying new experiences.
“It looks fun. Also, before Coach Midulla asked me to play football, my mom said it will be fun to play football,” Kalinin said. “When Coach Midulla asked me, I said yeah.”
He didn’t know much about football — but joined the team for his senior season.
“Yes, learning the rules of football,” Morton said with a grin. “He’s so used to wrestling; he’ll come in and try to slam you. No, you can’t do that. He learned fast, though.”
Kalinin played mostly on the defensive line, but on senior night, he played fullback and scored his first touchdown.
“It was crazy,” Kalinin said. “It was one of the best things I ever felt.”
Kalinin was originally named Yurii, but there was a mistake at U.S. Customs, causing the change of the spelling of his name to Iurii. That’s now how it’s officially spelled in his passport.
But he’s looking to get that fixed for what he wants to do after graduation.
“If I get some [college] offers, I will see them first,” Kalinin said. “But I am planning to go to the Marines.”
