ITHACA, N.Y. — Kyle Dake has a memory with his grandfather from years ago. He was 6, maybe 7, and his grandfather, Bob, was a wrestling coach at Lansing High School. Kyle always tagged along for practice, so Bob decided to put him to work.
Bob Dake sometimes brought oranges to give his wrestlers after their workouts. Kyle was charged with peeling them. When practice ended, he watched the high-schoolers swarm to the oranges.
“It was such a small reward, but the guys thought they were the best oranges in the world,” Kyle Dake says now. “I did, too. I was like, ‘Grandpa, you find the best oranges.’
“I’d ask him where he got them, but he never told me. He’d say, ‘It’s a secret. Maybe when you’re older, I’ll tell you.’”
