ROCHELLE — Ahead of the start of this season, Rochelle Community Hospital XCEL Orthopedics Physician’s Assistant Harrison “Hank” Swalla joined the Rochelle Township High School wrestling program as an assistant coach. 

Swalla brings five years of Division I wrestling experience at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he grew up and wrestled since he was four or five years old. After graduating from ISU and physician’s assistant school at Idaho State University, he came to Rochelle to join XCEL and RCH Dr. Gadini Delisca. He didn’t plan to get into coaching wrestling for a few years, until the RTHS program came calling. 

RTHS Wrestling Assistant Coach Nelson Baker reached out to Swalla’s office and his wrestling coach at ISU. Swalla was surprised to see the interest, and after talking with the staff he got started with the Rochelle youth Forge Wrestling Club and eventually agreed to get involved with the RTHS team. 

“After getting to meet some of the kids and getting to know the coaching staff, it was definitely something I wanted to be part of,” Swalla said. “It's gone well so far. It's definitely been a learning experience for me. Trying to teach kids is very different from learning something yourself. The kids have responded well and we're having a good season so far. I'm getting to reap the rewards of what the coaches have already done with the kids.”

Swalla chose to come to RCH and XCEL Orthopedics after meeting and interviewing with Delisca. He liked his philosophy towards treating patients and Rochelle. In his early years in college, Swalla was considering becoming a veterinarian. He explored other medical careers, and eventually landed on being an orthopedic physician’s assistant after doing some job shadowing. 

“Once I got to PA school, I had to decide on a specialty,” Swalla said. “I always thought I would be an ortho guy because I was always an ortho patient. I had a lot of orthopedic injuries growing up and through wrestling. I always really liked orthopedic surgeons. I appreciated how much they wanted to help me get back to what I was passionate about, which was wrestling and working out. I wanted to help people achieve those goals too.”

Swalla said there’s a “natural connection” between coaching wrestling and being an orthopedic physician’s assistant. 

“RTHS has a great trainer in Marshall Basler,” Swalla said. “I try to stay out of his way, but it helps with general things like what kids should be eating and drinking and how much sleep they should be getting. It's also nice when a kid does have an injury or something and I can give my two cents if Marshall wants it. We can also get RTHS wrestlers into our office in a timely fashion if that's what's needed.”

Swalla thanked Delisca, RCH staff, and the RTHS wrestling coaching staff for making him feel welcomed in his work in Rochelle. In college, he did some short-term coaching in wrestling camps. Coaching for an entire season has been a new experience for him. 

“It's really fun,” Swalla said. “I'm enjoying the heck out of it. It's a really good learning experience for me. The kids are teaching me stuff all the time. They'll come up with a move or do things in a certain way that I'd never considered. And just getting to know the kids and their personalities is fun. They're all a little bit different and you have to kind of find those things that are going to help them the most. We're about halfway through the season. Seeing the growth that some of the kids have had in just that time is really cool. That's probably been my favorite part.”