PRINCETON – Bob Schirmer of Princeton traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Valentine’s Day to coach in a mixed martial arts title defense match, which his fighter went on to win.

But a chance meeting with a high school assistant wrestling coach prompted Schirmer, a former all-American wrestler, to step forward in the aftermath of a tragedy: the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland, Florida, where 17 people, including the school’s wrestling coach, were killed.

Schirmer, who teaches mixed martial arts at Combat-Do training centers at 413 S. Main St. in Princeton and also in Cicero, volunteered his coaching services for several days for the Parkland wrestling team, whose members, gearing up for the postseason district tournament, had just tragically lost their coach, Chris Hixon.

“When you see something like that, you want to help,” Schirmer said. “Everybody wants to help out in some kind of way, in any kind of way they can.”

Assistant Coach Daniel Sanchez gladly accepted, and Schirmer came to his first practice, which was conducted away from the school that was still sealed off after the tragedy.

The Parkland wrestlers were understandably shocked and saddened by the shootings.

“You could feel the sullenness, it permeated throughout,” Schirmer said.

But they still needed to practice and lose weight in advance of the district meet, which was postponed until Feb. 21 due to the tragedy, and Schirmer was called on to give them a pep talk.

“So I told them, I said, I’m an old wrestler, I’ve been wrestling all my life. I know what you guys are going through cutting weight and how nervous you get before districts,” he said.

“But what happened to you guys is a tragedy, and I’m going to call you accountable,” he continued.

“I want you guys, you’re the warriors of the school, you’re the tough guys, you’re the wrestlers, nobody bullies the wrestlers, and I said, and I’d like you wrestlers to become the leaders of the school.

“When you see a kid sitting all by himself, being rejected from everyone else, I want you to go and make friends with that kid. Once you make friends with a kid that’s all by himself, now you’re his hero. And you should be his hero, and you should guide the kids that are bullied, you should be the heroes for them, and be a hero, because there’s no better feeling than saving someone from whatever.”

Other coaches also pitched in to help at the several practices Schirmer attended, lasting two to three hours each, before he returned to Illinois on Sunday.

During Tuesday afternoon’s interview, Schirmer said he’d received a call from Assistant Coach Sanchez earlier that day thanking him for being there.

“He said I helped get the kids’ heads together and get around this craziness,” Schirmer said.

“I was just glad to be there. I just went, and it was the right thing to do.”

Schirmer said he has seen violence and its aftermath in the past as a Marine recon ranger and undercover policeman.

“I know that when you’re in that mourning type thing, from seeing things that are horrific, the only way to get beyond that is to put experiences in between it. If you turn into a shell, you’re never going to get out of it,” he said.

“Even though it’s hard to say, you’ve got to get up and pull yourself up by your bootstraps and just keep going forward. But you’ve got to be positive.”