Today we are pleased to celebrate not one but a whole constellation of shining stars: the Mill Creek Wrestling team coaches. Several people including teachers, administrators, a coach of another sport, and parents brought the team to our attention.
Last year, our middle school wrestling team had just four members and two of them were 6th graders. We wondered if the program would be able to stay afloat. This year, four new coaches took over the program:
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Head Coach Ryan Dinius
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Assistant Coach Scott Westfall
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Assistant Coach Jeff Backus
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Assistant Coach Todd Pearsall
The coaches volunteered at lunches in December to recruit students for their team. They invested heavily in the program and recruited close to thirty students. They've been very successful competitively with a team that has a lot of first time wrestlers.
These coaches have created a culture of excellence for middle school wrestlers. They do a study hour once a week with the team. The whole team dresses in a shirt and tie on meet days. Coaches offered to help out if any student didn't have a shirt and tie. The coaches also bought all of the Mill Creek staff a "Dexter Wrestling" shirt to wear on meet days.
In February, they took 3rd place in the JAWS tournament and according to the coaches it's the first time in 16 years that the team earned a trophy.
According to a team parent, “The Mill Creek Wrestling Coaches did not simply coach our boys on how to become wrestlers or be better wrestlers, they developed an environment where the boys were asked to be respectful, work hard, achieve and surpass [expectations]. The Mill Creek Wrestling Team gave my student a true sense of belonging. He gained confidence, was part of a brotherhood. He was proud and couldn’t wait to wear a shirt and tie to school on meet days. At the beginning of the season my student would ask to skip practices. When the season ended, he said he wished it wasn’t over. This was a tremendously positive experience for my student and I am grateful to the coaches for their nurturing and guidance.”
- Shining Star
- wrestling