Union County High School Head Wrestling Coach Patrick McDonald is very pleased with the turnout, and efforts, of students in the school inaugural season.
Coach McDonald recently joined the staff at the school after being the head wrestling coach at Gainesville High School for four years. Mr. Carlton Faulk encouraged Coach McDonald to start a program as he heard good things about his coaching.
Coach McDonald, a Language Arts teacher, started a grass roots effort to get students into the program. Many other members of the staff at the school helped also. Coach McDonald got a start in recruiting this fall as and assistant coach on the football team.
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Coach McDonald said the biggest challenge to starting a new program are "The Numbers" as well as "The Commitment." Those were the two issues we addressed early on and the students responded by coming out for the team and dedicating themselves to a new sport.
The students say they enjoy "Almost being able to get in a fight and get away with it!" The coaches work closely with students at a 5 to 1 ratio.
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The wrestlers are naive to the fact that typically teams start out slow in a new program and don't see the early success the team has had early on. The students do not see the "Big Picture" and we are OK with that. Other area wrestling coaches have complimented our efforts and we pass that along to the students as they are making it happen.
Lastly Coach McDonald is impressed with the dedication of the students, the support from the school and support of the parents, families and friends of the new program.
