Posted on Fri, Nov. 23, 2007
Depth, competition in practice pays off for Goddard program
BY KRISTIN MEHLER
Wichita Eagle correspondent
Goddard state champions are made on the junior varsity squad.
In a program that attracts 50 to 60 wrestlers a year, all competing for 14 varsity spots, competition is inevitable. When that competition consistently includes state champions and qualifiers, the program is destined to see the level of success that Goddard has seen over the years.
"Most people just don't have the numbers or the depth that we have," Goddard coach Brett Means said. "It's easier to fill the weight classes with quality people.
"I've got good wrestlers on my team that could probably be varsity at a lot of schools. We've got good practice partners and good people to work with every day."
This year, Means' roster boasts four returning state champions and 13 state qualifiers, all wrestling each other in practice. Numbers like that are not surprising from a team that consistently contends for the state title, which the Lions won in 2006 and finished 19 ½ points behind Manhattan in 2007.
Programs like that are built from the ground up.
Each year, Means is fed a new batch of freshmen wrestlers from middle school wrestling clubs. The young wrestlers, who come in with experience and knowledge, find themselves in a much larger pond of state champions and qualifiers, fighting for an opportunity to wrestle.
One of those wrestlers is Dalton Beard, the younger brother of defending 160-pound champion Boaz Beard.
"Anywhere else he'd go, he'd be great. Here, he's getting a lot better," Boaz Beard said. "They're wrestling high school state champs everyday. They'll just get that much better."
Goddard's returners were training by the beginning of the school year, extending invitations to younger wrestlers.
"I love it," Means said. "That's the kind of work ethic you just can't teach kids.... Peer example is a much better motivator than some old coach yelling at them.
"When you've got so many state finalists and state champions wrestling each other every day, sometimes their practice partners are better than they're going to see at an event. It just makes them better."
