Thank you.

Posted on May 15, 2015 by CoachDiaz — Leave a comment

The origins of “Hostile”

If you have ever been around our wrestlers, then you’ve heard this word. We use it to break our huddles and end every practice. When Hagerty High School first opened in 2005, we only had one class: the freshmen. I had been hired to start the first ever wrestling program in school history. Hearing the high pitched squeals of that first group of thirteen and fourteen year olds yell “Huskies!” at the end of every practice was not going to cut it. We needed something aggressive. We needed an identity.

Eventually, we settled on “HOSTILE!” as our rallying cry. We started to develop a style that was aggressive and fun to wrestle. We might not win every match, but you were going to hate having to wrestle us. We were going to stay in the center, get our hands on you, be physical, and aggressively WORK for takedowns, turns, and pins. I firmly believed that if we focused on this, the wins would take care of themselves. This mentality has been the backbone of our program ever since.

After ten years as head wrestling coach, I have decided that I am ready to shift gears. I will always be thankful to Hagerty’s first principal, Mr. Momary and Christy Bryce, our first athletic director for allowing me the opportunity to start the Hagerty Wrestling program. As my children grow older, I look forward to following them around and watching them alongside my wife participate in whatever sports or activities they choose. For this reason, I am resigning as the head wrestling coach at Hagerty High School. The amount of commitment necessary to maintain the tradition of excellence here is simply more than I can offer. If I can’t coach the way that I feel it should be done, or offer the same level of commitment that I expect from my wrestlers, then it is time to step down. Wrestling is simply not a sport that you can do “sometimes” if you expect to be successful.

My proudest achievement after 10 years of coaching here has nothing to do with the amount of trophies, medals, tournament champions, state qualifiers, or placers that have been developed here. There were many accomplishments on the mat, but witnessing the growth of so many young men and women has meant so much more to me. It was never just about winning. If all an athlete got out of wrestling here was a state championship, then I failed them as a coach. Instead, I am most proud of the fact that our program has graduated so many outstanding young men and women. The lessons learned from wrestling has served them well in life. Not only were you all great wrestlers, but you were great kids and you continue to make myself and your family proud.

Happily, I plan to continue to be involved in this great sport. I will work as an official and you may see me at a tournament or two, only this time I’ll be wearing stripes instead of our familiar “H.” I look forward to introducing my children to wrestling and watching them compete and have as much fun as possible.

The search is already underway for a new head coach. The administration will be looking for the best coaching talent who will act as the best fit for Hagerty High School. I look forward to working with the new coaching staff to ensure that there is a smooth transition. This is an amazing school to be a teacher and coach and I expect that the job will not stay vacant for long.

It has been a humbling experience and an honor to work with the wrestlers and families here. The support system made up of our parents and fans is second to none. Thank you to the administration for supporting the program and giving me the freedom to take chances and grow our program. Thank you to every single coach that I have had the pleasure of coaching with. Your enthusiasm and love for the sport made coming to practice every day a joy. I am confident that the wrestling program will continue to be a strong part of Hagerty Athletics, and I look forward to becoming another fan in the stands.