The Vision Quest Podcast
A podcast about life, sports, and life in sports! Enjoy!
The Vision Quest Podcast
#113 From Florida Mats to College Leadership: Scotti Sentes's Journey
Coach Scotti Sentes shares his journey from wrestling in diapers at age two to transforming Campbell University's wrestling program and his upcoming transition to the Wrestlers in Business Network. His story reveals how wrestling shapes character, develops work ethic, and creates lifelong connections while highlighting the importance of making the sport fun alongside pursuing excellence.
• Started wrestling at two years old in Florida with his entire family involved in the sport
• Father was a former high school wrestler who recognized wrestling's value in getting his own life on track
• Majored in English and Poetry at Central Michigan University while balancing Division I wrestling
• Had his first child during junior year of college, forcing quick maturation and exceptional time management
• Transitioned directly into coaching at Cal Poly after graduation
• Transformed Campbell's program from a struggling team to conference champions
• Led the program through COVID challenges during his first year as head coach
• Recently raised $100,000 for Campbell Wrestling before announcing his departure
• Joining Wrestlers in Business Network to help connect wrestlers with career opportunities after college
I'm excited about being able to help wrestling at all levels through this new position. There's never a good time to leave coaching, but this opportunity will allow me to make a wider impact while still maintaining the connections I've built.
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and cut. That's what I'll do for the music now. Cut it short. So, uh, everybody, thanks for joining us. Typically, we're live. Uh, we've changed things up a little bit. Uh, we are just going back to recorded. It's a lot easier, it's a little more flexible for the guys we talk to, because these guys have busy lives. Um, this is a an episode of the vision quest podcast. You guys are listening to it. Some of you might see clips later on when I put them out, but we are talking to currently coach scotty sentez of campbell wrestling. Thank you for joining me, coach. It's been a while. We talked about this a couple times in the future, in the past, and now we got it together. So thank you for taking the time to join me. I appreciate it yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 3:Just so you know, that intro got me fired up. That music just gets your blood boiling it was a local guy too.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to use the whole vision quest theme song because I didn't want to get, you know, sued or things like that. So I was like, hey, come up my own thing. Local guy was like, hey, what can you come up with for me? I said, here's what I like. I like a little bit of crazy, you know. Like I I'm a country guy but I'm not like tim mcgraw, right, like I'm that weird jamie johnson type country that brought back old school. So he kind of mixed that with a little bit of like rock. It's fun. It's fun.
Speaker 2:I'm glad it fired you up because we're gonna get going here. We got some, we got some talking to do. So exciting year so far for you, with some changes coming up that we'll talk about in a little bit. But obviously, like we always do on the show, we kind of talk about your whole life, right. We kind of talk about things leading up into wrestling and we're not going to kind of dive into, like I told you, what your favorite cereals were. We'll talk a little bit about parents Support systems are always big for wrestlers, right, and things like that. So where were your beginnings? I guess wrestling wise. I know you came from Florida, right, um, so you're, you're a Southern boy. Wrestling wasn't, I guess, huge then, but I mean we still got, you know, guys like uh, um, oh, I'm trying to think, a couple of guys that came out of Florida in the past, but it just hasn't been huge. So what was that like for you being in florida and coming up in a wrestling environment? Was that sparse, fighting competition?
Speaker 3:I mean, we went all over um. I started wrestling when I was two years old. I had diapers on. So there's a match of me wrestling eric grahalis, you know, with street shoes on, you know I had, I'd tip my rollerblades off and put my wrestling shoes on and wrestled him.
Speaker 3:So um wrestled my whole life. My my dad coached. He was the first in our, you know, first ever as a wrestler and he loved it. He got my brother into it, who's six years older than me. He went on to wrestle at University of Michigan, okay, and then my sister wrestled. So my dad was one of the early people putting females in wrestling. She's three years older than me and then I came up and you know we were that family. Every Saturday we were loading in the car and driving three hours north to Bradenton, florida, to wrestle the same two people every weekend. You know we were that family.
Speaker 2:I love this mix of you. Know there are a lot of guys out there that had parents that were either high-level athletes, you know things like that, and then you got the kids that, well, my parents never wrestled, they didn't play any sports, so they had no clue what was going on with me, whereas you're you're kind of the middle of the road now where your dad was. You know he was involved in sports, obviously knew about sport, got you guys all involved in sports, or in wrestling especially. But where was he in wrestling? Was your dad a wrestler?
Speaker 3:yeah, he was a wrestler in high school. He wasn't like a college wrestler or anything like that, but I think he was pretty troubled uh, troubled kid he tells talks about his, his history and I think it was a rough. He had a rough life and wrestling kind of got him on track and so he put us in it. He just knew the values that wrestling instilled and and so it became a big part of our family my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister. He coached, you know, when he got out of coaching he still finds way in. I mean, he's just one of those guys that loves wrestling and and and off on us a little bit.
Speaker 2:That's awesome and I think a lot of times too. You know I have a. My older, my youngest, liam, is 17. I played high level sports when I was. When I was younger, I played soccer. That was my gig. But knowing just you know things have changed, right. So the things that you went through cause watching some of your video, like 2011, central Michigan, stuff like that and watching some of the matches you had, um, and just the competition that you had to go through was your dad, I guess, aware of? Uh, and obviously you had connections with other coaches but was he aware of, like, all these tournaments that were out there? Because you said you started young you're and your siblings were in it? Were you going to like tulsa's and things like that as a kid? Like what was your dad's theory on that?
Speaker 3:yeah, no, we were going all over, though. I had a coach, uh, like a national coach. His name was joe blasucci, phenomenal coach. He's kind of I mean, he's one of those razor edge coaches where, like the what, you either hate him or you love him. There's no in between. So most of the state hates the guy, but he's awesome.
Speaker 3:He would take all of us knuckleheads up and all around the country doing nhca duels, which was really big, yeah, and uh, you know, super 32, we did that, I think, um, okay, on that time it just, uh, people didn't know who was good and who wasn't good. Flow wrestling had just come out. Yeah, weren't all these rankings? Um, and so I was a little bit under the radar, you know, I had, you know, they're even historically, I'm, I'm, I've had I'm the most super 32 medals or something, right, like I think I have like five or something crazy like that. And uh, you know, once, and and uh, still, people didn't know you, because at that point, when I started at super 32, it was in a high school gym wow, school gym. We we stayed in a, uh, a trailer out back like, uh, like an rv. We stayed in an rv. There was four of us. I slept on the floor of an rv and got up and wrestled in super 32 and I say I say that's awesome.
Speaker 2:In a sense of that must have been, you know, like fun to you know, especially thinking about but at the time probably not awesome sleeping on the floor.
Speaker 3:It was so he had a legendary coach and uh, he, he's so good he passed away, um, yeah, but but he was an incredible, he made it so fun, like right we had wrestling class. We played games half the time. It was like we played football for practice and then the other half was live wrestling and and, uh, he was, he's actually part of uh, he owned a carnival, and so we'd all work in the summer and that's how we paid for summer camp, and so it was like a carny coming up, you know, um that sounds like.
Speaker 3:Florida, though, that sounds like yeah, and that's what would pay for our events and and things like that would go and help them work and, dude, it was just such great memories traveling around and earning our keep, right like our parents were paying for our camps, and he gave us the opportunity to earn it. And so, uh, we were.
Speaker 2:We were learning how to work and earn our own money it's like thinking about the palmers wrestling bears at like circuses and stuff like that, when those guys I was taking little kids money and they try to pop the balloon and I just spray on it so that it would roll off it you know, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:So much fun, so much fun to be had. So I mean, it's not like you were so to me, you, you're, you're placing at high school state at eighth grade, you're one of them, my, my, joba suitsucci, will never let me hear the end of it.
Speaker 3:He said I, I got too high, got too high, you know, with the boots in.
Speaker 2:So you know, I was just watching you wrestle zach thomas and uh from michigan and I'm pretty sure I heard the same thing watching boots, don't get too high, he can feel it. He can feel it so well. We'll talk about that a little bit too, because I kind of it was fun watching you wrestle, especially against Tyler Graff, and you had mentioned that he he beat you up at Midlands but then you'd be at NCAAs and I think that was the match I watched. But it's it's interesting to see the, the, the contrast and background.
Speaker 2:So, like you said, your dad was a high school wrestling coach but he had a great network, it sounds like, with these other guys that he's able to get you in touch with and have you around and with that type of wrestling around. Was that what do you feel like? That was really kind of the beginning of florida, kind of coming up in wrestling, because I mean, we're talking about states like, right now, georgia and those that that have been coming up right. It's been kind of a slow climb but making their way up. Was that kind of a starting to a starting point of florida wrestling because I was in the middle of it, right.
Speaker 3:But you had brandon florida. That was one of the best teams in the country, you know. You had fozart. You had the grahalis brothers. You know, I mean you, you had a lot of really great wrestlers winning and competing well in fargo and national event south dade was really good at that time. Um, we've always had some really good wrestlers. Um, I think Florida's, you know, doing a lot of the right things right now. I know they got BB Train down there. They got a couple different really great clubs that are growing and, you know, getting more and more wrestlers into freestyle, which I think is really important. I had never wrestled freestyle coming up. Okay, you know, that's probably why I became such a good top wrestler is I never had to transition between styles and but I don't know when it started or where it's good it's always seemed like they've had some good wrestlers. It's just maybe, maybe the depth's not always there, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, For sure, and that could speak for you know any a couple of different States out there. It's not just florida, but I mean it's. It's just great to see now, especially you got mako down there. You're like you're talking about, you got you got lugo, who just moved his his stuff down there, so it's definitely not just sitting around waiting anymore. They're definitely doing stuff down there. So it's it's good to see. As you were kind of growing up as a kid, where you was that was wrestling, something like it were. Were you trying other sports, was wrestling. Only the thing Was that it your dad only had you on the one track, or was he kind of like you guys got to try other stuff? You?
Speaker 3:were that guy I was. I was the dude. When I hit eighth grade, they helped me back a year because I wasn't big enough to wrestle in high school. I was that. I'm just your typical wrestling guy. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Okay, I didn't have such good grades. The only way they could hold me back was put me in a private school. So they had to shift me over to a private Christian school just in order to hold me back because my grades were so good. They said they were going to hold me back. I said, okay, good luck, I'm going to get straight. A's right. Yeah, so we were that family. We were a little bit of the crazy wrestling family. It ended up working out, I think, a lot of big, big doors open for me because I was able to mature a little bit and and grow a little bit and and obviously I got a little more opportunity because of that.
Speaker 2:so it was a smart move, but at the time you don't want to do it yeah well, yeah sure, well, it wasn't like it was any like cattle prods, like carrie colat and things like that. Right, like you know like that so it's, yeah, it worked out.
Speaker 2:it worked out for what you guys are doing and the way you guys are going about it. And there's no shame in a lot of that when I, when I hear about guys you know just different ways that they come up there's always something you can take away from something, right? I mean, are there things now that you do in your coaching that kind of goes along with what you kind of learned coming up?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'd say the biggest thing over time is is have fun, have the kids have fun. You know, I learned a lot of that from chris hayward who was my high school coach, and I think my dad was real serious with my older brother and he was a little less successful and with me he sort of took a step back from being a coach and just was a dad with me and it made it I had a lot more success. So I always try to, you know, kind of meet the kid where he's at, try to try to make it fun. I think that's really important for our sport. I think, um, you know it's already hard enough as it is. You don't need to run, run somebody in the ground that's trying their best, right that's true, very true, and I run into that.
Speaker 2:I mean god still, and I'm not even the coach anymore with my son as a parent, you know, trying to not hammer home too much, but I've always expected 110 percent. That, like I'm not a tech, I don know a technique like these guys do anymore. It's different, right, I wrestled until my junior year and I was horrible. So I kind of reserve a lot of that stuff for the coaches and I'm just the guy that expects, you know, just give me the energy. I just need the energy. As long as I see it, the rest will come with it, right? So where were you in the eyes of trying to, you know, just having having such, you know, a good background, as far as just a solid background in wrestling coming up, what was, what were your thoughts towards college and wrestling? Where were you? Were you thinking about already as a freshman in high school, like, hey, I can't wait till your phone calls, like what were your thoughts towards it? Just kind of going into the process, especially with the people you have around you?
Speaker 3:I was clueless as the college wrestling right. Yeah, um, I went to the michigan camp every year but I was the guy that my brother would get mad at me because I wouldn't do the intensive camp, I just wanted to the technique camp. It's summertime, I'm not trying to run and do push-ups, brother, you know. Um, look at the end of the camp when they do the, the tournament day, I'll beat the crap out of all your other, your buddy, buddy's friends and right Like um. So I just was a little bit clueless. I just really liked wrestling. I had a little bit of an edge to me, a little bit of a out of high school, probably a wild side, and at that time I knew I was going to college, but it wasn't anything I thought of.
Speaker 3:I went and visited central Michigan. I had a bunch of visits lined up and, uh, I'm sort of a you know, pull the trigger kind of guy. I loved it, canceled all my visits, yeah, right. And he went to talk to me about what the scholarship was looking like. I said, talk to my parents about that, like I'm coming here. Yeah, I didn't. It just, uh, I knew what I wanted to do. I was laser focused. I went there, I saw what tom was doing. I could tell, yeah, he was going to hold me accountable and I knew at least I was mature enough to know I needed that. And uh, and like I said I, that guy definitely changed my life because I think, uh, I don't know if I would have made it in a lot of other programs, but uh, he, he got me right.
Speaker 2:And he got me right really fast I've heard some really good things about coach. Barely in as far as and I've never met the guy. I've only watched duels, things like that and seen a couple interviews. But I've heard a lot of good things about him in general, especially once the retirement came around, and people kind of asking questions about him. They're like man, he's helped so many kids. It definitely sounds like that's the kind of guy he was. I would take it that you probably learned a lot from Coach Borealy when it comes to the coaching aspect of it, along with your dad, you know. I mean, your dad's still a part of that group. But where, where were your? What were your intentions when you went into college wrestling because a lot of kids obviously are going to go in for their four years, maybe they're done right were you, because you talked about getting into freestyle late? Did you find yourself liking freestyle at all?
Speaker 3:were you like no, I didn't like freestyle until I got to to campbell and worked under carrie and then I was exposed to it because tom tom didn't really do me. We would have the rtc freestyle but we just were doing folk style, right. And then he might send us to an event and I I wouldn't know the rules. I'd pick somebody up in a double leg and walk out of bounds with them and give them a point, like I had no idea what was going on and um, and so I didn't get into freestyle until later.
Speaker 3:Like I said, I was just wrestling because it was fun, I loved winning, I enjoyed winning, I knew it just kind of kept me on the straight and narrow. That was the reason why I got good grades at the time was because of wrestling and it wasn't until, you know, I met my now wife and we had a kid that I had. I grew up really quick, right, I was in college. So that's when I started to figure out okay, what am I doing the rest of my life, right, what do I want to do for a career? And kind of had to snap into it pretty quick.
Speaker 2:So you went to, you got an English major at Central Michigan, right.
Speaker 3:English and poetry. It only takes a couple extra classes to get that. Throw that in there, you know.
Speaker 2:Okay, it only takes a couple extra classes to get that. Throw that in there, you know, okay. So the arts so we have the arts under control where? So because of that, okay, because that's I mean, that's still not in like a totally easy unless you're good at it, right, you have to dedicate a certain amount of time to that, right? So how? And you got good grades, so how do? That's a big thing that we try to talk about on here is like the the work slash life balance when it comes to school. I, that's a big thing that we try to talk about on here is like the the work slash life balance when it comes to school. I mean, that's not an easy degree, as much as people want to say. Oh, it's an English degree, it's not easy. I wanted to go to school for that and I was like, oh no, I'm not doing that.
Speaker 3:It's hard. There's a lot of books I was going learn how to talk to people, how to communicate with people, how to write emails, how to get my ideas across, and I thought coaching you know English would help with that right Learning how to structure an argument, learning how to communicate, and so I did it.
Speaker 3:when I got to the later levels. I just, I mean, I was in that classroom raising my hand. I was talking to people. I had a guy named, you know, pete Puckett, who's now a professor. I swear he would spoon feed it to me like I was a baby. He would say read this paragraph. I would read it and he'd say what does that mean? I'd say I have no clue, and he'd walk me through the whole thing. Right, and I would just bring him a pizza.
Speaker 3:You know he was like you know, second string guy on the team and just super smart and I'd bring him a pizza and just have him baby it to me until I figured it out. What took him? Probably 10 minutes, took me an hour, but I would. I would grind at it and figure it out, you know.
Speaker 2:But you had that dude that gave you the angle right. He gave you that angle to figure it out, which is key. I mean, a lot of guys think that going to college is like oh yeah, it's just. No, it's not like high school at all. When it comes to education, anything, it's all different. It's all, yeah, you go into a classroom, things like that, but the focus is different. Now you have. I tried to explain this to Liam. I said you're getting paid to be here. This is now kind of a job, so you have to learn that balance of what you're doing. The thing that I have a question on, though, is that you started early. Your your Cal Poly college coaching career started right after college, wasn't it?
Speaker 3:Yep Fresh out of college.
Speaker 2:Went right to work with Brennan Buckley at Cal Pauly. How does how? Okay, because I know there are going to be some kids and parents with questions like this, because there are kids that want to stick in wrestling right, this is their goal is when they're done. You know. Well, I really want to be in wrestling, but I don't know what I have to do to stay in it. What? What does it take? If that's your goal, what does it take to jump into a career like that and that quickly? Was it just someone needing a hand and reaching out, or did they reach out to you? How does that networking work out like that?
Speaker 3:Oh, I don't remember exactly how that one worked, obviously in division one. You know college wrestling. I think having success gives you a little bit of a leg up. You know they're looking for workout partners, um, but there's a lot more that goes behind the scenes in coaching. You know they're. They're looking for people to help them with their budget, help them with, you know, recruiting and fundraising. They're looking for people, uh, to help them with their budget sheets, to to do the paperwork. I mean, there's a lot more to it that people don't don't see.
Speaker 3:And so, um, being able to go and actually talk to people and and and meet people, and and, uh, having a good reputation from your coach, that you're going to work hard and that you're going to, you're going to learn and that you're going to do what's needed to be done.
Speaker 3:That's the best thing about um, you know, being a wrestler is you have a coach. That's that's going to tell the truth about you, and that's why every employer is going to be able to reach out to a coach and say what do you know about this? Because I'm telling you, tom Borelli knows how I act when I'm tired. He knows what I'm going to do when things get hard and you really have four or five years in college to make a really great reputation for yourself and I tried really hard to make sure I had a good reputation with Tom Borelli and my teammates. Yourself and you know I I tried really hard to make sure I had a good reputation with with with tom borelli and my teammates because, um, I knew, I knew people would ask questions down the road about me good to know, good to know, keep your nose clean, do the right thing and and and honestly, most of the guys that want to stay within the sport typically, you know, are all right.
Speaker 2:You know for the most part, but things happen and just, I think the big thing to me, because that's what liam wants to stick with it. You know he wants to. I want to coach and things like that. It's like kind of I say you can't just walk into an rtc job, man like you, you have to. You know there's, there's work that still goes into it and it's, like you said, reputation, guys knowing that you're willing to work and things like that, whereas if people start hearing that you're just dropping the ball and stuff constantly, they're not going to want you around. So, and that's any employer, right, that's any employer. Any employer finds that out about you. That's what they're going to say. So, with with kind of, with your transition from sports into coaching, how were, how were your because I mean, you were already talking about, you know, being married and stuff too right, being in college, right?
Speaker 3:yeah, I didn't. Well, I had my son. Um, yeah, he's. He's going into high school next year. I had him when I was a junior in college okay, okay get married until a little bit later um yep but had to grow up really quick. Had to work through college. You know um had to figure out.
Speaker 2:Yeah that's another interesting thing, because how do you have time for a job when you're practicing as much and then you're also, uh, you know you're practicing as much and then you're also, uh, you know you studying and things like that, like we're time management Like, you do what you need to do and you do as hard as you can do it.
Speaker 3:And uh, you know every wrestler does that, right, I mean sure you know some sleepless nights. I got to get up, throw the weight around. You got to put your head in the books, you got to do what you need to do and perform at the same level, if not better, than your classmates, even though they went to bed at four o'clock. You were up working out or doing what you needed to do. You still got to get up and outperform those guys in the classroom. And you know you just develop and try to develop an elite level mindset is what you try to do and you just do what needs to get done. It's as simple as that. Do what needs to get done.
Speaker 2:So you're, you're, you're a grinder, you're a guy that it doesn't matter what's in front of you to get it done. I mean I and I, I don't do this. I always tell everybody this, I don't do digging Like. I watched some of your matches, right, I didn't look to see who you dealt with in the past and I'm listening to you. It's like holy cow, like you, you're working, you had kids, you had, you know, you had a relationship, you had sports and then you had school and you dealt with all of that and still graduated with a major and a minor and you still were able to get into coaching ASAP. So that says a lot, right. I mean there's a lot of character there. And we also talk about you know the, the the time that you spend, you know, doing those things, the more that you realize the hard work pays off, kind of thing, and you know instant gratification. Were you ever at a point where you wanted to quit wrestling?
Speaker 3:If, if, if you've ever wrestled, come on, you've been to that point. You know like it's like the quote you got to do what you hate, to do Like you love it. Sometimes I would say I was, I loved it a lot more than I ever hated it. And and I, when I got to college, I loved it. I love, I loved the grind, you know. But there were times in middle school or you know, um that, that you get bored with it or yeah, things were really easy at the time, but when it got harder and it was challenging, I enjoyed it.
Speaker 3:I'm one of those guys guys that love winning more than I hate losing. Like a loss. I can get over pretty quick and that's probably. I wasn't as good of a wrestler as some, but I always thought I was going to win. I loved winning. I liked the trash talk even more than winning. Okay, it gave me an edge. It's like I could bounce back quick from somebody taking me down early or losing a tournament, I mean, where most guys they, they can't dust themselves off it. I naturally I didn't matter to me. I was already past it. I wanted to win the next one, right, okay okay, man, they get it, we get a.
Speaker 2:We have to get like your genetics. Put it in a bottle, you know, like, and then we need to save that because that needs to like go through generations. In my opinion it's it's To me it's what's missing in a lot of stuff, right? I don't think it's necessarily missing the kids. It's missing in parenting, like just trying to push your kids to that point, whether they're in sports or not.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you got to do whatever you got to do to make something happen right, and I've failed. You know I've done plenty in the past that I've just failed on it. I just failed on it. I didn't do what I had to do. But there are a lot of situations as you have kids. I had same thing with me with my oldest son, like I didn't want to have kids but I had to all of a sudden become mentally and financially prepared for a child. Just got to do it. You know you just got to do it. So, as you get into this coaching position at Cal Poly, I always think it's interesting for you're on. You're on one area of the country and you went over to the next area of the country. What was that like for you going there, especially having family and things like that. How was that transition for you guys?
Speaker 3:It was tough. I mean I think I went up for the first couple of months by myself. I had to leave my wife and son because I had to find a place to live. I had to earn enough money to where I could bring her here. We went there with nothing and Cal Poly was so expensive Uh, I was losing money every month. So we were broke. But we loved coaching we.
Speaker 3:The areas is phenomenal. I mean the education you get there is phenomenal. I mean it's uh. If you've never looked into Cal Poly, it's, it's uh. There's. There's very few places in the world like Cal Poly. And so we had a lot of fun and and and met a lot of really cool people there and and uh. But, like I said, it was it wasn't a place at that time. The support that that we were getting, I mean as an assistant coach, we were, we were losing money, right, we were, we were paying to be there and coach and uh. So so eventually had to move on and, yeah, you know, move took, took the job at campbell a couple years down the road yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:It was like two or three years or something like that and you wound up there and then what was the? What was the draw? Was it because you didn't even know about campbell? You had no idea campbell existed until carrie called you. But he called you and that it was just a proposal like hey, we'd really like to come kind of come up with a more professional in the beginning of just. We really want you to join the team, come check it out, kind of thing. How did that go for you?
Speaker 3:And so I had to leave. You know, cal Poly, my job at the time, brendan Buckley. He's the head coach, and any time a head coach leaves, if you're an assistant, you're scratching your head trying to figure out what you're going to do. So he took the executive director job at Beat the Streets, has done a phenomenal job there, and he was moving to New York. So you know, I don't know what I'm going to do. And I had a couple of schools reach out, some some really good ones, and there were actually some other opportunities that I really wanted to do. But my wife they were, they were where it's cold, right, and she's like we're not doing it Right, um, at that she had just gotten used to California.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:She wasn't ready to make that, that move and um, and so I listened to to. Carrie came down and kind of saw what he was he was trying to do here at the time. They were really bad. I mean, they were almost not allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament because their grades were so poor. I think they were like you might have to look it up four and 11 or two and 11. They were really really bad. I came there, andrew Morgan followed me. It was basically Cal Poly's best wrestler and it was turned around in a year. We were able to pull together a really good recruiting class and we went from 11 or whatever the record was, to winning the conference, later having our first All-American in Nathan Kreiser and they started investing a lot at that time built a new wrestling room, did a lot of really cool things for the for the program and it was fun.
Speaker 3:It was really fun to be a part of part of that growth and just how fast the game was pretty amazing so in, and then you get there in time for who was it?
Speaker 2:I don't know how soon after covet hit, but we always we're going to have the c word around for a little bit and discussions as far as wrestling goes. But the? Uh, covet hit and what? What was it like at number one at campbell for covet? Um, because it's a smaller program, right, and, and you know, small things get impacted by large things differently. So how was that? Was there an air of like kind of caution of what could happen around there after co? You know, when covet was going on like this could end the program. Possibly Was there any kind of talk like that at all at the time?
Speaker 3:No, not at the time. So so here's what happened. So, right before COVID came, canceled the NCAA tournament. That was Kerry's last year, right. So after it was canceled, colette left, the athletic director left. There was some leadership that left.
Speaker 3:There was a lot of really big changes in that time, and so it was my first year ever being a head coach. It was my athletic director's first year. Omar Banks, we've gone through two athletic directors. Now we're on the second. It was both our first times being a leader, right, and I think that first year, right after Colat left, we lost 17 guys just because they had come there for carry, and you know, 17 guys left, and so we had to basically rebuild it all, and so to be able to bounce back and win the conference tournament after losing 17 guys was pretty surprising and it was really hard, because you know we have Duke right up the road and we do have medical school uh, do school and so we were very, very cautious, um, with everything with COVID, and we had such a large roster that we would have to split our practices into two, and, uh, we'd have all these cleaning things we had to do in between practices, and then if anyone got COVID.
Speaker 3:It was on the coaches to to take care of them, to deliver food. So we were there from 6 AM to 7 PM as coaches, monday through Friday. And and just because we we, you know, we all wanted to be at both practices, we have to make sure they get food, which we try to rotate. You're waiting for these kids to come out, cause you're not allowed to give it to them, you're not allowed to go to their door, so you had to like. It was like wow, it was the weirdest thing. And, um, thank goodness I have I've gotten really lucky with the coaches that I've been able to hire um, and and they've made all these things a lot easier than than they probably could have been. Um, but it was, it was a really tough.
Speaker 2:It was a really tough time to lead, for sure yeah, yeah, especially when it's, I mean, your first time around, right like now you have. You have enough red tape as it is. Now you add 5 000 more strips of red tape in front of you to get I remember.
Speaker 3:I remember one rule. It was uh, this is ridiculous. We could run in a circle to warm up in one direction but if one person faced the other direction, everyone's contact traced. So one person would stop and turn around and tie their shoe and they were like contact trace and they're writing it down and I'm like this is crazy and there was just they wear masks, but go ahead and sweat on each other.
Speaker 3:There were rules that, and at the time I mean honestly I didn't know any better, I was-. Oh, schools that, that, uh, and at the time I mean honestly I didn't know any better, I was oh yeah, yeah, any better either. I was doing whatever I needed to do.
Speaker 2:I'm not a doctor I just uh, I thought it was just because we were going through the same stuff here I mean even with just little kids, stuff in middle school but it just threw me that we're having kids wearing masks while they're grabbing each other and sweating on each other like I remember being asked is there any way you can do wrestling without contact?
Speaker 3:and I was like there's no chance, you gotta be kidding me. We're only gonna teach super ducks, that's it.
Speaker 2:That's all we're teaching, and then, as soon as you're down, I'm just like this you're out, okay, we're good. That's crazy. So you, you were thrown into a challenging time. You made success out of it. So I and that's kind of what I've too, reading through some of your background is that you started coaching early but you've been doing a fucking phenomenal job, dude, like, even as an assistant coach. You're building, you know all Americans and now you're coming into a small school in North Carolina and you're building a championship-type team. You know, like.
Speaker 2:So that sticks out in my head is just the knowledge of, of like, okay, what does this guy do? Is this a money ball thing for him? Can you see things in guys that some coaches don't? You know, right, and I'm not, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you know it's the end of the world kind of thing, like people should stop and study it, but it just it. It sticks out in my brain seeing a young guy like that being able to come up and have that success. So you know what you're doing. What are your goals now? Because we talked a little bit about you going from coaching now into the business world, which is going to help everything. You know, like you said a wide variety of things for wrestlers in the wrestling community. What, what did you find as, uh, the most challenging thing in coaching that you think will help into the new business world here?
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, I mean first of all, thank you for the things you said. That's really nice of you. You know kind of two part. To answer the part of this. I mean I've just been surrounded by some really good people. I've gotten lucky with some some hires and and I've leaned a lot on on on the group around me and so it's not like a one-man thing, it's a. You get a little bit lucky sometimes with the hires you make and I've made some some really good hires each year. I mean, I mean I've been surrounded by some really good people, um, just in terms of coaching staff and things like that.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, going into this next role, um, one thing I've always preached and I've believed in is setting guys up for the rest of their lives. I really care about wrestling. Wrestling is very important in my family. My dad's part of the Florida Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame. My brother's a wrestling coach. He actually was an AD. He wanted to touch more kids' lives and be closer to the action. He left his AD job to go back to coaching. Our whole family has as sort of um, we're about changing people's lives. You know, um, I I that's more important to me than the wins and the losses and and when wrestlers and business network reached out. I knew about the nwca, um, I know about mike moyer, I know that you know he. He genuinely cares about wrestling on the high school and the college level more than any other organization I've ever seen, and I can speak that to fact.
Speaker 3:I've seen the values, their mission statement and they would amaze you if you were to read these things and they're written in a way that I mean, one of the things is integrity, right, it's, it's he's genuinely looking out for the betterment of every college program, every high school program, and and that that impressed me. And and, uh, you know, to be a part of something I think can, can help protect wrestling long term, the wrestlers and business network. I think that's. That's exciting. You know I, like I said, I can only reach so many people as a college coach and I get a chance to really help wrestling on all levels and I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 3:I mean, I still have a lot to learn. I'm not there yet. I've just been studying. I understand what the mission is now. I've read into a lot of the strategies, some of these. I'm not allowed to talk about them yet. Sure, yeah, I'm very impressed with, with the integrity of, of the organization, like to read behind the scenes and see it. You don't know what, what, what people are thinking. It's a. It's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2:It's good, well, and I think, uh, I think, just with the brain power that you've shown and things like that it's, I think obviously it's it's going to be a good step. I can see the things that you're talking about and kind of envision what you're trying to put together and it does work. I mean we talked about it earlier how many of these kids that are going into college when they're, you know, they're so, they're so sports driven that that that piece outside of that just is not clicking right. They just don't think about it quite yet. But to be able to have services like yours and and community leaders around that they have connections with, and things like that, if they have guys like you around, they could put it in place with them.
Speaker 3:It only helps, right, I mean there's nobody more prepared prepared for the workforce than wrestlers. There's nobody more prepared and, uh, it's just giving them the opportunities. I think that we're so focused and so driven while we're in college on focusing on the schoolwork, focusing on the wrestling, focus on performing, adapting, that sometimes we miss out on planning for the future, and that's kind of where we come in is to make it easy on them. Just fill this thing out, open the doors, let them decide, because they are like, I've been there as a, as a head coach, and I've had WIBN, reach out and uh, and, and you know it's important, but you're just so driven on what's in front of you as, as as a competitor, whether it be as a coach or, uh, an athlete, um, that I think an organization like this is extremely important for our sport. Right on that. I think an organization like this is extremely important for our sport.
Speaker 2:Right on. You know you mentioned a couple of things as far as missions and things like that. You've been on a mission. So the question I have now is that a hundred thousand dollars in a couple of weeks, right Like you killed it in fundraising is now I the only thing that I? I it's not a question in a bad way, but I ask is were you able and wanted because a lot of times coaches kind of you know they're like, well, I'm done here. You know it's kind of like not that they give up, they're just kind of like relinquishing what they need to do, kind of thing but you kept going and you you got that amount. I feel like it's is it an indicator of who might be staying is? Did they announce a head coach at all at Campbell?
Speaker 3:No, they're talking to people. They're talking to people in-house. They're talking to people out of house. They talked to the team. They told the team hey, we're in communication with hiring new coaches. I'm there if they want to use me or have questions. I know they're reaching out. They're talking to other coaches and asking about other coaches, and and so they're. They're doing their work to try to find the the right person okay you know, a lot of respect you for doing that.
Speaker 2:But I mean because, I mean again, a lot of coaches are like I'm, you know, I'm, I'm done with the I'm done coaching of the program. It's not that they didn't like it or anything, they're just kind of done. So they stopped doing it. You're still working. So it kind of the conspiracy theory in my brain says that you kind of know who is taking over and it's someone that's there. You don't want to leave them with something that's not, you know, not good. But obviously that's just me being a conspiracy theorist, so I tried to get that out of there.
Speaker 3:But now here's the honest truth. Like the alumni and the former coaches, I'm like they're genuine close friends of mine. That'll like they're genuine close friends of mine that'll be friends of mine for the rest of my life, like really close with you know, I just went to church today with with coach jerry hartman, who coached in the 80s, right, yeah, yeah and so um it's awesome sort of the connections that I've made here and the friendships that I made. I you know you have a responsibility to do a really good job and uh you know I wasn't thinking about leaving.
Speaker 3:I, I was thinking about leaving when I was fundraising, but it wasn't decided. Sure, sure, yeah, once we kind of hit that, hit, hit it. Um, you know, I felt a little better about about, uh, you know, moving on and it being in a good place for somebody else to come in, and that you know they'll have some, some resources to work with, and, uh, there's never a good time to leave. There's always kids that you feel bad, bad leaving behind, and you know friends and connections, and and there's there's never a good time and it just seemed like the best, the best time I was going to get, and this was a great opportunity where I'll still be able to help those guys and still be able to have those relationships.
Speaker 2:Well, congrats to you on that jump. You know it's going to be. It's going to be. It's going to be fun to watch you from there?
Speaker 3:are you going to have to relocate? Do you move or do you get to stay where you're at? Yeah, so I'll work remotely for july and then august I'll move up to pennsylvania all right, all right.
Speaker 2:Well, dude, I it's been fun watching you coach. It's been fun watching you and just watching some of the matches I've been able to see and and seeing you coach the years Cause I tell you we've been going to super 32 since, I think since Carrie started there and then when you kind of started, like Liam was still he was young little kid, right and I didn't I had no idea Campbell existed, just like you guys. And we're just driving around North Carolina after super 32. I'm like that's there's Campbell university, campbell University right there. We just wound up driving past it. Lee was like it's kind of a cool campus. So you guys kind of sparked that thing in an eight-year-old brain already, just seeing campus and being able to see a college. But I'm excited for the next steps you're taking. Again, we're excited to see what you do. It's a great thing that you did for the university and the program itself, because again, a lot of guys just kind of walk away. They're like, oh, this is what you got, kind of thing. You at least had the wherewithal to think of a program and say I want to leave it. Better, you know, maybe, than what I, than what I came into or you know whatever it is, so that that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Um, you have something to get to to take care of the rest of the day. Here today you have. You have kids that have stuff going on, so we want to get out of your hair. We appreciate you joining us. Um, you ever want to hop on and talk about stuff with wibn, feel free to hit us up. I'm sure you guys have your own network of where we get in touch with two of that stuff, but we're willing to have you on. But it was great being able to talk to you, coach, and, uh, good luck in the future. You got any shout outs you want to give here?
Speaker 3:no, I don't man, but I I appreciate it. Like I said, we'll stay in touch. Man, I love what I love your guys's twitter account and stuff, so, um, yeah man once I get situated, maybe I'll reach back out. We'll talk some more about what I'm doing there all right, man.
Speaker 2:Um, I'm gonna hit some music here quick. I just want to talk to you once for once. I hit end, uh and uh, we'll talk for a minute. We'll be done. But everybody, this has been another episode of the vision quest podcast with coach scotty sent us. Appreciate it, man.
