By Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Sweet Home Coach Steve Thorpe has been named National Coach of the Year for boys wrestling by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
The announcement, made July 30, marked the first time a Sweet Home coach has received the honor. Thorpe was named the Section 8 Coach of the Year, for eight western states, in 1999 by the organization, but this is the first time he’s won the national award.
In 25 years as head coach at Sweet Home, Thorpe has won six state championships, finished second six times and finished third or fourth in six other years.
“It’s very humbling,” he said last week, following the announcement. “But its also speaks volumes about what we do in this program now, from Mat Club through high school.”
At Sweet Home Thorpe has coached 182 state place-winners, including 30 individual state champions – four this year, as the Huskies won the team title and placed 12 wrestlers. Sweet Home’s dual record, with Thorpe at the helm, is 627-137-1.
Michael Garcia, who coaches at Basha High School in Arizona, was named to the honor for girls wrestling.
“Both Coach Thorpe and Coach Garcia and their squads demonstrated a very high level of excellence and perseverance through one of the most trying seasons on record, due to the extreme impact of COVID-19,” an announcement from the NWCA stated.
Garcia has been “intimately” involved in the proposal to add girls wrestling as a high school sport in Arizona and currently sits on various state committees to help continue developing the sport of girls wrestling in Arizona, according to the NWCA. This season, his squad captured the state girls championship with 14 state qualifiers, nine placers, and three individual state champions.
Also honored, as National Assistant Coaching Staffs of the Year, are, for the boys, Plainview High School (Nebraska), and for the girls, Waverly-Shell Rock High School (Iowa).
Thorpe, who chairs the Ore-gon Wrestling Association and is a national board member for USA Wrestling, said when COVID hit he started responding early.
He and his son Travis live-streamed virtual practices three times a week from their home on the OWA’s Facebook page, which went viral. He also started lining up opportunities for the state’s national-level wrestlers and for Sweet Home athletes to compete, since Oregon authorities had banned all competition within the state. Local wrestlers went to Idaho, Utah and Arizona, and other states to compete in tournaments like the Freakshow, the Western States Championships, the COVID Crush and more.
Thorpe noted that at the Western States Pre-Season Championships last October in Farminton, Utah, one-third of the competitors were from Oregon.
Plus, once restrictions were lifted on interscholastic sports in Oregon, Thorpe organized state championship tournaments for every division in the state, including the 2A/1A Division tournament, which was held June 25-26 at Sweet Home High School.
“I worked very hard this year, not just for Sweet Home, but for Oregon wrestling,” he acknowledged. “My heart is Sweet Home first, but that award speaks quite a bit about the efforts I put in on behalf of the state.
“We did everything we could. It wasn’t just me. It was parents taking kids, taking advantage of opportunities. We stayed connected with our kids, not just for wrest-ling reasons, but for their mental health. That’s something I’m pretty proud of, how proactive we were, staying connected with our wrestlers.”
“The past year and a half has not been easy on anyone,” said Mike Moyer, NWCA executive director.
“However, on a daily basis, we continue to hear amazing stories of wrestlers and coaches finding ways in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic to continue training and competing. This just goes to show how committed our wrestling community is to give opportunities to our youth to learn and grow from the many lessons our sport teaches.
“Our entire nation of coaches and athletes need to give themselves a pat on the back for their exceptional efforts. It is my honor to help recognize each of our outstanding head coaches and Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year. You have each made a huge impact on our world as you have taken the time to invest in the lives of young student-athletes who will move forward and continue to make our world a brighter place.”
Thorpe said his success is shared.
“I surround myself with good people,” he said, noting that his staff was named the 4A Division Coaching Staff of the Year by the OWA after the Huskies won the state title this year.
He said he also appreciates the fact that the national award comes from the NWCA.
“This is the National Wrestling Coaches Association,” he said. “This is my peers. This is not an organization that does all sports. This is the wrestling association of the United States. I feel very humbled to get honored like this.”
So what’s next?
“I’ve had a few people ask me, ‘Are you done now?’ No, we’re not done. Things are coming back and we’ve already set goals and we’re working toward those goals for next year.”