Kathi Chacon Berreyesa, of Reno recently created a web page about one of Nevada’s most under-recognized sports, wrestling.
Her page, NVSportsLocal, looks at many aspects of college, high school and youth wrestling throughout the state.
There’s a section on diet, tips for people who want to compete in college and loads of action photos.
Berreyesa designed a lively page that includes boys and girls at all levels.
She features perspectives from coaches, and not just those from larger cities. Right off, she thought of her friend, Mike Brooks — a Pershing County alum with five seasons as head wrestling coach under his belt. He coaches high school, middle school and youth wrestling.
Brooks picked up Coach of the Year (2017) and Athletic Director of the Year (2020) awards along the way. Who better to talk about coaching at a small high school? Visit NVSportsLocal to read his remarks in their entirety.
Pershing County High School has about 180 students, split evenly between boys and girls. For the most part, wrestling continues to be a male sport in Lovelock, although girls are welcome to compete. That leaves 85-90 boys.
Any given year, 50 may go out for basketball, another winter sport. As a result, wrestling participation comes in waves.
“Some years, we have 20 or more athletes wrestling. Other years, we have six or seven. The low numbers are frustrating, but at the end of the day, all you can do is coach the kids you have and impact them in a positive way,” he says on Berreyesa’s page.
The wrestling coaches start working with potential athletes at a young age and continue through high school.
Tom, the patriarch, and brother Buzz Brooks make it a family affair. Bobby Gibson joins them in developing the wrestlers.
“This establishes our relationships with the athletes early on and allows them to follow the course of the program in hopes that it will lead to success,” says Brooks. But, he acknowledges the unpredictability of life.
“We’ve had many promising athletes — athletes that we have coached for years and bonded with that have not competed through their senior year. Some of them even had great success,” he says. “I think all schools face this dilemma. However, I do not think that all schools have been forming relationships with these kids for five- plus years before they decide to step away from sports.”
The coach likes to win, calling it the “ultimate goal,” but he emphasizes that winning should not be the sole focus of school sports.
Instead, he advocates using athletics as a way to build character. The kids push themselves to meet the demands of each sport.
“Coaches should push their athletes,” he says. “Athletes should want to be pushed.”
The philosophy has served PCHS well over the years.
In 2019, the Mustangs won the first state wrestling title in school history. They came home to a victory parade down Main Street, complete with wailing sirens and flashing lights.
That year Joaquin Wanner, Dylan Hultenschmidt, Axel Gonzalez, Davis Murphy, Cody Scholl, Marcus Glanton and Elias Allen graduated. As sixth-graders, they were the first to call Brooks “Coach.”
As much as Brooks likes winning, some of his fondest memories involve other types of victories.
“Some of the greatest moments and achievements I have experienced as a coach are not getting a kid to a state championship,” he says. “Rather, it is the kid that is not very talented that had the grit to stick with the sport for five or more years, and eventually earned that medal at a state tournament. Those are the stories I will remember forever and tell to future generations of wrestlers, es=pecially those experiencing frustrations.”
Most of all, Brooks values the camaraderie of sports. “At the local level athletes and coaches have a mutual respect for each other based on the grit that it takes to endure a season of wrestling. Coaches that I have become friends with are doing the same thing that I am attempting to do. They are using a sport they love as an avenue to impact kid’s lives.”
