Redden preaches patience to help first-time wrestlers at Virginia HS

Photo: Greg Redden (right) speaks to his Bishop Ireton High School wrestling team in Alexandria, Va., where over half are new to the sport this season. (Katie Finn photo)

By Mike Finn

Greg Redden has coached at the highest level in the state of Virginia and understands what it takes for a high school wrestler to reach the highest level.

“I’ve had national prep finalists and multiple state champs,” said Redden, referring to when he coached at Woodside High School in Newport News, Va., in the 1990s. “It was a brand-new school and we didn’t have a senior class my first year. Most of the kids I got had never wrestled before, but by the time they are juniors and seniors, they were competing at the state level.”

Getting the most out of high school wrestlers, who don’t start until they are in high school, is also something Redden faced had when he returned to his native Alexandria, Va., and coached an even less experienced group at Bishop Ireton High School for a second time three seasons ago.

“This is a small school, where nine out of 10 kids have never wrestled before,” said Redden, who has a roster of 22 student-athletes. “This year was super abnormal. I have three kids who have two or three years of experience. Normally for most of them, it’s their first time in the process and most of these kids think of wrestling as the WWE and jumping off ropes. They don’t understand how structured everything is.”

Facing such a challenge takes patience from a coach and Redden credits the legendary high school wrestling coach Gary Embrey, who coached Redden to a state championship in 1989 while wrestling for Embrey at Edison High School.

He also said he has some upperclassmen who serve as role models for his younger wrestlers, but even the experienced wrestler needs help.

“It’s about enjoying the process,” he said. “You can’t run before you walk. Learning how to break things down, where one move takes five different steps. We’re not really focused on winning and losing and just making sure they have the attitude and effort, which is so big.

“No matter if they walk off the mat as a winner or loser, I’m going to find something positive in the match and build from there. You don’t need to tell a young man that he just lost and you don’t need to tell him that he won. A lot of times, you need to explain what happened. Just by breaking things down and having the kids learn the process and slowly speeding it up.

“That’s when the building blocks of small confidence starts and all of a sudden, he gets his first stand-up, cut-away. When you are five years old learning these moves, you don’t have so many outside distractions that high school students have.”

Over half of Redden’s 22-member team are freshmen, who are new to the sport like Emmet Keating, who had never wrestled before and now could be one of five rookies on the team who will receive varsity experience … despite being on a wrestling mat for the first time a month earlier.

“It’s fun but it’s hard to simulate the amount of intensity that happens in a match,” said Keating, who wrestles at 113 pounds … and has dealt with a lot more losses than victories this true rookie season.

“It’s a little bit aggravating because I don’t feel like I have a fair shot. But it’s also getting easier because I think I’m getting better so it’s easier to keep positive because you know you are improving … simply by how much longer I’ve lasted in matches.

“But my coach has done a good job of making sure we’re not getting thrown into a match against a national qualifier. He also waits to see where you are at; what are your strengths and weaknesses and then he starts working on what I need to get better.”

Redden said you have to be honest with these young men who are at an age when they are learning the realities of both life and sports.

“You have to be honest with them because the results are right in front of them,” Redden said. “They are walking off the mat with their heads down and defeated. At that moment, I don’t say anything. I usually get them hydrated and back up and pull them away independently.

“When we go over circumstances they were in and realize what they did good and what tweaks we need to do to fix it and you see a change in their faces. Yes, the ‘L’ is a loss, but for me, it also stands for learning.”

Redden is aware that number of high school boys wrestling has grown and believe those numbers include newbies, including many who have participated in other sports but believe wrestling can make them better in other parts of life.

“We had a kid come out a couple years ago who was a goalie for our lacrosse team,” Redden said.  “He wanted to work on his lateral movements. He ended up being ranked as high as No. 3 in the state as a first-year heavyweight.

“This is what happens to these kids who never wrestled before. Four years in high school goes fast and suddenly, they are in college or choosing what they want to do as an adult. The self-confidence instilled in these young men will help them with that first interview they have when they are looking for a job.

“That young man is going to face three people sitting across from him and he’s going to have the self-confidence to turn things around and ask them, ‘Why do they want him.’ 

“I have some alumni come back and tell me what they’ve done, whether they are a Navy SEAL or in the (FBI) or they own a $56 million company. It’s absolute fun to build these young men.”

Especially for those who realized it’s never too late to start wrestling.