Crestwood Red Devils’ graduate Max Weatherbee has nothing but great memories while being a member of the wrestling program during his high school days. He will help create new memories for Crestwood athletics after being formally named as the first girls’ wrestling coach on Nov. 12.
“I have always wanted to coach,” Weatherbee told The Weekly Villager on Nov. 20. “I am glad that I am able to coach these girls and get them in the best position that they possibly can be to succeed. I feel like it is in me to coach. It is all new, so I have to learn a lot and how to work with them. I am very excited and very happy for them and I think we are going to do good things this year.”
According to the 2017 alum, he always saw himself returning to wrestling as a coach one way or another. While he may not have anticipated returning to his alma matter to spearhead a new program, it is a challenge he is excited about. The Red Devil girls will officially begin their season when they compete in a wrestling tournament at Madison High School beginning on Dec. 7.
Weatherbee said he had always been interested in coaching wrestling after graduating but his work schedule made it difficult for him to add coaching responsibilities to his plate. In addition to having a more favorable work schedule, he said he was contacted by Coach Dave Wrobel, who coached him during his time at Crestwood, to take the helm as the first Red Devils’ girls’ wrestling coach.
“I know Dave on a personal level and he is a great guy, he is a fantastic guy and he is one of the biggest reasons why I am where I am,” Weatherbee noted. “He reached out to me and presented me with the opportunity, and I took it, so I am forever grateful to him.”
Weatherbee added that his father also served as an inspiration for him wanting to become a coach as he served as a coach for him and his brother throughout their childhood in football and baseball.
While wrestling for Crestwood, Weatherbee was a varsity starter for three years, having missed his junior year due to multiple injuries. Although he was a district alternate in his freshman year, the first-year coach never advanced past the sectional tournament in the next three seasons, falling one match short of a district berth in his sophomore year, missing his junior year due to injuries and struggling to bounce back in his senior year.
Weatherbee acknowledged that despite all of the great memories he had while wrestling for Crestwood, never building a deep postseason run was one of his greatest regrets.
“I think it will help me teach them a lot to just know what I missed out on and can push those girls,” he added. “I don’t know if it is me getting older, but I understand the sport a lot more now and I feel like I can teach them what I should have been doing more correctly and I can kind of get that instilled into them.”
For Weatherbee’s first season at the helm, he will guide a team of eight wrestlers, all of whom are either freshmen or sophomores, but that is not something he sees as a negative.
“It is a young team which is actually really good because that means this year is the first year so it is going to have its ups and downs, but they can come back for the next two years of their high school career and they really have a chance to make a name for themselves,” he said.
In addition to having a young squad, Weatherbee also said that his team is filled with a nice mix of experience as several of his wrestlers have experience wrestling at the middle school level. He noted that having some experienced wrestlers on a young squad will go a long way in bringing some of the less experienced girls along quickly.
Although this will be Crestwood’s first season having a girls’ team, Weatherbee said that has not prevented his team from wanting to set a high bar.
“I can say that there are a few that are eager to get to that state tournament,” he said.
“Those that have wrestled for a few years know what this is about so their goals are set pretty high.”
