McNanley, Eagles Search for Success
For Freedom wrestling coach Patrick McNanley, wrestling and success go hand in hand. McNanley, the coach of the first-year Eagles, has been a part of some successful wrestling programs since he started coaching in the late 1990’s. When the need for a head wrestling coach opened up at Freedom, McNanley, who had just bought a new home in the South Riding area where Freedom is located, jumped at the chance. “After my wife and I bought our new house in [South Riding], I knew I was ready for the challenge of starting a new program,” McNanley said.
McNanley began coaching as a volunteer assistant coach at Potomac Falls High in the late 1990’s. After two seasons of being a volunteer, he became the J.V. coach for the Panthers and assisted head coach Kris Kelican and coach Rob Puterio, who won three consecutive district titles. After coaching at Potomac Falls for five years, McNanley left for the assistant varsity coaching position at Dominion High, where he helped lead the Titans to a .500 record in only their second season of existence.
McNanley is optimistic and looks forward to building a successful program at Freedom. Like most coaches of new programs, he knows that you have to get behind the athletes and push them to succeed, while teaching them the basics of competing as individuals and collectively as a team. “Our wrestling program is all about laying a strong foundation for our wrestlers and helping them prepare for life outside of the mat,” McNanley said. “We teach our wrestlers to go hard all of the time, and if you set out to do a job, then do it, and do it the right way.”
A valuable part of building a winning program for a new head coach, McNanley said, is having assistant coaches who share your love for the sport and devotion to the athletes. For McNanley, coaches Greg Northart and Mike Connors do just that. Northart comes from the same Potomac Falls program that McNanley did, so he knows the way things need to be done. Connors comes from a winning program in New Jersey, where he coached a state championship wrestling team in 2004. “I only had two wrestlers enter my room with experience so it has been a real test to teach them the right way to do things,” McNanley said. “We are constantly reinforcing the fact that wins will come if the players will put their trust in us. These two amazing coaches have made my job a lot easier.”
As a new program, the Eagles faced a lot of struggles in their first season, but also grew as a team and identified their strengths, which are numerous. “As a team, we are mentally tough and in amazing shape,” McNanley said. “We finished the season with 15 wrestlers and each of those young men received quality individual instruction.”
McNanley sights the team’s main weakness as not having enough experience, but he feels they gained a lot this first season. “I had first year wrestlers get 35 matches this season and that mat time will make us very strong in the years to come,” McNanley said.
Having wrestlers that assume leadership roles quickly and work to get better every day is also something that McNanley’s program contains. Junior TJ Lange won 22 matches this season and according to McNanley, is a vocal leader who pushes his teammates to succeed daily. Junior George Grivas came into the first season weighing 251 pounds. He knew he could help his team more if he competed at 215 pounds, so he worked hard and lost the 40 pounds to reach his goal. “George leads by example and the team wouldn’t be the same without him,” McNanley said.
With wrestlers like TJ Lange and George Grivas, McNanley knows he can build a strong foundation and move towards getting better after every match and every practice.
“It has been a real fun and rewarding season,” McNanley said. “We only won two matches, but our wrestlers made great strides and it is a nice feeling knowing that we have our whole team returning next season.”
McNanley and his team are looking forward to round two next season, where they will continue to work hard and meet their goals head on. In the case of the Eagles and their coach, success looks sure to follow.
