Coaches excited about new wrestling program at EHS
El Dorado is making an addition to its list of sports for boys and girls to participate in for the 202021 school year with the inclusion of wrestling.
The addition is a significant one with El Dorado now serving as the lone school in south Arkansas to have a wrestling program.
The season is expected to start in November with co-head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Cherokee Streetman leading the program.
“I think that was the best way to do it with both of us having experience and being able to help build the program from the starting point and see what happens from there,” Streetman said. “I think it's a good way to show the kids that we don't have to have a head coach, just kind of a group effort. I think that was a good idea, and me and coach Johnson are on board for that.”
A meeting will be held next week to gauge interest from students.
“We're going to have our first interest meeting in Google meets next week,” Johnson said. “We put it out there. We emailed every kid from upcoming seniors to upcoming ninth-graders and told them that if they were interested, we're having this interest meeting, and we'll see what kind of involvement it is.”
Johnson coached the sport in Louisiana while Streetman was a novice to wrestling when he joined Dustin Grimmett at Little Rock
Christian.
“I never wrestled in high school, and my third job was at Little Rock Christian. Coach Dustin Grimmett, the head wrestling coach at Little Rock Christian, taught me everything that I know about wrestling,” Streetman said. “I was there with him for three years, and I love it almost as much as I love football.”
Streetman continually inquired to athletic director Phillip Lansdell if El Dorado would pick up the sport, and that question has been answered.
“When I got hired here at El Dorado, my first question was, `Coach, do we have a wrestling
team?' He was like, ‘No, but there's been some talk about wanting one and having one,' so I kind of kept bugging coach Lansdell, and eventually it happened.”
Both coaches credited Greg Hatcher, the founder of the Arkansas Wrestling Association, for the growth of the sport in the state and for El Dorado adding it.
“I graduated from El Dorado, and we didn't have wrestling here,” Johnson said. “Arkansas did not have wrestling until Mr. Hatcher got it started, and it's taken off like wildfire. Everybody in Little Rock wrestles.
“Everybody in Hot Springs wrestles. Everybody north of Little Rock pretty much wrestles. They're trying to expand it, and he thought that if El Dorado was on the program, then maybe the rest of south Arkansas will fall into place and bring wrestling down here. He's donated some of the stuff for us.”
Said Streetman, “He completely brought wrestling to the state of Arkansas. It's unbelievable how much it's grown. My first year when I got to the state tournament, I was like, ‘OK, this is a little bit bigger than I thought it was.' This year when me and coach Johnson went, it's huge. There's fans going crazy, it's an awesome atmosphere. A lot of that is thanks to Greg Hatcher and the people that he's around that helps it grow.”
One area that Johnson is concerned with is the possibility of having to do a lot of traveling during the season.
“Right now, we're going to have to do a lot of traveling,” Johnson said. “I don't think people are going to want to leave Little Rock when you can wrestle 30 minutes away and come all the way to El Dorado to wrestle and turn around and go back home. Hopefully, we can start getting people interested in it and other school districts will see what a great sport it is.”
There is also the possibility of going to Louisiana to wrestle schools as well, but should that occur, there is a question of whether or not those results will factor in getting to qualify for the state tournament.
“That's one of the things we've been looking into,” Johnson said. “I know that Ruston wrestles. I know at least two of the schools in Monroe wrestles, and when I coaching in Lafayette, we came all the way to Bossier City to wrestle, so I know that those schools wrestle.
“Now whether or not we get to wrestle them or can we count that for Arkansas, these are all still things that are in the works on whether or not you can qualify for state by wrestling out of state. As of right now, I think we're going to have to have so many matches in the state to be considered for state.”
Johnson added that El Dorado would likely be paired with Hot Springs, Hot Springs Lakeside and Lake Hamilton for conference matches.
Although their debut may be several months away, Streetman said he is ready to get started once it is safe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I'm excited to get it going,” Streetman said.