Wrestling

Our coaching philosophy at RPS can be summed up in a single quote by Howard Fergusson, a now deceased Hall of Fame Wrestling coach who said, “I would rather be known for coaching great men than coaching great wrestlers." He believed, as we do, that wrestling is a vehicle that transports its practitioners toward constant improvement as a person. We strive to have our program produce good people, and in order for that to happen, we must ourselves be good people. Coaches are teachers, and the best teach by example. Our coaches understand and follow this principle.

For us, success is measured in a several ways. The first is when our wrestlers come to realize that success is achieved by personal commitment to a goal, whether it be mastery of a single technique or an increase in the number of pushups they can do. That realization cannot be instilled from without; it must come from within, and our mission is to inspire that attitude. Another measure of success is seen in the wrestler’s refusal to give up, no matter the score, or no matter his opponent's record. That type of success translates well to life. A third measure of success is seeing what kind of people our wrestlers become when they return to the wrestling room years later—which many do, to our great satisfaction.

We could publish past achievements of our wrestlers, from those who have earned multiple County or Tournament Championships to Region Qualifiers to National Titles and All-American status. The achievements of some of our most successful wrestlers have been duly chronicled in the local press and elsewhere. But we know that even those heralded wrestlers understand that this sport and how we approach it has helped them to become better individuals who are prepared for the most important match of all—the one versus life. We believe "There are no losers in wrestling; only those who have not wrestled."

For information about Rutgers Prep wrestling contact mlamb@rutgersprep.org.