Districts take place on February 11 and 12 in Sidney, Nebraska. The varsity team including Ben Cassit-Reina, Tory Picket-pin, Zane Stoike, Matthew Moomey, Jaden Rodriguez, Ryan Swanson, Mathias Benzel, Tate Thompson, and Jackson Bailey, will all attend districts. They will leave on the bus at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 11, and 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 12.
The wrestling coach, Nick Myers, enjoys coaching. When he first came to Alliance, he was hired as the junior high coach. Myers went to college at Nebraska Wesleyan. He didn’t particularly go to college to coach wrestling because the school did not have wrestling. I asked Myers how he got hired and he replied, “It was under Scott’s wing that I was able to watch and learn about what goes into being a head coach at the varsity level, and how to construct a team that empowers and inspires its members.” He then was told that Coach Ruff wanted to spend more time with his family. So, Myers put in an application to be considered for the job. Thus, he got hired.
Myers loves coaching the Alliance Wrestling team. He exclaimed, “ I LOVE coaching! Similar to not being able to imagine my college experience without football, I cannot imagine teaching without coaching.” The most enjoyable part for coach Myers is seeing the growth of each team member. He also says he enjoys seeing the team going out into the world and achieving new things. Myer’s words to explain this are, “I enjoy seeing former wrestlers go out into the world, achieve what they set out to do, and become contributing leaders in their communities or companies, whether they stay close to home or spread their wings.”
Preparing for districts is going well for the team and according to Coach Myers, “Preparation and confidence are the two biggest factors in your development.” He teaches the kids “to take the fight to people and wrestle to their potential”.
Team member Cassit-Reina says the team does a good job helping each other and keeping the team up on their feet. He states, “We are a good team; we’re like brothers, and we will always be there for each other.” The main tactic used for the team is to stay focused and make sure nothing gets in the way of wrestling. To help prepare, Cassit-Reina states, “the whole team has practice every day. We are working hard, [and] staying focused.” He also says the team does a good job working hard during practice. Cassit-Reina wishes the team the best of luck in their matches. Coach Myers and the AHS spud team wish them luck at districts as well. Good luck!