ETV News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
The Dinos are putting time in on the mat for their upcoming wrestling season. Although they have a new coach in Ted Prettyman, this is not his first rodeo. Prettyman has decades of coaching experience, including at the college level. “I love the sport,” said Prettyman.
After serval admittedly lackluster seasons, Carbon is looking to change the culture on the mat. “We have nowhere to go but up,” commented Prettyman. “We should have a pretty good team.” Easton Horsley is the lone, returning state-placer on the team after his third-place finish last year. Prettyman continued, “We have four or five seniors that should be pretty good.”
One nuance this year will be how the sport will be taught. “We will coach the kid depending on their weight. You can’t teach heavy weights the same as your 106 kids,” emphasized Prettyman. “There will be a learning curve.” Small wrestlers will learn quick moves and techniques while heavy wrestlers will polish their throws. This tactic makes sense as the same moves do not work in every weight class. There will also be an additional focus on technique such as hand and foot placement and overall balance.
The Dinos are putting as many talented teams on their schedule as possible. While Carbon’s goal is to foster a winning mentality and be competitive in every match, Prettyman added that, “you can learn a lot from losing to good wrestlers.” The Dinos will face talented teams such as Juab, Emery, Altamont and Union during the year.
Along with success on the mat, Prettyman is hoping that the classroom continues to be a point of emphasis on the team. “The best thing that happened last year was that they were academic state champs. That was great.”
Wrapping up, Prettyman mentioned what an important outlet wrestling and really any sport is for high schoolers. “I’m excited about the season,” concluded Prettyman. “I just hope we have a complete year.”