EMBRACE THE GRIND

HARRIS NOLAND TAKES THE MAT

Carsten Franklin, seasoned wrestling coach, returned home to MDS last year and brought his unique energy to the program. He shares his thoughts on how wrestling shapes young athletes, and what the future holds in store for the wrestling program.

What has been your history with wrestling and the development of the program at MDS?

I was introduced to wrestling in high school at The Westf ield School. It was just something to do, because I was too small to play basketball, unti l I had infl uenti al coaches in the sport: Clint Humphrey, head of school at John Milledge, and Mike Thompson, Westf ield head coach with multi ple state championships. I also found success in the sport as a multi ple-ti me area and state placer and as a state champion. The same can be said for my coaching formati on. Early in my career, I was able to bring on board a lot of great college coaches because of the relati onships I built through the Mercer wrestling program. Former head coaches, Wesley Adams and Austi n Schaekel, were wrestlers at Mercer. My next major period of growth was under former college head coach, nati onal team assistant, and Louisiana state championship coach Andrew Nicola at Brother Marti n High School in New Orleans. Coach Nicola mentored me with exposure to high-level technique and training regimes and showed me what it took to manage and lead a championshipcaliber program.

How do you approach coaching young people?

I hope our wrestlers know fi rst and foremost that God and I love them as men and women. Then I push them to be their best selves on and off the mat. I have always used "embrace the grind" as a mott o for our program and sport as it involves a piece of individual sacrifi ce and having to be comfortable with uncomfortable situati ons that, oft enti mes, gets very litt le recogniti on: early mornings, the maintaining of weight, the hours in bleachers and in hot wrestling rooms, competi ti ons with no student secti on or pep bands; just you, your teammates, coaches and usually some family, but that's what makes wrestling a way of life, not just a sport. Once a wrestler, always a wrestler.

What have been some of the challenges you see with coaching new wrestlers? What do the students struggle with most?

Committi ng to a process that will involve a lot of personal vulnerability. Our job as coaches is to prepare our wrestlers for life and putti ng themselves one-on-one with another athlete is similar to the individual struggles they will have in life. If they can get over the fear of failure and embrace the process of growth, then we are doing our job. It's a sport for any physicality as well. Big or small, girl or boy —anybody can wrestle and we encourage any of our students to try it.

What do you hope for the students to achieve or get out of the program?

I hope our students learn life lessons through the sport and become bett er men and women. I hope they experience success and the thrill of victory representi ng their school and teammates!

Have you heard from any wrestling program alumni? What have they shared with you about their experiences or ti me at MDS?

We have a solid group of alumni within the wrestling community, who come back through each off -season and break when they come to town. We inducted a wrestler into the Cavalier Sports Hall of Fame. We're hoping to have our own wrestling room and space for our alumni and families to be proud of and get the state champion wall and the 100-win club up. This is the stuff that makes you proud to come back and show your family and friends the legacy you left for the Cavaliers.

Wrestling Program Our wrestling program has been one of the most successful sports at Mount de Sales, open to both middle and high school students. If your child is interested in trying out for the team or to learn more, please contact Coach Franklin: carsten.franklin@mountdesales.net

College Acceptances

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