By Evie Olding
For the Sidney Daily News
Last year, Lehman Catholic High School welcomed its new wrestling coach, Major Redmon, filling a vacancy left by the absence of a team in the prior season. Not only does Redmon possess extensive wrestling experience from his high school years, but he also is actively collaborating with neighboring county schools to strengthen Lehman’s wrestling program.
Before coaching for Lehman, Redmon started off coaching for Sidney youth. Shortly after coaching for Sidney youth, he heard that Lehman was in need of a coach and decided that from there he wanted to build off of the wrestling program that Lehman had.
“Everyone has been super supportive on getting it started,” Redmon said. “There are a lot of good athletes (at Lehman). It is a good foundation.”
During his time with Sidney youth, Redmon was given the opportunity to meet both middle school and high school coaches from neighboring county schools. He eventually collaborated with Sidney High School’s wrestling coach, Nathan McClain.
“He is a great guy,” Redmon said. “He has bent over backward to help us get started and he’s been fantastic to work with.”
Both the Sidney and Lehman wrestling families are distinctively intertwined. One of Sidney High School’s assistant wrestling coaches, Ethan Knapke, is a Lehman alumnus, while his younger brother, Joshua Knapke, is a wrestler at Lehman Catholic High School.
Lehman’s wrestling team has been given the opportunity to practice with Sidney High School’s wrestlers. Combining practices provides both teams with exposure to different opponents. This collaborative effort highlights the strong connection between the two wrestling communities.
“It is a big wrestling family,” Redmon said. “Sidney has three really good coaches and they want to help grow the sport.”
Both teams have joined each other in a few tournaments. Lehman’s wrestling team usually copies Sidney’s wrestling schedule, and even fit some of Lehman’s wrestlers into some of the open weight classes that Sidney has.
Not only has Redmon and his team collaborated with Sidney High School’s wrestling team, but he also is adding a few things to the wrestling program at Lehman this year. Redmon stated that Sammy Sasso, all-American wrestler from Ohio State, will be joining Redmon on June 28 to do different sessions for each age group.
“He is going to kind of show some people the basics and some more advanced things for those that are able,” Redmon said. “He is a very quick and technical wrestler, so it will be good for people to learn from.”
Redmon also stated that he is excited to start Lehman’s first-ever youth wrestling camp, along with open mats and conditioning. This camp will be for kindergarten through sixth graders and is open to everyone.
“It is open to anyone, no experience necessary and we are willing to train,” Redmon said. “Youth is just so much fun.”
The Open Mats will be on June 4, 12, 18, and 25 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Lehman Catholic High School. The summer wrestling camp with Sammy Sasso will be on June 28 at Lehman Catholic High School.
For more information, visit Lehman’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LehmanCatholic/
