The varsity wrestling teams at Berne-Knox-Westerlo and Voorheesville are now being led by young coaches — Dan Dodard and Taylor Treadgold — who don’t have much coaching experience, but have a lot of wrestling knowledge.

It wasn’t long ago that Dodard and Treadgold, who know each other — “his best friend is roommates with my best friend,” Dodard says — were wrestling on the mats. Dodard, 25, was an athlete for Albany High, and Treadgold, almost 23, wrestled for Voorheesville before graduating in 2010; he made States in his senior year.

Dodard received a list of 95 things about managing the BKW wrestling program from Jeff Vogel, the longtime coach who needed to take at least a year off for “personal and professional reasons,” he told The Enterprise. Dodard said that Vogel has been advising him and Matt Casullo, the new junior-varsity coach.

“Matt and I call him the ‘Wrestling God,’” said Dodard of Vogel. “We look up to him like a father; he makes sure everything is going well. It’s hard for him to stay away from wrestling and he’s more than welcome to give me whatever I need. I talk to him every day.”

Vogel’s “to-do list” for Dodard, who had never been a head coach, included tips about pre-season preparations, off-season obligations, never-ending paperwork, physicals, online accounts, dealing with referees, and getting to know parents and students.

“It’s going pretty well with a few challenges so far, but it’s a great experience,” said Dodard, who lives in Cohoes and works as a food-service manager at Daughters of Sarah Senior Community in Albany. “Returning back to wrestling has been the most enjoyable part. I get to share my skills.”

Dodard graduated from Albany High in 2008, and then tried to wrestle while attending Morrisville State College, but it didn’t work out. He ended up assisting the coach at Morrisville before transferring to Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh to obtain a degree in early childhood education. Before being hired by BKW, Dodard volunteered as a wrestling coach at Albany High.

“I feel welcomed by the community,” Dodard said of BKW. “As long as these guys work hard, they’re doing OK with me. It’s a wrestling family — we keep nothing from each other. We’re always talking about the plans of the day, and what we need to work on.”

Dodard expects a 110-percent effort from his wrestlers every day. “If it’s your first year, you should work hard and finish the season,” he said. “If you’re returning to the team, you should try to do better than you did last year.”

Making sure every wrestler keeps his or her weight has been the most challenging aspect of coaching, Dodard said. “Being healthy is the most important, and some kids are more honest than others,” he said, mentioning that he’s already had to sit down and talk with a freshman wrestler who wasn’t eating enough. “You just explain to them that wrestling can be tough, but your personal health is more important. We don’t want you to be weak.”

The rules of wrestling change every year, Dodard says, and one regulation that he finds strange is headgear for girls, which has to be attached to a hair net. BKW has one female wrestler, Alexis Hergal, at 138 pounds.

The number of female wrestlers in high school has been increasing in recent years. “I’ve never seen this many girls on teams, ever,” said Dodard, mentioning that Schoharie has two girls. “It’s good; they’re stepping up to the challenge of being as tough as the guys.”

In one of Dodard’s meetings, he said, “Win like a man, lose like a man,” but he says that he wanted to correct that statement for Hergal. “But she didn’t care,” Dodard added. “She came up and told me to treat her like one of the guys.”

Now surveying the scene as a head coach, Dodard said that male wrestlers have no problems with going up against a girl. “They just go,” he said. “It’s just another wrestler.”

The Bulldogs have two captains: Rob Haas at 152 pounds, and Cody Fisher at 138 pounds. Dodard said that they’re great role models. Also, he said that Jake Wideman and Devin McGill are very focused wrestlers with a lot of faith in themselves.

“They give me a look like, ‘I’m going to do my thing,’” Dodard said. “They’ve created their own style and always win, which makes me happy.”

Initially, some BKW athletes didn’t want to wrestle without Vogel as head coach, said Dodard. But they came around.

“I made it clear that I’m not going to make big changes,” Dodard concluded. “I’m not here to ruin the history of BKW wrestling.”

Treadgold

^{_{Taylor Treadgold calls out to one of his Voorheesville wrestlers during the Bulldog Invitational in Berne on Dec.6; he’s the new varsity wrestling coach for the Blackbirds. Treadgold is a 2010 graduate of Voorheesville and coached the Blackbirds’ modified wrestling team before taking over the varsity. The Enterprise — Michael Koff}} 

Treadgold replaced his former Voorheesville coach, Matt Robinson, after coaching the modified team for the last two seasons. Robinson, who now teaches English and coaches football at Troy High, said that Treadgold is one of the smartest wrestlers he knows.

Voorheesville has only six varsity wrestlers. There are 14 weight classes.

“I’m really trying to keep the team strong and the motivation high,” said Treadgold, who wrestled at Williams College for a year before transferring to the University of Albany. “We have low numbers, but high commitment.”

As a whole, wrestling is in a transitional, adapting period, Treadgold said. However, he has no overarching answer as to why.

“It’s old school versus new school and looking at it as a lifestyle versus just a sport,” added Treadgold; he tries to teach a conservative offense. “In the 1980s, it was pure physicality, hardcore wrestling. Now, you have to attack your opponent in an intelligent manner. We’ll see where it goes.”

Not far removed from competing, Treadgold has been getting used to a different mentality as a coach. He didn’t have much time to prepare for the varsity job, but assisting Robinson last year definitely helped.

“As a wrestler, you’re focusing on yourself,” Treadgold said. “As a coach, you’re getting the kids to grasp the techniques and idea that you’re trying to portray. I’ve learned quickly.”

The most important element in wrestling is mental toughness, said Treadgold. Wrestling, he said, has the “most adversity of any sport. Every day, you’re running, doing calisthenics, strenuous activities, and sometimes on little food. You always push your mind and body.”

Treadgold says that Voorheesville’s toughest wrestlers are Nick Pidgeon, Robert Epps, and Caleb Hitt. The Birds may have a small team, but it allows Treadgold to focus on each athlete equally.