Please reiterate your personal history of wrestling at Fox Chapel Area High School and when you started.
I started wrestling at Fox Chapel Area when we moved here as a family in 1988 at 6 years old, and I haven’t really left the program since. I competed for my dad and (former coach) Bob Siar while in high school, winning a section championship in 2000 during my senior season. After leaving Fox Chapel Area, I wrestled at Duquesne University for four years. I was an East Regional Conference Champion in 2004, qualifying me for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. I was recognized as an NWCA Academic All-American in 2004.
How long has the Frank family been involved in growing the wrestling program in the Fox Chapel Area? Did you start the youth program? Do you get involved at all in the Dorseyville Middle School program?
My dad first started coaching wrestling at the middle school in 1975. He became the varsity coach in 1980 and has been involved ever since. The youth program started in the late 1970s with assistance from Ray Schaefer who was the chief of police.
I’ve coached in our youth program at different points over the years. I’m more heavily involved in it currently because my kids are competing.
How long were you an assistant for your dad, and how long have you been the head coach? And then, in total in case you might have gone elsewhere for a while or taken a break?
I’ve been coaching since the fall of 2004 when I finished college and started teaching at Fox Chapel Area. In all, this is the start of year 20 of coaching. I was an assistant for 14 years, and this is year seven as a head coach.
What is your philosophy about coaching? How do you want to be remembered?
From a philosophical standpoint, everything I strive to do as a coach is to help each individual reach their fullest potential in sports, school, and life. I’ve always believed that sports are an incredible way to build life-skills – hard work, accountability, quality habits, goal-setting – all of these things are important in the world of sports, but more importantly to life when your playing days are over. Helping young athletes understand how to utilize these things outside of the sports arena is just as important as winning any title.
I strive to lead by example. I still love to get on the mat and wrestle with my team as many days a week as possible. I love to compete and grind through practices with them to share in that chosen suffering that comes from wrestling practice. I’m a firm believer in having a positive and growth mindset in all facets of life, and I try to lead that way. I try to develop a bond with my athletes that demonstrates high expectations, but also allows for a personal relationships to flourish.
Wrestling has such an interesting balance of being both a team and individual sport, so what we work on, from a technical standpoint range, varies from athlete to athlete. There are certain non-negotiables that we stress with all of our athletes, such as positioning, being in shape, competing whistle to whistle, but the intricate details range from wrestler to wrestler. I’m so lucky to have such a quality coaching staff that we can differentiate what we’re doing with different athletes to maximize their gains.
I want my athletes to remember the relationships that we’ve built on a personal level, not just through sports and as someone who cares for them personally, not just as athletes. I would like to be remembered as someone who is fair and honest; someone who pushes them to reach their fullest potential in all areas of life.
You had some very talented wrestlers last season. Who will you be looking toward to have big contributions this year?
We graduated two starters (Alex Kaufmann and Josh Alexander), along with six seniors who were key contributors. This year we have an even larger group of seniors (13) who have all been a part of our program for quite some time. We will be fortunate to have that much experience and leadership this season, and it will benefit the younger wrestlers and the program as a whole.
Your father always welcomed girls to the program, but you are taking it a step further with the girls program. How is that going and how will it work?
The PIAA finally sanctioned girls wrestling as a sport, and we couldn’t be more excited for it. We piloted a program last year and are very happy with the response that we’ve received. Last season, we had about 15 girls who expressed interest and competed for the team. As of right now, it looks like we’ll have more than 20 girls to start the season.
The start of the girls team was a joint effort among our boys wrestling staff and coaches Laura Ward, Deb Welty and Jason Rivera. There has been a lot of work done among Ron Frank, John Baxter, Mike O’Brien, and myself to make sure we’re continuing to offer the girls a top-notch program.
What are your hobbies? What do you like about them?
My wife and I have four incredible children. Most of our time is spent running from field to field and gym to gym to coach and watch them. My coaching duties extend beyond the high school program. I’m pretty involved in the Fox Chapel Area youth wrestling, baseball, and softball programs.
The one hobby I’ve kept up with is running. My brothers and I meet two or three times a week to run early in the morning. Putting in the work toward a goal is really the most rewarding part about it. We’ll compete in different races throughout the year, but just spending time with each other to catch up and put in some hard work is the best part of it.
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Do you have a year or a group of kids who you remember the most, and what was it about them that stands out in your mind?
So many years and teams blend together that it’s hard to pick out any one specifically. I’ve made a lot of close friendships and bonds over the years with those that I’ve coached, and those I’ve coached with. This goes for both wrestling and the baseball program I was involved with for quite some time.
What is your best memory of Fox Chapel Area wrestling as a coach or personally?
There are so many memories from 35 years of being involved in Fox Chapel Area wrestling, but the one that sticks out the most was when my father won his 400th match as a coach back in 2017 at Plum. Being mat-side as his assistant, after having wrestled for him myself, brought it all full circle for me. It was a testament to everything he has done for this program, but also to all of the teams and individuals that have been involved in Fox Chapel Area wrestling over the years. Seeing former wrestlers there from decades before that showed up that night to help him celebrate meant a lot. It’s definitely something I’ll always remember.