Now entering his 25th offseason at Star Valley High School and his 35th overall as a wrestling coach, Eddie Clark has seen his approach evolve to fit the needs of his program. The summer of 2023 is clamoring for his athletes’ time as much as any season ever has but he and his staff have a handle on the way to meet lofty expectations.
“We just talk to the kids at the end of the season about what our goals are and we just tell them we’ll take you when we can have you,” he said. “There are so many things like other sports and jobs and a lot of them anymore they drive up to Jackson and work and there are so many things for kids. We are just happy to have them when we have them.”
Already this summer, the area wrestlers have had a chance to work with Troy Steiner, a regular at Star Valley summers. A former world team member and NCAA champion, Steiner also spent ten seasons at Oregon State and currently is the head coach at Fresno State.
“The biggest thing is that wrestling has progressed to where it is so hard to get in on people’s legs. Troy brought a lot of insights and things from guys who are out there. Both Hoopes boys have been able to show us a lot of current things out there. Brigg is the head coach at Southern Virginia and Austin has spent six years out at Penn State and it’s real great to see what’s going on out there. Sometimes it confirms what you’re doing right and other times it helps you adjust the way you do things.”
Recently the wrestlers took their traditional trip to Salina, Utah for their annual summer tournament where they were tested with up to 23 matches over the course of a handful of days.
“The biggest thing about Salina is not wins and losses. It’s getting the new team together,” Clark reiterated. “After your seniors leave you have a new team. The makeup and dynamic of your team changes so much and there’s an adjustment. This week allows that to start. They do 20-23 duals and they hang out and have some fun and it helps to start develop that new team chemistry. We ask kids to get really uncomfortable so this is a time when there’s not a lot of pressure. This is a time where you can let it go and let it all hang out and the kids love it.”
