This summer, the wrestling team found out they would be getting a new coach for the upcoming season. Joe Wood replaced former coach Jon Thomas, who had given a notice to gym teacher Gary Harlan in the spring about his leaving. Thomas left his role because of his engagement and the time commitment of being a coach.

Wood started wrestling when he was 10 years old. He wrestled in high school at Clarkston and was all-state twice. He then moved onto wrestling at Eastern Michigan University in the U.S. Olympic Education Center.

“I started coaching right after that,” Wood said. “I coached at Rochester for a few years and Waterford Kettering and then spent a bulk of my time at Oxford where we were in a successful program.”

Wood has international experience as well.

“I’ve been all over the world: Bulgaria, Germany,” he said.

As the new coach, he said he intends to build onto the program throughout the course of the season, which began in November and lasts until March.

“I expected to come in and put a lot of work in,” Wood said.

Several players said they are enthusiastic about the change in the coaching staff.

“I like him. He’s bringing a new vibe to the program. He’s getting more kids out,” junior Joey Mason, one of the team’s captains, said. “He’s really brought a new way of teaching to the table.”

Mason had known the previous coach for a long time.

“It was sad to see him leave,” he said. “But I’ve got high hopes for the team.”

Senior Hamza Khan said he shares Mason’s optimism.

“He definitely has a lot of experience and connections, and he’s really knowledgeable about the sport,” Khan said. “Change is good.”

Players noted changes in the program beyond the new coach.

“The intensity has increased a lot from last year,” sophomore Silas Yang said.

Sophomore Zenon Stepien agreed.

“Practice has become a lot more structured, which I think is good because it helps us learn the moves better,” he said. “It’s also a lot more intense this year. He’s shown us a new perspective because he has coached at a lot of places before Troy High, and he brought along with him a lot of moves that the other coach hadn’t showed us.”

Harlan, who previously coached the wrestling team, said he is confident in Wood.

“When I stopped coaching wrestling here after 30 years, I looked for people [to coach] and he was interested in it,” Harlan said. “He’s a good guy. He works well with the kids and he knows a lot about wrestling.”

Harlan said that although “change is always tumultuous,” he thinks Wood will do well.

“From the wrestlers’ stand point, initially, it’s upsetting,” he said. “But I think this is great. I think Joe is going to do a great job coaching wrestlers here at Troy High.”