Wrestling Becoming Dinosaur

By VINCE KOWALICK

Jan. 12, 1997 12 AM PT

Bob Hammond is the only wrestling coach in the history of Chatsworth High. Sadly, Hammond likely will be the school’s last wrestling coach.

Hammond, who witnessed the birth of City Section wrestling in 1972, is enjoying one of his best teams in 25 years. The Chancellors (14-2) have won three tournaments and are stocked with close to 30 wrestlers, an above-average total.

“It’s been so long since we’ve won any tournaments,” Hammond said. “Morale is sky-high.”

What Hammond doesn’t enjoy, is watching wrestling in the City fade away. And neither do his coaching brethren.

Because of a combination of factors that include a shortage of qualified coaches and budgetary problems within the L.A. Unified School District, a field of 21 City wrestling teams has dwindled over the years to eight, seven of which are in the San Fernando Valley. And there are no signs of resurgence.

Within the past six years, wrestling mats have been rolled up and relegated to storage at Franklin, Fremont, Gardena, Jefferson and Wilson highs, largely because coaching vacancies have gone unfilled.

Programs at Van Nuys, Manual Arts and Sylmar all perished soon after the departure of Bill Lake, coach at Granada Hills since 1982.

Coach Terry Fischer of El Camino Real, who presides over perhaps the City’s strongest program, says this year’s team is the best in his six seasons as coach. But Fischer’s departure from North Hollywood in 1987 subsequently signaled an end to the Huskies’ program.

“It’s fading,” Fischer said. “But the last eight schools, we’re going to hang on as long as we can.”

Or as long as the current coaches remain. Simply stated, when they go, so too, in all likelihood, will their programs.

Lake, who says he is six or seven years away from retirement, said he is certain.

“It will die, as far as I know,” Lake said. “There just aren’t that many wrestling coaches around. And when the coach leaves, the school doesn’t try to hire a coach and keep the program going.”

Said Hammond: “If I didn’t find a replacement at my school, no one would replace me. Athletic budgets are skimpy.”

Alas, it seems only a matter of time before City wrestling is dead as the dodo bird.

“Wrestling is not a big sport in this area, anyway,” said former El Camino Real Coach Milt Goffman, who led the Conquistadores to four City titles during his tenure from 1972-91. “The [Southern Section] also is having problems. You hear about schools slowly but surely dropping programs.

“But they have [about 500] schools. If one or two drop out, no one notices.”

Southern Section wrestling programs are healthier than City programs for a variety of reasons.

Foremost, coaches generally are paid more for their services than their City counterparts, providing a greater incentive to coach.

Moreover, many Southern Section schools employ walk-on coaches, while City programs are required to be supervised by credentialed district employees, most of whom are teachers who double as coaches.

“I would guess that about half the [Southern Section] schools have walk-on coaches,” said San Fernando Coach Mike Castillo, who serves as City Section wrestling coordinator and as a member of the state wrestling advisory committee.

“[In the City], you have an older faculty with less coaches coming in. Older people on staff are credentialed, but they don’t want to coach.”

At least not wrestling.

Goffman cited a lack of young wrestling coaches overall as a contributing factor to the decline of wrestling at the high school level.

Many junior colleges and universities have dropped their wrestling programs in recent years, resulting in fewer coaches entering high schools with extensive wrestling backgrounds.

Moorpark is the only junior college in the region with a wrestling program.

“There are only 200 or so wrestlers [in the City],” Goffman said. “If 10 of them decide to become teachers and come back to the district, maybe one of them will want to be a wrestling coach.

“There might be a resurgence. But it would take two or four young guys coming out of universities who are willing to coach wrestling.”

Until then, the coaching veterans will continue to carry on.

“I can’t guarantee anything,” Lake of Granada Hills said. “I have these mats here. When I leave, I hope things go on.”