Wrestling season is right around the corner and both Saint Louis wrestlers and coaches are gearing up to make it a tremendous season. After a long year of waiting due to COVID-19, Saint Louis wrestling is back and ready to compete. 

With the start of a new season, Head Coach Trent Teruya has high expectations for his wrestling team at all levels, and he intends to prepare them for any challenges they may encounter. For his intermediate wrestlers, Teruya wishes to develop a deep passion and love for the sport in each one of them. “Wrestling is such a hard sport that if you don’t love it, you won’t want to do what it takes to be great,” Teruya states. 

Teruya keeps his expectations high for his JV wrestlers and wishes for them to push themselves to become a starter at the varsity level, which in turn will push the higher level guys so they do not lose their spot. “Push that starter for their spot week in and week out. Make them look over their shoulder constantly,“ he exclaims.

At the highest level of his team, Teruya wants his varsity wrestlers to dominate. He calls on them to, “WIN. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day. ” Apart from that, Teruya hopes that when they leave Saint Louis, they will leave a lasting impression on the team. To do this, he desires that his varsity wrestlers pay it forward and develop the next generation of crusader wrestlers.

Teruya intends to train and motivate his squad in order for them to be able to meet and overcome any obstacles that come their way. Teruya designs practice to push his wrestlers to their limits, both physically and psychologically, to make them better each day. He says, “You just need to be one percent better than you were last practice,” and he feels that this is the sort of work that his wrestlers must put in on a daily basis to achieve greatness on the mat.

Teruya has also restructured his coaching staff and brought in fresh faces to better prepare his squad. He says, “It’s my job to find the best coaches for the team and do what needs to be done to put together a winning staff to support a winning team.” 

Teruya put together a young coaching staff that knows how to win and who will pass that knowledge down to the wrestlers at Saint Louis. He explains, “some new faces include KJ Pascua a 4x State Finalist and 2x State Champion, Koko Pascua, a State Champion, and Colby Watase, a 4x ILH and State Placer.” Also, all these new faces were a part of a back-to-back state championship team and will help to build up Saint Louis to hopefully accomplish a team state championship. 

Teruya believes that it will be a big help that these new coaches are still young and able to wrestle the varsity wrestlers and give them good looks. “I feel like it was important to bring in guys who could actually wrestle with the team and who have actually been there,” says Teruya.

With a new coaching staff and a practice schedule that will push the Saint wrestling team, Teruya will build a team of strong wrestlers with a championship mindset. This mindset will show on the mat and will help the Saint Louis wrestling team make a run for state gold.