Former Jefferson star building upon his legacy
JEFFERSON, Ga. (BVM) — When Doug Thurmond stepped down as the head wrestling coach at Jefferson High School in 2019, he left having turned the school into a perennial powerhouse. During his time there, he led the Dragons to 18 traditional state championships and 18 dual state championships. Filling his shoes was going to be something that the next guy up would have a challenge doing.
So when they hired Kyle Baird, a Jefferson alum and former four-time state champion, they figured he鈥檇 be the guy for the job. They were right. Baird was well-versed in the wrestling world, having also been a collegiate wrestler at Gardner-Webb. But above all else, his mindset entering the position was one that gave him an advantage. He didn鈥檛 want to be seen as 鈥渇illing someone鈥檚 shoes.鈥� He wants to create his own legacy.
鈥淔or the longest time, everybody knows Jefferson. We are good, we are going to win state. My ultimate goal is to be in the same category as Blair Academy and Wyoming Seminary,鈥� Baird said. 鈥淲hen you get the right coaches around you and teach your kids the right things, those goals aren鈥檛 too hard to reach.鈥�
Entering the realm of those schools he mentioned would mean making Jefferson a national threat. Blair Academy out of New Jersey has 40 national prep championships and 17 NCAA championships won by its alumni. Wyoming Seminary out of Pennsylvania was the 2020 national prep champion.聽
Winning at a high level on a consistent basis like these schools is something that Baird did during his career. And if it weren鈥檛 for injury troubles, he could have continued doing so on the NCAA stage. Baird underwent four shoulder surgeries throughout his career, and during that time, he realized that coaching up success rather than generating it on the mat himself may be in his future.
鈥淚 had my second (shoulder) surgery. I was going to Webb at the time. I鈥檇 drive back and forth from Gardner-Webb to Jefferson, GA. which was a two-hour drive,鈥� Baird said. 鈥淚 was doing that every day to come back and coach our high school team on the side. I knew then, during year two or three of college, that I would be coaching.鈥�
When he was hired as the head coach of Jefferson, it was all of those years of hard work and dedication to the sport paying him back. Returning to his alma mater to take the lead job was something exciting, fulfilling and even odd.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool for me and kind of odd for them (his former teachers),鈥� Baird said. 鈥淏ecause they know me as a student and now they are getting to know me as a professional.鈥�
But they better get used to seeing him as a professional because he鈥檒l likely be around for a while. If his career is any indication, he鈥檒l probably be a solid coach. The fact that he鈥檚 a four-time state champion gives him a coaching edge with his athletes. He never talks about it himself, but the wrestlers know who he is, and they respect what he鈥檚 done.
Besides that, though, his athletes respect his coaching because he gets dirty with them. He鈥檚 active during practice, making sure to strap on the headgear and demonstrate something if so needed.
鈥淚 get on the mat with them, show them what they are doing wrong,鈥� Baird said. 鈥淪ome coaches don’t have that ability but I鈥檝e got enough left in me to do those things.鈥�
So far, his small sample size as head coach is validating that he can be successful. At this year鈥檚 state tournament, the Dragons had one fifth-place finisher, one third-place finisher, and eight finalists. Of those eight finalists, six were either freshmen or sophomores. They had three state champs.聽
鈥淲e pretty well dominated the tournament.鈥� Baird said.聽
Because the school has had such a rich history of winning, the community has certain expectations surrounding the wrestling program. Moving forward, Baird will continue to improve his coaching game as best he can, adapting to yearly change. He wants to consummate the team鈥檚 results with the town鈥檚 expectations.
