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SAHUARITA, Ariz. — A Q&A with Paul Vasquez who is the head wrestling coach for the Sahuarita Mustangs.

How long have you been coaching?

Paul Vasquez: Sixteen Years.

What is your background in this sport?

Vasquez: My Father was a head wrestling coach in Tucson for decades. I grew up around the sport and began competing when I was ten years old. I wrestled in high school at Pueblo High School and at the junior college level at Pima Community College. I began coaching as soon as I was done competing.

Name a person who inspired you to play/coach this sport.

Vasquez: My Dad.

What is the biggest life lesson you鈥檝e learned from being a coach?

Vasquez: Learning to 鈥減lay the game.鈥� Whether it be in wrestling, school, teaching, working or life in general. Learn how things work and use it to your advantage to get ahead.

What are one or two things that the team does in training that are keys to their success?

Vasquez: We are consistent in our training and competition. Year round, we are in the weight room and wrestling room.

We teach the right positions and spend a majority of our teaching time going over details that make the difference between winning and losing those positions. The more you win those positions, the more matches we win.

How do you encourage the team after a disappointing loss?

Vasquez: We acknowledge our mistakes, recognize and work on how to fix them and then we let them know that it鈥檚 not the end of the world. It鈥檚 just a setback. We embrace failure, everyone thinks it鈥檚 a bad word. We fail every day. We have little failures, and we try to improve every time we go out to compete. Competition is our measuring stick and practice is our improvement time.

Describe your proudest coaching moment.

Vasquez: I have 2 moments that I really cherish and they have happened with several kids.

One is that moment when wrestling 鈥渃licks’ ‘ for one of your kids. When they 鈥済et it鈥� after countless hours of training and pushing themselves. You can鈥檛 always point it out when it happens but looking back at a long record of success you can see when it clicked for a kid. Sometimes it鈥檚 a longer moment in time, like an off season, sometimes it鈥檚 one match, sometimes it鈥檚 a win against someone your kid never thought they could beat.

My 2nd moment is going and watching my former wrestler go on and compete in college. Getting to see them compete at the next level and I turn into a fan watching them. I鈥檝e gotten to see my kids compete at college conference championships and national championships (NCAA and NAIA).

What legacy do you hope to leave as a coach?

Vasquez: I hope that when kids move from our program that they speak positively about their experience with our program and with me. That they know they can reach out any time and feel supported by us and our staff, not just with wrestling or school problems but with life issues. I want them to know that we truly care for their wellbeing as a person and along the way we trained them to be able to push through mental and physical challenges. That they can bounce back from losses and/or negative experiences. That we cared and got them prepared for life.

Please share a quote with a message of advice or support for the team:

Vasquez: I am very proud of our kids and our program. Our kids are the hardest working kids on campus and in town. They put in a ton of time year round and have really turned this program into something people want to be a part of. Our kids are not just good wrestlers, they are good people who can push themselves through tough times and tough situations, this will serve them well in life.

Describe the most memorable games/championships your team has competed in.

Vasquez: Our 3 state championships all have their own story. Our first state championship in 2022 was a redemption story. It proved to us that we could get over the hump after finishing 2nd in 鈥�20 and 鈥�21. We did so without our senior leader and captain. He was ranked #1 in the state and broke his arm in December. It was a big blow to our team morale, but we were holding out hope he could come back and wrestle in the postseason. When we got to the postseason, his arm was not ready, and we had to compete without our leader. For the team to come through and compete the way they did was memorable. This team also competed the first undefeated season in school history (28-0), while winning our first state championship in wrestling in school history.

Our 2nd state title in 2023 saw our most successful senior class leave us. A few went on to wrestle in college. That senior class finished 2nd, 2nd, 1st and 1st in their 4 years of high school, never leaving the state championship with a state trophy. This team went 7-1 in the state semifinals and put 7 wrestlers into the state championship finals in their respective weight classes.

Our 3rd state championship in 2024 was memorable because of the struggles. We were not as dominant as previous years despite going undefeated in duals again (22-0). We were not the favorite to win the title and the way the kids battled and came through for each other makes this one memorable. I think that when you are NOT the favorite and still have a chance to win, it makes you a better coach. It gives a bigger challenge. You have to coach your best and your kids have to compete their best as the margin for error gets smaller as the season goes on. This team did not win our sectional tournament. We lost by 2 points to Safford. Doubt began to creep in, and outsiders thought 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 even win their section, they won鈥檛 win state.鈥� Kids kept that outside talk outside and focused on wrestling and competing our best the following week and came home with our 3rd consecutive state championship.

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