2012-13 Results and Media Coverage
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| Annual Wrestlemania set for Tuesday night |
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Byrd wrestling coach Scott Martin has been around the Shreveport-Bossier City wrestling scene long enough to know almost every story about Ray Doyle.
It didn't take North DeSoto coach Matt Moeller, a relative newcomer to the area, long to learn about the man for whom tonight's Wrestlemania event at Byrd honors.
"He made a huge impact," Moeller said. "He didn't start programs, but he took the programs he was involved with to a different level. Just like any key person in any state or sport, he had a passion. He obviously had a passion for the sport, and it showed in the kids he coached. He put in the time before there was any recognition, trying to build a foundation for his sport."
What Doyle, who coached at Parkway, Northwood and Byrd, started to build has flourished. Those who walk into Byrd's gym at 6 tonight will see the fruits of his labor. "I still get people who ask me how many schools have teams," Martin said. "They'll say, 'What is there, three or four?' I'll say, 'There are 15.' And they can't believe it." |
The ninth edition of Wrestlemania stands apart for a couple of reasons.
Unlike the Louisiana Classics (Jan. 18-19 in Baton Rouge) and the Ken Cole Invitational (Jan. 25-26, Lafayette), there are no tangible rewards to be had tonight. "The competition's there, but there's no medals to award," Martin said. "It takes the edge off."
Secondly, every team in the region will be represented on the three mats that will stretch wall to wall in the gym. Because of scheduling issues and various tournaments around the state taking place on the same dates, having all of the Northwest Louisiana teams together in the same place is a rarity.
More importantly for the sport, however, is taking time to honor Doyle. "Numerous coaches tell me stories about coach Doyle," Martin said. "He'd be at Byrd, or at Parkway, or at Northwood, and, if there'd be a new coach, he'd take him under his wing and show him how to run tournaments or with getting kids lined up. "There are lots of stories like that. It's really cool. A lot of these people coached with him or coached against him or wrestled under him. They know what this is all about." Twitter: @JasonSPugh