Coach Profiles: Wrestling Coach Kyle Courtier
Photos provided by Kyle Courtier.
Addie Hess
Coach Courtier, Hamilton's wrestling coach, has been here for four seasons leading our team to win after win. This is his 10th year in the Greater Metro Conference (GMC). When he’s not coaching, he is working as a juvenile probation agent helping troubled youth reintegrate back into their communities.
Senior wrestler Kaitlin Hackbarth has had a very positive experience during her time with Coach Courtier and had this to say: “Courtier and my other coaches are amazing! My coaches know me as a person and know how to push me and challenge me to be the best wrestler and person I can be. Courtier holds me accountable and gives me as many opportunities as possible to be the best athlete I can be. He has been a wonderful coach for the past four years and a great addition to Hamilton wrestling.”
Ethan Henderson, another senior here at HHS also had this to add, “Coach Courtier has been a role model since my freshman year always working with us to get better at wrestling, but more importantly life, with skills that will last a lifetime even after wrestling.”
Read more to hear from Coach Courtier!
How did you become the Hamilton wrestling coach? Was it an application process or were you recruited?
Prior to coming to Hamilton I was the head wrestling coach at West Allis Nathan Hale. I didn't live in West Allis at the time and my wife and I were looking to move our kids into a good school district. While searching, Hamilton's former Athletic Director, Mike Gosz reached out and asked if I would be interested in considering Hamilton. He brought my family in for a tour, we loved the community and school, and here we are.
Not including wrestling, what are some things you do in your free time?
I have a 10 year old daughter and 6 year old son. Both of them wrestle in our JR Chargers/Sabercat wrestling program and at Askren Wrestling Academy in Hartland. My daughter's passion is softball though. She plays for the JR Chargers as a catcher. We recently got back from Florida where she played in an All American tournament in Panama City Beach. So my life is my wife, kids and sports. Summers are spent as a softball dad and most of the remainder of the year is wrestling. My wife and I like to go to the gym and workout together, go out to dinner, and do other activities with friends and family when we can.
When did you start wrestling and what drew you to the sport?
I started wrestling when I was 6 years old and have pretty much been doing it ever since. My mother's side of the family was a big wrestling family and my great uncle actually started the youth wrestling club in my hometown. I wrestled all through high school and also in the Marine Corps. When I left the Marine Corps in 2007, I've been coaching in some capacity since then. As an "Old guy," I gave it a shot wrestling with the young college guys in the US Open in Las Vegas about 6-7 years ago as part of the World Team Trials. That was my last time competing myself and realizing I wasn't at that level anymore. The competitor is still in me though, and this is why I love coaching.
What weight class(es) were you wrestling in primarily?
My senior year of high school I wrestled 160lbs, and about the same with the Marine Corps.
What are some of your best memories from wrestling?
One of my best memories from wrestling was my coaches. I had two great coaches growing up. Terry Kramer and Mark Hemauer. Terry Kramer was also my Phys Ed teacher from kindergarten through high school, as well as my wrestling coach that entire time. Years later as a head coach, I was able to attend his Hall of Fame induction in Wisconsin. In his speech he mentioned how I was in attendance and he had been a part of my wrestling life since I was 6 years old. Very cool moment!
What’s the best part about coaching?
The best part about coaching is seeing kids mature and grow and being a part of that. I want them to look back years after they graduate, and recognize the things they learned from their experience on our team, from this sport, and appreciate that the same way I do when I look back at my coaches and experience. I learned a lot about life in high school wrestling: work ethic, responsibility, overcoming mental challenges, etc., and I try to instill those things in my team as well.
What’s the most difficult thing about coaching?
The most difficult thing about coaching is recognizing that not everyone is raised the same way, everyone has different opinions and thoughts on how things should be, and adapting to that so everyone can be successful. Finding a compromise so we can still continue to build a culture within our program, while working through those differences. Everyone, including the families have differing needs and wants, but not all always align with my philosophy with coaching. Those experiences are challenging, but also help our program grow, learning to work through them.
Describe a typical practice. How do you train/condition your athletes to be at their best?
Morale, Morale, Morale! Wrestling is a brutal sport, physically and mentally. Many kids quit high school wrestling programs because of this. I adjust weekly and sometimes daily to make sure we are grinding, but not burning out. The more my team loves it, the more they want to be there. Not everyday is fun, but everyday should be rewarding. It's always a work in progress, but only continues to improve.
What’s a typical meet like? As a coach, what’s your role during matches?
During competition, the wrestlers do the work. I've coached them in the practice room up to that point, and it's now just them out on the mat doing the work. That's the difference with wrestling and other sports. For example, in a football game or basketball game, the coach can adjust the plans during a game for their team. In a wrestling match, it's just the wrestler out on that mat on his or her own. They have six minutes to put in action what we work on in that practice room and make those adjustments. If it doesn't go their way, we are back in the practice room making those adjustments for the future and learning from those mistakes.
What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about wrestling that you wish people understood?
Weight cutting! In the past, or "back in the day," many wrestlers used to cut a lot of weight. The thought process was the lower weight class you are, the better you will do. That's just not the case. So the misconception is that wrestlers cut a lot of weight and don't get stronger. I don't have any of my wrestlers cutting much weight at all. At least not how it used to be done years ago, and it's also much safer based on the regulations the WIAA has on it with only being allowed to lose a certain amount of weight each week. So we don't cut much weight and we are in the weight room 2-3 days each week. Even if we didn't lift in the weight room, wrestlers continue to get stronger just with wrestling alone.
What’s a fact about you that might surprise people?
I used to be a mountaineer and have climbed many of the 14,000ft mountains in the United States and almost all in California. I've summited Mt. Whitney, which is the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, and I've done that twice on two different routes. I've also climbed some very famous climbs in Yosemite multiple times. I got into this while in the Marine Corps. For a period of time while in the Marine Corps I was assigned to Special Operations Training Group. I would train and advise Special Operations Units on operating in the mountains. I was sent all over learning and operating in the mountains and at one point, my team of 5 was considered the mountaineering experts in the United States Military. I haven't done much climbing since I got out of the Marines, but still like to get outdoors, go hiking, and I'm big into hunting. I actually have been given some great opportunities to go hunting. I was wounded and received a Purple Heart in Iraq, and since then, Wounded Warrior programs have kindly paid for and taken me on hunting trips all over. I've gone alligator hunting, bear hunting, and elk hunting to name a few. Anything outdoors I love.
What are your goals (short term and long term) for the Hamilton wrestling program?
At the moment I have the same goal that I started with over 4 years ago. It's to build a culture in this program. There was such a big turnover in coaches prior to me getting here that it was almost impossible to build a culture because of that. I think a lot of coaches would say winning this or that as a short and long term goal. In my opinion, if we have a great culture, the winning comes as a product of that culture anyway.
Rapid fire questions
Best all-time wrestler: Dan Gable
Favorite current college wrestler: Any college wrestler who puts in the work and finishes where they started. Yes, that's my knock on the transfer portal.
Freestyle or Greco-Roman: Both! I won't pick one because too many people get too emotional if you choose one over the other.
Favorite weight class to watch wrestle: The ones where both wrestlers are out there to score as many points as possible.
Go-to takedown: Front Head!!! Ask my team.....
Go-to breakdown: Any that puts the opponent on his face! :)
Go-to pin: The one where the opponent is on his back.
