Wrestling: Tigers built the old-fashioned way

COMMERCE -- There are no true how-to manuals on how to build a successful sports program.<br /> <br /> But if you're looking for a model, Commerce wrestling coach Kendall Love has put together a pretty good blueprint. All you need is some old-fashioned hard-work mixed with talent and a large portion of dedication. <br /> <br /> However, don't expect it be ready in microwave-oven time. Think more like a crockpot or slow-cooker. <br /> <br /> "It didn't happen overnight," said Love, who will guide his team through the Area 4-A Traditional Tournament on Saturday. The Tigers are the defending Class A state traditional champions and are coming off their second straight Class A Duals state title two weeks ago.<br /> <br /> Commerce will play host to the Area 4-A Tournament.<br /> <br /> "There was some tradition here already [Commerce won the 1990 Traditional state title] but they did not have a youth program of any kind," said Love, who is in his eighth season at Commerce. "That was the first thing, to get a youth program going. Then, we had to develop the mindset as a program that we would constantly challenge ourselves by taking on the top teams, state or national.<br /> <br /> "Of course, that meant spending more money on the program than had been the custom. But the administration was behind us right from the start. That's another key to this: having a good administration behind you. We have one here at Commerce."<br /> <br /> Most wrestling programs are becoming specialized these days with year-round training and private elite wrestling programs scattered throughout the area. But Commerce, being in the smallest classification in the state, still has to rely on dual-sport athletes.<br /> <br /> Love said one noticeable difference for his program is that it is not treated like a second-class citizen.<br /> <br /> "We don't treat our program like a secondary sport," he said. "We have always approached it as a primary sport for the kids. We don't have enough (numbers) to have a lot of specialized guys just for wrestling so we then have to coach up the kids we get. That's where the youth program is so huge for us."<br /> <br /> In the early days, Love said changing that mentality was easier said than done.<br /> <br /> "We tell parents and anyone involved that we will be traveling because we're always looking for the best competition we can find," he said. "In the first year or two there were some parents that were concerned about the amount of increase in money and we understood where they were coming from. But we knew that was the way to go for the long-term building process."<br /> <br /> It took Love and the Tigers four years to see some fruitful dividends. They finished second in the 2011 State Duals and Love said that earned them some notoriety and recognition. Now, they are moving into the realm of being compared to themselves, much like cross-county rival and wrestling powerhouse Jefferson.<br /> <br /> "I don't know if we're at that level but the kids we have now have all come up in the youth program so we've gotten to work with them and develop them into solid wrestlers," Love said. "Our goal is to be the best program we can be every year. I think we're getting there."<br /> <br /> However, as part of the building process, Love is not satisfied if his charges go undefeated.<br /> <br /> "We want to challenge the kids every week," Love said. "I feel that if they go undefeated I may not be doing my job in finding high-caliber competition to help them improve and become the best they can be. That being said, we do have some guys that have done that. But they earned it."<br /> <br /> This past weekend the Tigers participated in the Archer Invitational, featuring host Archer, which is ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAAA and is rated sixth nationally. They were whipped 52-6 by Archer but had to forfeit three matches and lost four others by just three points or less.<br /> <br /> "Archer is tough and their ranking is justified," Love said. "But I thought we held our own in most of the matches. We gave away a lot of points. But our guys got experience going against the best of the best. That's what we try to give them every week."<br /> <br /> Commerce goes into the Area 4-A Traditionals as a heavy favorite. And that was before the Tigers had their entire starting roster available. They will take their preseason projected starting 14 into the meet for the first time this season.<br /> <br /> "This will be the first time this year we've had our top guys at every weight-class available at the same time," Love said. "That's exciting because there has always been someone that was injured or playing football or sick or something, so we're looking forward to having everyone healthy and ready to go.<br /> <br /> Commerce returns two state champions -- Dalton Flint (120-pounds) and Austin Brock (126) both sophomores -- and one state runner-up in Mitchell Patton (132). Sophomore Cole Chancey (170) has won every tournament this year with the exception of Archer and placed fourth in the state last season. Sophomore Owen Brown (138) also has won every tournament he has competed in except at Archer, where he finished third.<br /> <br /> Sophomore Jake Brewer (113) is currently undefeated on the year. He moved back to Commerce from New York just after Christmas after coming up through the Commerce youth program in middle school.<br /> <br /> Commerce has a talented crop of freshmen as well. Kole Burchett (106), Chase Forrester (152), and Knox Allen (160) give the Tigers youthful experience. Junior Michael Patton (145) is a two-time state placer and junior Dontavious Mosley (182) placed fifth at state last year.<br /> <br /> Seniors Cole Sweeney (195), Tyreke Wiggins (220), who finished third at state last year, and Derek Beniot (285) have plenty of experience on the biggest stage.<br /> <br /> The Tigers are looking to pull off the double title repeat after capturing both the Duals and Traditional state titles in 2014. They already defended their Duals title two weeks ago. Love said they have a chance to put themselves in the conversation for one of the best programs in the state, if not the southeastern region of the country.<br /> <br /> "I don't know if we're totally there yet but we want to build the best program we can," Love said. "We felt we could get here we just didn't know how long it would take us. There was no timetable.<br /> <br /> "But, we know that all the other (Class A) programs will be gunning for us on every match. We want the challenge. This is why we seek out the toughest matches we can find. We've come a long way from when I got here. Now, the trick is trying to stay on top. Hopefully we can show we're up to the challenge."