DAVIS COUNTY — When you’ve stepped into the shoes of giants, it’s very important not to trip and fall on your face. This adage is very much in the minds of first-year Viewmont High head wrestling coach Brandon Ripplinger and first-year Davis High head wrestling coach Neal Porter. Both men, currently preparing to face off at the upcoming Viewmont Invitational, have taken over for two of the area’s most well-respected wrestling coaches: Bart Thompson at Viewmont and Alan Porter at Davis.

Mostly, the two are grateful for the challenge. “It’s a legacy,” said Brandon Ripplinger, whose father Mike has been the head coach at Box Elder High for the past several years. Until taking the head coach position at Viewmont, Brandon worked under his father as an assistant coach.

“You take over something that someone’s already worked so hard on, and with such exquisite care. You just try to build on what he’s done.”

Neal Porter, for his part, has had a really close view of the legacy he’s taken on, having worked with dad Alan Porter as an assistant coach for the past four or five years.

Now things have come full circle, with Alan spending some time working as an assistant coach under his son before fully embracing his retirement.

“It’s almost like we’ve been doing it together these past few years,” said Neal. “He’s been really supportive, and he’s helping me learn all the ropes I need to know before he’s gone.”

Brandon has a similar support system in his father, who he said is only a phone call away whenever he has a question.

“I like to see what he thinks about things and make sure I’m on the right page,” said Brandon. “They’re conversations that used to happen at home growing up — now they just happen on the phone.”

Both men first found their love of wrestling young, started around the age of four or five by their fathers.

Those same fathers coached both Brandon and Neal through their high school wrestling years, with Alan Porter waiting to retire until all of his sons had graduated from Davis and the wrestling team.

Though a torn shoulder ended Neal’s wrestling career while Brandon went on to help start the wrestling club at Utah State, each saw the next step as perfectly natural.

“I grew to love teaching the kids technique, watching them improve, and know that I was part of that improvement,” said Neal.

A lot of that coaching knowledge, they admit, has come from their fathers.

“He’s been a great example,” said Brandon. “A lot of what I do I’ve seen done for years by my dad.”

As for the shadow of the coaches that came before them, neither Neal nor Brandon really see it as a problem. Neal also worked with the wrestlers at Farmington Jr. High before taking the head coaching job at Davis, so many of Davis High’s current wrestlers have spent the last several years being guided by Neal.

As for Brandon, the goal of reclaiming the state title that Viewmont lost to Weber last year has been more of an issue than trying to become the next Bart Thompson.

“I’m sure the pressure’s been there, but I haven’t really felt that it’s been a burden,” he said. “Pressure can work in a good way.”