Nov. 30, 2004: The Spectrum

Kittrell's Return Adds Optimism to SC
by Brad Plothow

ST. GEORGE — For about seven years, Wane Kittrell has been trying to keep his plate clean, but when opportunity was about to be served up recently, he piled it up high again.

Prior to this season, Kittrell agreed to replace Rob Ward as Snow Canyon High School's wrestling coach, a position he held when the school opened in the early 1990s.

"I just felt like I still had something to offer the kids," said Kittrell, who also coaches softball for the Warriors. "It's no secret that wrestling takes quite a bit of time away from family. It's tough; you're gone to a tournament Friday and Saturday, you get back early Sunday morning. You do the church thing, and you're back at it again on Monday."

Time away from his family was Kittrell's primary reason for dumping his gig as SC's wrestling coach all those years ago. A self-described family man, Kittrell said he's lucky to have a wife and kids who have been willing to follow him along his career path, and he thinks they're O.K. with his current decision.

"Usually where I'm at, they're there, too," Kittrell said.

Before moving to coach and teach vocational and physical education classes at SCHS, Kittrell had coaching stints at Union and Pine View high schools, where he worked on the football staffs in addition to coaching wrestling and softball. His affinity for the gridiron is what landed Kittrell in the wrestling realm. Though not an orphan, Kittrell said he first dabbled in wrestling with a club team at an orphanage when he was 12 years old, as a means to stay in condition to play football in his then home state of Texas.

He quickly found he had a knack for grappling, nabbing high accolades at three consecutive state tournaments when he competed for Layton High School and thrice earning a state freestyle championship.

"I ended up being pretty decent," said Kittrell, who moved to Utah at age 15.

Despite SC's last-place finish in Region 9 last season, Kittrell said he's optimistic, if only because he has more to work with. Last season, Ward had to pull from only about 15 wrestlers for his junior varsity and varsity squads. This season, Kittrell had the good fortune to see between 60 and 65 wrestlers come out.

Kittrell said part of the influx was just chance, and some was the result of a push from his assistant coaches at the high school and middle school. But senior Kyle Coop, one of the few returning upper-classmen on the team, said something else was afoot.

"Last year (the juniors on the team) decided that we couldn't quit because usually the seniors quit so they can slack off," Coop said. "(This season) we have something to work off. We have people to work with other people instead of our smaller guys having to wrestle the bigger ones."

Kittrell said he hopes his team looks past last season and sets its sights on something higher.

"I'm not excited to call it rebuilding," Kittrell said. "I hope the kids aren't rebuilding. Hopefully they're trying to make a name for themselves."
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