LHS wrestling takes down their competition with a newfound confidence under the guidance of their current head coach, Kaden Goff. After their old coach, Brandon McDonald, moved to Tigard High School, the future of the team’s leadership was left uncertain.
“Honestly, I considered leaving to go to Tigard with Coach McDonald,” said Coach Goff. “But, then I looked at the group of kids, I decided that I didn’t want to be with any other squad. I love these kids.”
Under Goff’s watch the small program of three girls and 13 boys has a noticeable increase in performance; seniors Styles Simpson, Mason Alar and Rileigh Lindsey have gone undefeated in TRL. The team sights this success due to Goff’s new practices.
“The biggest change I’ve implemented is our practices being more intense,” said Goff. “Our mantra is, we will be the most in shape team in the state, so I think we’ve done a good job of implementing that.”
Under his leadership comes many firsts, one of which is the first female captain in the team’s history, Lindsey.
“It’s really special to get to be a leader of this team, as well as getting to set more light onto the girls wrestling program,” said Lindsey. “I want to encourage girls to come watch a few matches, the energy is intoxicating and it shows how empowering wrestling can be.”
One issue that has consistently plagued the wrestling team is the lack of a full line. A typical high school line up is composed of 12 to 14 wrestlers; the boys and girls have a total of 16 wrestlers. In hope of gaining more people Coach Goff invites students to join the team for a practice.
“If you don’t want to do tournaments, or the wear funny get ups. That’s totally fine. Just come do it, come compete, come work out, come get better,” said Goff. “Because it just no matter what you do, if you just come and wrestle, you’re gonna be a better person and a better just kind of a better athlete.”
