Seems like I?ve been getting more and more emails from our alumni lately asking what, exactly, PantherTough is really all about. The truth is it?s hard for me talk about without getting excited. It means so much to me, personally, that it sometimes feels like I?m letting people in on our innermost secrets. It?s important to talk about though, so I figured I?d share this with you.
Sixteen years ago Edgemont didn?t have a very good wrestling program. We?d been through a few coaching changes and things kind of fell apart. Coach DiChiara and I watched the kids that were coming through our program and I felt bad.
It felt like we weren?t in a position to give them everything they could get out of our program. It felt like we were letting them down and they didn?t even realize it. We were a team, but not a program. We were a group, but not a family. I actually felt guilty. It was demotivating and it was tough.
Wrestling is, without question, the most physically, mentally and emotionally demanding sport that high school athletics has to offer. It?s hard. But it?s because it?s so hard, that it?s also this amazing vehicle to teach some of the most important lessons and develop some of the most important characteristics an adolescent can learn.
When done properly, a wrestling coach isn?t just mentoring his athletes to be successful on the mat, but guiding them through a blueprint to be successful in life.
This is what we were so sorely missing. This is what we realized we needed to be great.
So we got to work.
The idea of our PantherTough culture was born – although it would be a few more years before we called it that.
Our coaching staff worked relentlessly, and still does, to refine our ideas and concepts into an all encompassing vision, philosophy and culture that produces “Champions on the mat and in life.? Over the years it?s evolved into something we?re all incredibly proud of and it continues to evolve and develop to this day.
So, allow me to pull back the curtain a second and let you see what it?s really all about!
It all starts with our philosophy? what you guys often see and hear is ?Building Champions on the mat and life,? but that?s actually just an abbreviated version.
Our full PantherTough philosophy:
“To build Champions on the mat and in life through love, positive leadership and a relentless focus on the process of excellence.?
This is our heat and soul. It drives everything we do. I know for me, personally, in addition to a deep love for my family and friends, it?s this philosophy that gets me out of bed every morning, fired up to be the best I can be for our kids. We keep this philosophy in places where our coaches and wrestlers look at it everyday. It?s our north star. It guides every decision we make in our program. It?s either in-line with our philosophy or it isn?t.
PantherTough Core Values
If our philosophy is our compass, then our PantherTough Core Values are the rules of the road. I don?t know if I can do a good enough job here explaining to you just how important our Core Values are to our program. They’re the heart and soul of who we are and what we?re all about. These values have been tweaked and refined over the years. They?ve been iterated and improved upon. They?re something we’re incredibly proud of. Every word has a purpose. Our five core values:
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- Improvement ? constant focus on effort and getting better everyday
- Embrace failure as a necessary step on the road to success.
- Focus on the process, not the outcome. Control what you can control.
- Today, be better than yesterday. Tomorrow, be better than today.
- There is no ?I can?t…? unless it?s followed by ?…yet. But I will.?
- Improvement ? constant focus on effort and getting better everyday
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- Accountability ? be the person everyone knows they can depend on
- Take ownership ? no excuses, no finger-pointing, no blame.
- Do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it.
- Be a finisher ? finish what you start?no quitting.
- Always compete with class and sportsmanship.
- Your actions express your priorities.
- Accountability ? be the person everyone knows they can depend on
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- Family ? recognize you?re part of something bigger than yourself ? ?It?s not about you.?
- Respect each other and your differences.
- Always serve and always protect your teammates.
- Offer support before criticism.
- No such thing as ?it?s not my job.?
- Family ? recognize you?re part of something bigger than yourself ? ?It?s not about you.?
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- Habits ? consistency is the key to success
- Consistency is the number one key to success in anything ? there is NEVER a shortcut.
- Practice is everything. Be there everyday.
- Every single day/rep matters.
- Your habits dictate your ceiling.
- Habits ? consistency is the key to success
- Joy ? enjoy the sport, embrace the process, love each other
- Love the process. Show it with your energy level.
- Enjoy our time together.
- Take a second to appreciate the journey. Know that the best is yet to come.
- Always express gratitude.
Ask any varsity wrestler in our program and they can rattle off our five core values without missing a beat. We talk about them daily. We have weekly team meetings just to further discuss and develop these values. It?s not just the values that set us apart, it?s the fact that, for us, they?re so much more than just words on a poster. They?re, quite literally, our way of life.
Our chips



Head Coach
Edgemont Wrestling