MADISON TWP. \u2014 One high school had a reputation as a wrestling powerhouse, while the other just wanted to start a program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Madison-Sand Creek cooperative wrestling program emerged 25 years ago with one high school focused on preserving its history and the other on creating its own identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Kris Isom became Madison\u2019s athletic director in 1986, there was no wrestling team. \u201cI was very surprised as Madison had been a powerhouse in the \u201970s with their wrestling program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former coach Gail Shinall led Madison to Class D state championships in 1974, \u201975, \u201976, \u201977, and \u201979. When Shinall left for Siena Heights and its wrestling program in 1983, the program suffered due to a lack of interest and participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, wrestling returned at Madison during the 1987-88 season under the guidance of Pat Boss. But the program\u2019s numbers still fluctuated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Sand Creek sought an identity of its own in wrestling. The Aggies had no program, and it was not until several students approached the school board about starting a team that it came about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe co-op program was talked about originally in 1998 with very informal discussions with our coach at the time, Charlie Evans, and with Steve Laundra from Sand Creek,\u201d Isom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each school held discussions with its administration, community, and student-athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce we had a feel of what each school wanted to do, we proposed it to our Boards of Education at each school,\u201d Isom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After each board approved the cooperative program, Isom said the districts reached out to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which requires districts to be a cooperative for two years and then go from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris Harvey, who assisted Evans at Madison and eventually became the first head coach at Sand Creek, said the school districts wanted to establish strong numbers and create a sport that student-athletes wanted to be part of at their respective high schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe goal was to build one team with good numbers, and once [we achieved that goal], both teams would go their own way,\u201d said Harvey. \u201cFor the most part, it seemed to be a smooth transition to a great partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the cooperative program became a reality, Evans and Harvey were equal coaches, working with Isom and Laundra, who fully supported their coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe kids were good about bonding as a team, even though they were rivals in other sports in the [Tri-County Conference],\u201d Harvey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program worked because of the two coaches who helmed their teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoth men complemented each other and did a tremendous job working through the newness of the program and how to navigate two rival schools now becoming one,\u201d Isom said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evans and Harvey showed patience during the early days as student-athletes learned proper wrestling techniques and developed an interest in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter six years of being combined, our numbers started to grow,\u201d Harvey said of the Madison\/Sand Creek team. \u201cBoth programs were able to develop successful youth programs with the support of great parents from both schools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that growth would not be there today without Evans and Harvey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCharlie Evans was a great coach, but an even better human being,\u201d Isom said of Evans, who died in 2018. \u201cHe had a heart of gold. Charlie was a soft-spoken man who cared about each and every wrestler as if they were his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI cannot say enough about Charlie Evans and what he did to promote wrestling not only for Madison, but for the sport, in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growth of the program did what it sought to do during its short time in existence: re-establish one wrestling program and create opportunities for another one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would say that our co-op has been a success for both programs,\u201d Harvey said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One high school had a reputation as a wrestling powerhouse, while the other just wanted to start a program. The Madison-Sand Creek cooperative wrestling program emerged 25 years ago with one high school focused on preserving its history and the other on creating its own identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"community":[72],"class_list":["post-4128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","community-sandcreek"],"yoast_head":"\n