NHSCA.com - National High School Coaches Association

The NHSCA Story

I was the head wrestling coach at a Division I university and had a son who participated in the sport of wrestling.

In the summer of 1989, my son was about to enter his senior year of high school. He distinguished himself by winning a state championship as a sophomore. His plans were to continue his wrestling career in college, so I began searching for a post season scholastic style wrestling competition that was national In scope and would serve as a preparation for the NCAA Championships.

After exhausting all avenues, it was apparent that no such competition existed. It was obvious there was a need, so I decided to conduct such an event. I designed a championship event that would fit the profile of my son's credentials. The eligibility requirements were that you had to be a high school senior who won a state championship sometime during your high school career to qualify for this event. This insured that my son would quality for this event even If he did not repeat as a state champion In his senior year, which turned out not to be the case.

I began the search for a home for this event. I began to contact organizations to see if they had an interest in me volunteering my services to conduct such an event for their organization.

The first organization that I approached was the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations (NFHSAA). I was Informed that this organization did not endorse national events and would not be interested.

Next, I contacted USA Wrestling and I was informed that this organization was committed to Olympic style wrestling and would not be interested. I then contacted National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). I was informed this group was interested and that I should proceed with plans to conduct the event.

I immediately contacted an attorney friend and asked for his assistance In helping me with the legal aspects of this event. He agreed to help and I immediately got started. I named the event the National High School Wrestling Championship and developed all the marketing materials. I received an estimate from the university mailroom for the printing and postage and when I contacted the NWCA to inform them of the cost, I was told NWCA was not interested.

I approached the athletic director at the university and asked him for permission to have my wrestling booster dub to sponsor the event. He granted me permission and I immediately began to set up a national network of volunteers to help distribute the marketing materials to every state champion In the country who was a senior In high school.

My wife and children volunteered to stuff the packets of marketing materials. I named tournament directors three weeks prior to the event and the rest Is history. We had 262 state champions and more than 200 high school and college coaches representing 39 states invoked in the first event. We fed the coaches and volunteers in the hospitality room and everyone had a great experience.

I contacted ESPN and they Informed me that this was the first true national high school championship in any sport and agreed to air It on national television. They sent a full crew to Pittsburgh to film the event to be aired on Scholastic Sports America.

At the event, It was apparent that there was a need for events like this and high school coaches were in need of leadership.

After all the Invoices were paid we ended up with approximately a $500 profit. The athletic director allowed us to use the funds to open a checking account for the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA). At this moment, the NHSCA was born and we finally had an appropriate home for our wrestling event.

--Robert Ferraro/NHSCA