How Jeffersonville (Ind.) builds and keeps a 70-athlete team

Photo: Danny Struck (second from bottom right), pictured with 2023 student-athletes, finds unique ways to keep kids on the mats.

Editor’s Note: This guest column appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 3, which printed November 26, 2025. 

By Danny Struck

At Jeffersonville (Ind.), we’ve become known for regularly fielding around 70 boys and girls in our wrestling program. For many programs, that’s an unreachable number—and people constantly ask what our “secret” is. They assume it must be some magical recruiting strategy. But the truth is much simpler: we have built a culture that kids want to join and, more importantly, want to stay in.

Wrestling will never be easy, and we don’t try to pretend it is. In fact, we talk openly about that every single day. We tell our athletes that the “hard” is the gift—that nothing worthwhile comes without challenge. I remind them constantly, “I never said it would be easy. I said it would be worth it.” We don’t hide from the truth of the sport; we praise it. When kids learn to embrace the hard instead of fear it, they start to see wrestling as a path to growth, not just a season of sweat.

A big part of building that mindset is helping every athlete understand their WHY. Some want to join the military. Some want to be police officers. Some want mental toughness. Some want structure, and some are just trying something new. I talk through these reasons with them often, helping them find meaning in the grind. For football players, I even use a full presentation I’ve built explaining exactly how wrestling elevates them on the field. When kids understand why they’re doing something, they rarely drift away.

Behind the scenes, our practices are intentional and planned. I’ve saved every practice plan I’ve ever written, and I constantly revisit the ones that worked well while adjusting or avoiding the ones that didn’t. You can’t recreate someone else’s practice—not John Wooden’s, not Bill Belichick’s—but you can refine your own over decades. Our plans evolve, but the purpose is always the same: consistent growth.

In the room, the climate is deliberate. I never stop cheering. I don’t let coaches stand or lean against the wall. I challenge them—and myself—to say every athlete’s name in a positive way multiple times each practice. Energy is contagious, and if we don’t take responsibility for it, no one will. We also keep routines in place so kids feel stable, but we break them often enough that practices stay fresh. We rotate through A-Day, B-Day, and eventually C-Day drills, giving athletes both confidence and new challenges at just the right time.

Even conditioning follows this balance of structure and excitement. Our longest running comes in the form of sprint sets. Down-back-down-back counts as one sprint, and they get eight attempts—but if they make the time, it counts for two. It becomes a game, a challenge, a daily moment to rise. They love “ending on a win,” and conditioning becomes something they look forward to rather than dread.

Our weekly rhythm helps too. We build in things kids genuinely enjoy: daily tumbling and “show-off” moments, Monday journals and wrestler-of-the-week photos, Tuesday’s team lift and conditioning to songs like “Sally Up” or “Thunderstruck,” Wednesday live wrestling with the middle school program, Thursday dodgeball warmups, and Friday’s fast one-hour practice that opens their weekend early. These small traditions create big excitement.

But one of the most important lessons I ever learned about keeping kids engaged didn’t come from inside the practice room at all. Years ago, I told my high school coach—Hall of Famer Howard Jones— hat I was frustrated with retention. He asked me a simple question that changed everything: “Are you doing the things off the mat?” What he meant was the things that make wrestling feel like more than wrestling. So, we built that into our program. Now we go lake swimming and rock jumping at team camp. We have bonfire cookouts after long runs on my property. When we travel, we stop for a team meal and spend time together. We hold lock-ins, movie nights and bowling nights. These experiences create a true family atmosphere where kids know they’re loved not just for what they do on the mat, but for who they are as people. Wrestling becomes the vehicle—but connection is the fuel.

Still, maybe the most important piece of retention is also the simplest: we notice when kids aren’t there. Every time someone misses practice, I call them. Not to guilt them—but to show that they matter. I never let a kid sit at home for a day thinking about quitting. A two-minute conversation can save a season, and sometimes a career.

We also create a welcoming start and finish to every practice. Kids get a high-five or greeting at the door and another on their way out. You can always find something encouraging to say and those daily touches add up.

Recruiting, of course, plays a role. For a month before the season, we run lunchroom tables twice a week. We mail postcards to every freshman and separate sport-specific cards to fall athletes. Every wrestler is expected to bring in one new partner—and we don’t stop until they do. My goal each year is to have 100 students try it, even if just for a day. We don’t always hit it, but we always try. And when a kid considers quitting, I don’t let them leave to “do nothing.” I encourage them to try swimming or another sport—something that keeps them growing. If they do quit, I send a postcard thanking them and welcoming them back anytime. For high schoolers who wrestled in middle school, I even connect with their middle school coach to reach out; sometimes a familiar voice is the one they need.

What people see — a 70-athlete team — looks impressive on paper. But the real success is in the countless small actions that build a community where kids feel valued, challenged, supported, connected and excited to return. We don’t just build a team. We build belonging, tradition, purpose and family.

And that’s what keeps our numbers strong year after year.

To read more from Coach Struck, you can order his book “Climbing for Gold: Experience the world through wrestling” at www.dannystruck.net.

(Danny Struck, head wrestling and football and strength coach at Jeffersonville High School, has spent three decades leading Pan-Am and World Teams. Chairman of the USAW National Coaches Council, Coach Struck brings dozens of coach of the year awards into his book “Climbing for Gold: Experience the World Through Wrestling.”)