FRUITA, Colo. — 16 years ago, Colorado wrestling fans rose to their feet to greet the first-ever four-time undefeated champion. Now, Kyle Sand is back on the mats as the head coach of Grand Junction High School.
"The stars have aligned to where I can really have a job that allows me to be able to have that flexibility and the time to be able to commit to these kids and give them my all," he said.
Entering a new position during a pandemic, is no easy task. Sand said it's been a blessing and a curse to be handed the keys to the Tigers' wrestling room.
"It'll be a gift that I've gotten to fall into a great program with great, great kids, but I already feel like I've fallen behind the curve. By this point, I should've already had meetings with parents, team meetings, weight training, and usually we have camps in the summer," he said. "I've reached out to all of the kids on the team, both JV and Varsity and having conversations just getting to know them."
Sand spent his first four years after college as an assistant coach for his alma mater Adams State, and has been coaching youth wrestling for his son ever since, but this is his first return to competitive ranks. He said his dream is to be a head coach of a collegiate team, but his number one priority is his family.
"The time just didn't allow for me to do that," he said. "I wanted to be a husband and a father."
After spending years working in a youth corrections facility, Sand feels he's learned the best skills to teach the next generation.
"I feel like that's one of my best qualities to be able to motivate and communicate with these kids," he said. "A lot of the stuff that they teach us and train us on is communication skills."
It also doesn't hurt that he'll be able to walk the walk. His newest crop of pupils will certainly know his legacy, and understand what it takes to be successful.
"If you want to be great at it or if you want to be successful, hard work is the key to everything. Give it everything you've got and not quit in the process."
As for his 2004 dominant win for Arvada West? He's seen it a few times.
"Every year at the state wrestling tournament!" he laughed. "They usually play a tribute, but it makes me uncomfortable, I don't like talking about myself."
Upon watching it one last time, he smiled and soaked up the memories.
"My hair looks way better!" he said "No, it brings back such joy. It's that feeling of knowing your hard work pays off and that respect that you've earned of your family and your teammates and your coaches, kind of paying a tribute to those guys, the ones that spend those hours that helped me get to that point. That was a good feeling!"
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