Why did buxton leave blair

Pressure In this environment, the pressure to stay on top had to be immense. Jeff Buxton created it and perhaps towards the end it consumed him. Jeff Buxton was not an easy man to get along with in recent years.

He wanted Blair to be recognized as the very best, and usually they were. Watch this man compete from his matside chair, fight for every edge, ride officials, yes he rode them hard; drive his teams with a combination of fear and love; they feared disappointing him and each wrestler wanted his approval. When a Blair wrestler went to his back, Buxton would just glare at him with a laser stare.

First, he was a great coach and a great technician. Second, he was a master not only at getting his kids to the next level, but also placing them at the right level. He knew which of his kids had what it takes to succeed at the very highest level in college, and which ones might be better fits at mid-level or lower-level programs, and was successfully able not only to make those connections, but to sell the kids on that.

Jeff was brutally honest with his kids and with us about them. Not a coachspeak guy. Was Buxton the Greatest? He is one of great coaches of our time at any level. My two cents are, does he rank with the greatest? You can only coach what walks through your door. We will not engage in speculation. Myself, I am a flawed man; I am not going to look for flaws in a man who has done so much right.

Buxton is still relatively young, 56, and will be heard from again in the sport he loves because he is a rare commodity, a teacher, and a shaper of boys to men. Being able to put them in adversity and fight back from it at the end of the year pays off.

Elite high school coach Steve Powell of Easton, Pa. His influence on the sport showed clearly at this season's NCAA championships where two of the 10 champions,. Blair has won 32 consecutive National Prep titles and has been ranked No. Last season, the Bucs were ranked No. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

I think they try to bring them along as athletes a little bit more in teaching them tumbling and trying to work on tactics, strategies and techniques, instead of the number of competitions.

Some of these kids are making weight every weekend. When they get to high school there is going to be a certain amount of weight cutting for a kid to make a team, and I understand that part. There is a place for it. But if kids are eating healthy and maintaining good diets they can really help themselves out being better athletes instead of concentrating on the weight cut. Buxton: I watch at least an hour of film a day.

Part of it is to keep me on my toes. It keeps me interested in the sport. It keeps developing my technique. I think kids can learn quite a bit by watching wrestling. I've had a number of conversations with people and I say "Good luck with [pursuing him to coach]. I don't know if Jeff is ready [to accept] when anybody calls. Though Hardwick agreed with that notion, he would not get into specifics as to why Buxton stepped down just days before the school year.

Hardwick did say that he had a very strong relationship with the former coach. However, wrestling is not the end all and be all. If Blair can remain as one of the top wrestling programs in the country remains to be seen. The reality is that we're not a life support system for a great high school wrestling program.