By Faith Anderson ’25
This year’s DHS wrestling team has continued its 40-year pattern of success. The team holds 5 wins and 10 losses. This season was especially exciting because, “to add to the uniqueness of the team, for the first time we had 5 girls join. It was special to watch the show of toughness from the girls as they fit right into the sport and a show of total acceptance from the boys,” said Coach Walter “Buster” Jadach.
Coach Buster has a long history here at DHS. Besides being the wrestling coach and playing and loving the sport, he is also part of the school’s very-known “Derby Athletic Hall of Fame” from his time as a DHS student. Buster describes how his coaching journey began: “In 1974 James Matthews, a physical education teacher at DHS, formed a wrestling team. He had been a New York state wrestling champion. The team held their practices at the Veterans Memorial gym on Fifth Street. It happened that I would weight lift there so by chance I came across their practice. I was interested. I became friends with the coach – became a regular at practices- and 6 years later became the head coach of a sport I had never done.” Coach Busters takes in his DHS alumnus status: “As a graduate of DHS, it certainly makes me feel honored and proud, but I certainly know that it was the hundreds of athletes who stepped onto the wrestling mat and got hooked the way I did that got me there.”
The wrestling team is greatly diverse in different ways. Back then when wrestling first started it was just boys, but nowadays on our team there are a handful of girls that were very interested in wrestling and brave enough to join the team. Jermaine Higgs ‘23 shares his opinion on how it feels to have female teammates with him: “Having both boys and girls on the team, I’m not used to it or having female teammates. It’s new to me and I think the females on the team are very brave for doing that and coming out I have a lot of respect for females on the team.” Nicole Gregory ‘25, a girl herself who was a part of this 2023 season wrestling team, describes her perspective on being on the team as a female. She says, “Wrestling against males for me is easier to get in the right mindset but these are physically strong while wrestling girls at first I’m afraid of hurting them because most girls are new to writing and the strength level is far more equal compared to guys”
Another way the team is uniquely structured is that other students from different schools are a part of the DHS team. Coach Buster explains, “DHS was considered the host school so all practices were held here. We found a suitable practice time for all coaches and athletes. The parents and athletes from other schools did have the burden of traveling. As far as the actual practices I have to say I was amazed at how quickly the team blended. Of course, it may be because practice partners were from different schools and practices are intense. Plus the team usually spent 10 hours together at Saturday tournaments.” He also mentioned how welcoming the students were, knowing that they have other teammates coming from different towns and schools: “Our DHS students were great. Very welcoming to the others. It didn’t take them long to make new friends.”
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time, but I find something meaningful about each team. The athletes on this team came from 3 schools that all at one time had successful wrestling programs. That in itself made them special. I told them that we don’t know what the future holds for the sport of wrestling in our 3 schools but they are the team that is holding it together and giving us hope. We are so grateful for their willingness to come together as one team.” said Coach Buster.
The Raider Press 