As a student at Wilbraham & Monson Academy, Drew Shea '08 gave five years to the Varsity Wrestling team.
Now, as a faculty member at the Academy, he plans to give many more years to the program he loves.
After serving one season as an assistant, Coach Shea was named the Head Coach of WMA Varsity Wrestling for the 2015-16 season in early November.
"I'm super excited about being named Head Coach," Coach Shea said. "I can't wait to get in there and get after it with the guys. I'm still excited to have (former Head Coach) Tim Poole around for this year. It's going to be a learning mentorship process this year as a first-year Head Coach getting a lot of the intricacies figured out in terms of keeping track of the online database and registering the wrestlers and understanding the weight-cutting program. It's going to be a higher commitment outside the wrestling room but I'm definitely really excited."
Coach Shea has plenty to be excited about as he steps into his first role as the Head Coach of a Varsity program. Two dozen students are on the 2015-16 roster, which is a figure significantly higher than recent years.
"I haven't seen a wrestling room that packed at WMA since the 1980s or 1990s," Coach Shea said. "We've already had a good start to our year. We have a lot of athletic ability, a lot of heart, a lot of spirit and a lot of good attitudes on the team. I can't wait to see what the season brings."
Coach Shea served as a two-time captain for Wrestling at the Academy, typically competing in the 152- and 160-pound weight classes. He finished fifth at the Class A Championships as a junior, and was having a strong senior year on the mat before a knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
He was thrilled when he returned to the mat last season after serving as an assistant for sub-Varsity Basketball upon his return to the Academy in 2013-14.
"It was incredible to be back on the mat," said Coach Shea, who earned co-MVP honors for Wrestling his junior year. "Wrestling is one of my passions. It's a little bit of an obscure sport – not everyone understands it. There was a point when I was a student at the Academy when I was contemplating and partially being recruited to wrestle in college, as opposed to lacrosse, which was my choice in the end for my college experience.
"Being on the mat is exciting. It's a sport unlike anything else. It's you and the other person and how much you want to push it."