ALL-NWADG WRESTLING

Coach of the Year

JASON ADAMS

SCHOOL Bentonville High

THE SCOOP Adams guided the Tigers to the Class 6A state team title, leading virtually from start to finish. ... He moved across town assuming the reins after serving as an assistant coach and helping Bentonville West to a state runner-up finish to Bentonville. ... Adams grew up wrestling in Sallisaw, Okla., and coached for 10 years at nearby Vian before coming to Arkansas ... He also got started coaching a youth wrestling team, and it became his passion after he stopped competing

DID YOU KNOW Adams was an accomplished wrestler, competing at Oklahoma for a year before quitting to devote time to his family. He won the coveted Tulsa Nationals six times from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Wrestling is a family affair without a doubt as he is joined by his son, Jake, his father and brother, all of whom participated in the sport.

QUOTABLE "When going through school, I had an opportunity to go and work with a youth program. I could after the first couple of weeks how much I loved it. It was like I was out there competing with them, and I just loved that. Probably why I loved coaching so much is it's as close to competing myself as I could get."

-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB