Coaching change

Coach Jim Baker will be stepping down from his assistant wrestling position at LSE. The difficult decision was made to allow for more time with his family and fulfilling responsibilities in other work endeavors. At this time, I would like to publicly thank Coach Baker for his tremendous contribution to the Southeast wrestling family for the past six seasons. He built many strong relationships over his tenure and gave many young wrestlers the confidence to become better wrestlers, better students, and better people. Coach Baker spent six years as the head wrestling coach at Lincoln High (2000-2006) before joining the Knights program in 2008. As I became head coach at LSE in 2010, Coach Baker mentored me through my first couple of seasons. As a young naive coach, I never expected the overwhelming responsibility that comes with a head coaching position. I thank Coach Baker for easing this transition and believing in me every step of the way. He is and will continue to be a great mentor in my life. Coach Baker has assured me that we have not seen the last of him. He will continue to help out with our annual LSE JV tournament.  I’ve also convinced him to be the guy behind the microphone at all of our home duals.

Coach Baker’s replacement is no stranger to the program. I’m excited to announce Trey Ottley will be joining the wrestling staff as a full-time assistant. Coach Ottley has spent the past three seasons serving as a volunteer coach. He works as a director for Campus Life, an outreach ministry. Besides his coaching experience at LSE, Coach Ottley has been involved for four years coaching middle school intramurals. He graduated in 2009 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in middle level education. As a competitor, Coach Ottley played a major role in Lincoln East’s run for three state championships (2002-2004). He was a state medalist and qualified for the state tournament all four years of his career. Coach Ottley will work extensively with the freshman and junior varsity teams in the vital developmental process. Please join me in officially welcoming Trey Ottley to the coaching staff. He has already made a huge impact on our team culture and I look forward to working with him on a day-to-day basis.