Macomb High boys wrestling coach Luke Ladd is sure about one thing entering the 2025-26 season.
That thing is that as of right now he isn’t sure of anything.
“To be honest, I don’t know what to think,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of new kids, which is really good to have. But we’ve got a lot of holes to fill too.”
“On the surface, it looks like we can fill most of the weight classes,” said Ladd.
Ethan Hoyt was a sectional qualifier last season at 120 pounds.
Ladd looks for Hoyt, along with Jacksyn Holderfield and Conway Van-Fleet to lead the squad this season.
“They’re going to have to step up and be really good for us this year and show the younger guys the way,” said Ladd.
“We’ve recruited a lot of guys to come back out and fill holes,” he added. “We’ll see what we’ve got.”
Junior Jeshua McPheeters was fourth in regional competition at 175 last year. Kyler Miller also returns.
Freshman AJ Moon (190215) has made significant strides in just his second year of wrestling, while Jonathan Bullock (106) gives the Bombers a wrestler at that weight for the first time “in a while” Ladd noted.
The first two weeks have featured a lot of reviewing the basics or as Ladd calls them “mundane-type practices.”
Just like coaches in many other sports, Ladd is ready to see the athletes in action.
“I’m just excited to get them out there and see what they’ve got against somebody they don’t know,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of kids that are going to be trial by fire the first couple of weeks,” added Ladd. “We’re going to have to learn on the fly and figure some stuff out.”
“But I like the crew we have in here,” he continued. “We have a bunch of kids that keep showing up every day. That’s all you can ask for.”
While some are part of the program for differing reasons, others have lofty goals.
“We have a handful of guys whose aspirations are to make it to state and get on the podium,” said Ladd. “We have a handful of kids who really bought in and want to go far.”
“We have to encourage them to do the things we can’t coach, and that’s effort,” he added. “If they go out there and give 100 percent effort, the wins will come.”
“Getting (athletes) to buy into the sport is part of the fun of being a wrestling coach,” said Ladd. “For so many of these kids, they don’t even know what wrestling really is.”
“It’s one of those things that when you’re doing it that you either love it or you hate it,” he added. “The ones that hate it, they don’t stick around. Once they start to love it, then we start adjusting those goals a little bit and get them to reach their potential.”
In aiding that cause, the Bombers face a challenging schedule in the effort to prepare the grapplers for post-season competition.
“Up until February, everything’s practice. We’re just practicing against other teams, practicing against other individuals,” said Ladd. “But once regionals start, everybody is 0-0.”
