Smiths Station’s Tommy Sanders named All-Bi-City Wrestling Coach of the Year

Even before the season started, Smiths Station wrestling coach Tommy Sanders saw signs of the upcoming campaign being a special one.

Sanders was busy working as an assistant with the Panthers football team when he noticed several of the athletes from his other team putting in offseason work. There was a group of wrestlers consistently showing up together and preparing for the winter, all without Sanders’ guidance or suggestion.

“Before we ever started practice, I had a group of seniors who would gather up the other wrestlers and go out and run,” Sanders said. “Those three seniors definitely gave me hope that it was going to be a great season.”

That promising glimpse before the season’s beginning was followed by an excellent stretch of action throughout.

Smiths Station won three of its biggest tournaments: the Swede Umbach Invitational at Auburn, its own tournament and the City Wrestling Championships. The Panthers also won their region, topping perennial contenders Central and Auburn. In the process, Smiths Station beat the Red Devils twice.

It was quite the feat for Smiths Station, especially considering its roster loaded with inexperienced wrestlers.

“At one point, we were starting five freshmen in our lineup in our 14 weight classes,” Sanders said. “I thought they wrestled beyond their years, and we had great senior leadership. I was very pleased with the team. We were consistent all year.”

In Sanders’ mind, the secret to Smiths Station’s triumphs was consistency.

“If a guy was supposed to be first in a tournament, we were first in the tournament,” Sanders said. “I had 14 wrestlers who gave the best in every tournament, and that’s how you win tournaments. You’ve got to have three or four to get to the finals, and then the other 10 have to maximize their abilities. You can’t have two or three underachieve.”

Sanders said the Panthers’ biggest tournament was the City Wrestling Championships, which pitted 14 local wrestling squads against each other. Smiths Station unseated Central as the tournament champion thanks to finals victories by Dillion Morales, AJ Phillips and Deondrae Williams.

“I felt like our team was blessed this year,” Sanders said. “I have a good group of kids I’m proud to coach.”

As impressive as the season was, Sanders said the future may be even brighter. Sanders spoke highly of Smiths Station’s youth program, which was created seven years ago. At this point, several promising wrestling prospects have made it to the junior high level, where they ran roughshod over their area foes this season.

Based on past results, once they reach Sanders, who has previously been named Wrestling Coach of the Year at Smiths Station and at Hardaway, the success will only continue.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Smiths Station’s Tommy Sanders named All-Bi-City Wrestling Coach of the Year."