Steve Mason had a deal with Cory Collins, who was coaching at Emmanuel University at the time.
“I always told him, ‘If you ever want to leave Emmanuel, we’d love to get you over here,’” said Mason, the wrestling coach at Oglethorpe County High School. “I really didn’t think it would happen.”
But last year, Collins made the call.
He was ready for a change, trading the high-stakes world of college recruiting for the small-town atmosphere of Oglethorpe County, where he was hired as the wrestling coach at Oglethorpe County Middle School.
The move was as much about family as it was about wrestling.
Collins, who teaches sixth-grade English, his wife and two young sons are settling into their new home near his family in Crawford.
Collins, who is from Oconee County, said the shift back to his roots provided the perfect backdrop to raise a family while building a program. He’s able to relate to the wrestlers because he has similar life experiences from growing up in the same area and competing against similar schools.
However, the transition from coaching college athletes to less experienced wrestlers has come with hurdles. Collins admits middle schoolers present a fun challenge.
“These are children,” Collins said. “(They) don’t have their own rides to practice. They don’t have the attention span. But, it’s a lot of fun because they’re kids that need adults.”
Mason, who ran the middle school program for seven years after returning to his alma mater, gave Collins a simple piece of advice: “You can be tough on middle school kids as long as they know you love them.”
Collins has taken that to heart.
Inheriting what Mason describes as a “complete rebuild,” Collins focused his first season on joy rather than just the scoreboard.
About 85% of the OCMS wrestlers were in their first year, so he taught the “Patriot Standard,” a mix of fundamental technique and the mental toughness required to survive the grind of the sport.
“I get to teach the kids how to have fun when they don’t know anything,” Collins said. “If you’re just being miserable at practice every day, you’re never going to want to be good.”
With the middle school season wrapped up, Collins has switched to being an assistant to the varsity team. He elevated middle schoolers Sawyer Pittard and Noah Borland, who Collins said have a strong work ethic and are eager to be great wrestlers.
For Mason, having Collins at the middle school is key to helping instill his vision in the program.
“I would almost put my best coach at the middle school because it’s that important,” Mason said. “Oglethorpe County is blessed to have somebody like Cory Collins.”