Fight Rope Coach Spotlight: Coach Mike Douglas Jr.

Coach Douglas is a wrestling coach for Thoroughbred Wrestling and Valiant High School in Chandler, Arizona. He works with the youngest, newest wrestlers to grace the mat after coaching the high school students during the late afternoon. His program seeks to build Arizona as the premier talent pool in the Southwest. However, what makes him thefightrope.com spotlight coach is his approach and ability to dedicate his life to the next generation of athletes.

On any given night he is leading the new generation of wrestlers into their lives as competitors by mapping out their trajectories of good bonds, disciplined behavior, and lessons about grit and determination that you can only find on the mat. Some days are tough for the boys and girls, getting bumps, bruises, and the occasional bloody nose, but through the work and support their experiences are rewarding – new skills gained, friendships forged in battle, and psychology of champions.

The practices and tournaments aside coach Mike Douglas Jr. Is a mentor and guide for the pride of Arizona wrestling. He’s building a legacy and pipeline of college bound wrestler’s by encouraging good communication skills, emotional intelligence, and academic prowess. His tutelage is sought out by illustrious alumni of Arizona State University, Northwestern, Grand Canyon University, Utah Valley University, and so on as the coach they want their children to learn under.

At the high school where the stakes are much higher, he leads young men and women into the foray against the best in the nation and the world. Valiant High School is every wrestler’s dream, where the focus is that mat and the highest standards of education in the state of Arizona. As a newer private institution, the mission of Valiant is to spearhead a new way of academic achievement and achievement on the mat. To the teachers and staff both venues are expected to produce the highest quality student and athlete.

As a Fight Rope Coach his students and wrestlers use the fight rope before and after matches, during practices, and at home to train for their time on the mat. Often times the sound of tik, tik, tik of the rope caressing the mat can be heard echoing off the walls in the gym as the lights still glow from being on. The young men and women spend the extra thirty minutes after practice discussing wrestling and life with coach as he checks weight, prepares the mats for their nightly cleaning, and goes over homework of the student athletes.

“As a student athlete, the part of the student goes first for a reason. Wrestling involves discipline, the better prepared men in life are the one who study like a wrestler,” – Coach D.