This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.
For only the third time this century, Charles Page High School is looking for a wrestling coach.
After four seasons as head coach, Jarrod Patterson has resigned to take a job as an assistant coach at Appalachian State University, an NCAA Division I program in Boone, North Carolina.
“It’s a tough place to leave because obviously there’s a lot of support and a lot of wrestling people here, and our family’s real close, but we just decided (to do this) while we’re still young,” said Patterson.
“I’ve been wanting to coach at the college level for the last couple of years so we decided if we’re not going to do it now, it won’t ever happen.”
Patterson took over the Sandite program in 2018 following the retirement of Kelly Smith. His teams went 29-19 in duals and won two district championships, placing 7th, 10th, 18th, and 13th at the State tournament with 23 qualifiers.
His stint at Sand Springs was his first as a head coach and he was previously an assistant at Brown University in Rhode Island.
“I coached for a year at Brown and really enjoyed it,” said Patterson. “Brown wasn’t a super good fit for me there. The location wasn’t great, being so far away from family and my girlfriend (now wife).”
The App State program has been trending upwards, and went 9-2 this season, placing second in the Southern Conference and 28th at the NCAA championship.
“I talked to some of my college buddies and a couple of them sent (the job listing) to me and told me about their coach, JohnMark, and said he was a good guy to work for,” said Patterson.
JohnMark Bentley has led the Mountaineers to a 51-5 conference record in the last eight seasons and has a 122-73-1 record over the last 13 years with six SoCon regular-season titles. He recently signed a contract extension through 2027.
According to Patterson, the school recently added three scholarship positions to the wrestling roster and is expected to add more in the coming years to help make the program even more competitive.
“It’s a program that’s kind of on the rise right now, so I think it’s a good place to be.”
Patterson will finish out the school year at Sand Springs before the family moves to North Carolina on June 1st. His wife has also secured a new job in Boone.
He informed his team before practice earlier this week that he wouldn’t be back next year.
“It’s a hard thing to do, to tell them that I’m not going to be the coach, but I also told them it was an opportunity for me. It was something I’ve been dreaming of, and we preach to the kids to chase their dreams.”
“I have a good relationship with a lot of the kids. We’re together first hour and second hour and they all come hang out in the wrestling room all day long. So I think having that relationship, they understand that it’s an opportunity for me.”
Patterson has nothing but good things to say about Sand Springs, despite leaving.
“I’m in an awesome high school coaching position. I feel like I have all the resources I need, I have tons of support from parents and alumni. It’s just a great place to coach so leaving a position like this is kind of difficult.”
“It’s been great. I’ve had a lot of support. Obviously it’s not my hometown, but I’ve felt like within the last four years it’s kind of grown into my hometown.”
Patterson inherited the Sandites at an interesting time after the sudden retirement of 16-year head coach Kelly Smith, just a year removed from a State Championship. Smith, who now operates a Farmer’s Insurance agency in Sand Springs, has also stayed on as an assistant coach and his son is a junior on the team.
“Kelly Smith has been great. He’s helped me through that transition period,” said Patterson.
“(Earl) Shockley and TeDon (Fleischman) have been awesome with me. It’s hard to leave those guys as well. And obviously we’ve got some great junior high coaches. I had a good group of coaches to coach with and that made it hard to leave, as well.”
“I think the biggest challenge in the beginning was not having relationships with the kids, parents, and alumni. They don’t really know what to expect from me in the beginning. They don’t know my personality, how hard I work, or my goals.”
Patterson views his time in Sand Springs as a period of major personal growth.
“Those who were around me in the beginning know that I’m an introverted person by nature. Having a head coaching spot, I feel like it’s been really good for me as far as learning speaking skills, learning to fundraise, learning communication skills, doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, working with kids. Kids have all different kinds of emotions, different personalities.”
“I got a lot of experience as far as working with kids individually, communication with parents, fans, kids as a whole. I feel like I’ve definitely grown in the last four years.”
“Coach Patterson has been an integral part of Sandite Wrestling,” said Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton.
“We will miss him absolutely. He has been given an opportunity that few will ever get and we wish him and his family all the best at Appalachian State.”
As for the next head coach at Sand Springs, they’ll have a great community to step into and benefit from.
“I think we have an awesome group of coaches from youth to junior high to high school, that were on the same page,” said Patterson.
“I think we’re in a position where somebody can step in and they’re in a good position to really just jump right in and hit the ground running. The kids work hard, they want to win, they’re disciplined. They’re all very respectful kids. It’s just a fun group of athletes and coaches to be around, and it’s a fun group of admin as well. I had a lot of support as far as that goes as well.”
