Jason Nickal acknowledges that he was born to be a wrestling coach.
That makes sense because Nickal has a more than 30-year career as one of the nation’s most accomplished and renowned wrestling coaches.
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For example, Nickal has taught and coached numerous champions at schools in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, and Kentucky. He has also won two National Wrestling Coaches Association State Coach of the Year titles.
In addition, he has the backing of Sandy, his wife.
Nickal smiled and remarked, “My wife says I’m a happier man when I’m coaching wrestling.” I feel like I’m missing something when I’m not coaching.
Ryan Cummins, who oversaw the wrestling program at State College High School for 11 years, is replaced by Nickal, who is in his first season in that role.
They were short-staffed last year, so at my wife’s insistence, I accepted the assistant coaching post, which I really enjoyed, Nickal recalled. I therefore applied for the head coaching role when it became available.
After State College defeated Central Dauphin Tuesday night at Penn State University’s Rec Hall, the Little Lions are now 2-2 overall and 1-2 on the season in the Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth dual meet wars.
Our team is comparatively young. Our timetable is quite challenging. Nickal stated, “We have some young wrestlers that are up against some really tough competition.” The goal is to keep them motivated, to do the right thing, and to know that their efforts will be rewarded if they continue to put in a lot of effort.
We don’t get any easy duals in this part of the country, so every team we face is a struggle, Nickal said. The season begins with the (Walsh) Ironman, the hardest competition in the country.
Asher Cunningham, a Penn State University recruit and the reigning PIAA state champion, won a silver medal in the Ironman, placing State College 29th out of over 100 teams.
It’s nothing new for me to have coached over 40 state champions in my career, including my son Bo Nickal, who won three state titles. “When you get guys like that, you try not to screw them up,” Nickal added.
He continued by saying, “They just need the support to keep doing what they’re doing. They’re such good wrestlers.” One of the best high school coaches I’ve ever had is Asher Cunningham. Seeing and coaching him is a lot of fun.
Prior to making a breakthrough against Central Dauphin on Tuesday, the Little Lions had tight Commonwealth dual losses to Cedar Cliff and Chambersburg earlier this month.
“Those are difficult losses, but we’re learning from them and improving,” Nickal said. “It’s about improving at this time of year.”
A WRESTLING FAMILY THROUGH GENERALITY
Bo, Nickal’s son, is a seasoned MMA competitor and a top-tier attraction in the UFC circuit. He was a three-time NCAA champion for Penn State.
Last month, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Bo Nickal defeated Paul Craig via decision in UFC 309 to maintain his career unblemished record.
Bo occasionally helps Little Lions wrestlers with particular tactics and provides instruction in the State College practice room, taking time out of his MMA/UFC schedule to do so.
Bo runs an American Top Team camp in State College, which acts as a nearby MMA fighter training ground.
It all began when my dad wrestled in college and with his sibling in high school. According to Nickal, he was my wrestling coach in high school.
Nickal chose not to compete in university wrestling, but his first teaching and coaching position in a small Colorado town involved wrestling.
“I never turned around,” he said. It’s generational, you know. I’ve trained a lot of talented wrestlers, including my son. On Tuesday, my son assisted us during practice. We have a third generation now.
Additionally, Ace, his young son, will turn one year old next week. He is, hopefully, the fourth and subsequent generation of Nickal wrestlers.
According to Nickal, going to a UFC bout to watch Bo is like going to an NCAA wrestling tournament.
According to Nickal, it’s like going to the NCAAs when you walk into an arena full of yelling fans. The fact that there are less competitions is the challenging aspect. You compete a lot in wrestling. There are two fights in MMA each year.
I adore seeing him compete. “Watching him compete in the octagon is a lot of fun, just like it was on the wrestling mat,” he said. (Bo) has made a great shift. Despite the fact that he is relatively new to the sport, he is held to high standards. He fights against men who have fought 30 to 40 times. He is committed to his craft and is picking things up rapidly.
THE LINK WITH PENN STATE
The wrestling programs of Penn State and State College High School have a close relationship.
Casey, the father of Asher Cunningham, is the Nittany Lions’ top assistant coach.
According to Nickal, we’re extremely lucky to have a strong relationship with the Penn State University wrestling team and our high school program. Our junior high program also includes Mason, the son of coach Cody Sanderson, and Teague, the son of head coach Cael Sanderson.
All three of those wrestlers were able to show their skills in Rec Hall Tuesday night, where their fathers ply their trade.
Nickal remarked, “That’s special for those boys.” This link is unique. The sport has benefited greatly from the work of their coaches.
Developing a Robust Program
Since taking over at State College, Nickal claimed to have closely examined the junior wrestling, junior high, and high school programs.
If we can all three of those programs aligned and working together cohesively, we have the potential to be a very strong wrestling program, Nickal said.
We have over 100 kids out in the juniors and close to 60 in junior high and we re sitting at 35 at the varsity program, he said. Those are great numbers. With that said, you can usually find some great talent in those numbers.
The second thing is to refine and hone in on the skills, the techniques and the strategies needed to be successful on the mat, Nickal said. It will take a good two to three years before we see the fruits of our labor.
But if we stick to the plan, continue to work together from the youth to the varsity, we re going to have a really solid squad.
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