Coaches in Concord, New Hampshire’s Ham Munnell and Bow’s Bill Chavanelle both think their teams are ready, even if their wrestlers still need work.

Coach Ham Munnell, who has led the Crimson Tide for decades, stated that the Concord team this year was “tough,” but that certain players needed to focus on “learning how to wrestle.” The team’s first scrimmage, held on Wednesday, “went good… not great, and I always want better,” he said. They were scrappy yet took pride in representing Concord, which I respect.”

This year, more than 40 pupils are expected to compete, including 10 new wrestlers, with coaches still determining weight classes. This year’s uniforms are also new. Many wrestlers also worked hard throughout the off-season to prepare for the next season.

When pressed to elaborate on his remark regarding learning to wrestle, Munnell stated, “There’s wrestling, and then there’s wrestling.” There are two types of learning: fine-tuning and bulk learning. We’re somewhere in the middle.”

During the scrimmage, Munnell was impressed with some of the new freshmen wrestlers, who should only help the junior varsity squad continue to win at the state level.

“The kids are excited, the coaches are excited,” the coach remarked. “It’s going to be a fun year.”During the most recent fundraising attempt, Concord wrestlers raised approximately $12,000 for the program.

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Bill Chavanelle, who is in his third year coaching the Bow High School Falcons after previously coached Rundlett Middle School wrestlers, expressed excitement for the season to begin.

“I think,” he remarked, “you always get excited about something.” This is my favorite time of year. It’s what keeps you going, isn’t it?”

Chavanelle says the team had six wrestlers when he took over two years ago. It was 16 last year. 28 this year. He claimed that Bow did not have a comprehensive youth program like RMS. At the same time, he remarked, the larger team “was solid.” During the scrimmage on Wednesday, the wrestlers were “impressive, overall,” according to Chavanelle.

Bow does not have any female wrestlers this year, but a handful from the young program will be in high school in two or three years. Chavanelle stated that he was “a big proponent” of girls wrestling.

Simultaneously, the developing squad will face several hurdles, like fitting players into different weight classes so the team can compete and explaining the process to the wrestlers.

“The expectation is always to win, to be competitive,” that’s what he said. “At the Division III level, I believe we have an excellent chance… It is expected to be the most competitive division in the last 15 to 20 years. “I’m excited about it.”

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