Three new coaches taking over at Elyria Catholic

Three of Elyria Catholic's winter sports teams have new coaches and all have a common goal this season — establishing a solid foundation and growing their programs. Tony Budka will lead the return of the wrestling program, Brandon Basinger takes over the hockey program and Nicole Gladish steps in to coach the swim team. All three bring experience to their roles while also recognizing the challenges they will face this winter as they build their teams from the ground up. Budka previously ran programs at Clearview and Vermilion, his alma mater, where he coached his two sons. He'd like to get the Panthers, who haven't had a team for three years, back to past levels of success. "Back in my day, they had a nice program and when I found out they didn't have wrestling, I thought I'd try it," Budka said. "I would love to be part of a building process of starting from the ground up. I have a love for wrestling. Our sport has been lacking in the last decade with numbers starting to dwindle. This is my way of giving back." The EC program has 10 students who have participated in practices so far, but those numbers could double. There are around a dozen possible wrestlers on the football team, which is still alive in the playoffs. Budka has three assistant coaches to help with the challenges of acclimating athletes who are new to wrestling. "I have to remind myself every day that we can't breeze through," Budka said of rebuilding the program. "We have to build a foundation first before we put the walls up and roof on. But right now, they're buying into it. They're going to give me their heart and soul." Budka said he is already seeing improvement after a handful of practices. His goal this season is for opponents to "know they wrestled an Elyria Catholic kid," he said. "We're going to be in shape and we're going to know our moves." Basinger, like Budka, must wait for the end of the football season to have all his skaters on the ice. A 2001 EC graduate, Basinger was a center on the hockey team and has spent eight years coaching Elyria Youth Hockey, a club that plays against Cleveland-area teams. "The goal is to build the program and get people interested in coming to Elyria Catholic," Basinger said. "We want to get the name out there that Elyria Catholic has a high school hockey program." Basinger and assistant coach Chris Hand (a 2004 EC grad and hockey player) came aboard to get students who would be interested in attending the school and playing the sport. The Panthers expect to have eight skaters and two goalkeepers, including three players who are still with the football team. With limited numbers, most of the practices have focused on fundamentals and individual drills. But Basinger is excited about a pair of freshmen, Andrew Post and A.J. Schweinberger, who have played hockey since they were young. The Panthers compete in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League Blue Division, which is made up of programs with a similar size as Elyria Catholic. Basinger believes they "will be competitive against the teams we play." The Panthers open the season at home Wednesday against Brecksville-Broadview Heights. Gladish brings six years of coaching experience, having led Fairview for two years before stepping away after last season because of schedule conflicts. She also was an assistant coach at North Olmsted for a year and has coached club and recreation teams in the area. A teacher at St. Jude's school in Elyria, she already has some familiarity with her team. "I know some of the swimmers from previous coaching," she said. "I knew it was a good program and it needed someone to step in with some new energy. It felt like the right fit." Gladish recognizes that the team's size, made up of just five swimmers, will be the biggest challenge. She aims to get her swimmers to "be more of a team, to encourage one another, and get some personal best times, some broken records and building the program back up." "Most of the swim programs in our area are significantly larger," Gladish said. "It's getting them over the mindset that we may not win meets, and it's hard to not win, but if we're racing the best we can, then we can have a good season if we push to the best of our abilities." Gladish does have senor and returning state-placer Katie Susi on the team. Susi will be a strong contender to make the Division II state meet in the 100 breaststroke (she placed seventh last year) and 200 individual medley (11th). Susi recently signed her letter of intent to swim at Findlay University. The co-ed swim team has its first meet Dec. 1 at the North Olmsted Recreation Center. Contact Anthony Moujaes at ctsports@chroniclet.com.