Varsity wrestling team hires new coach: William Barringer

From the gym to the mat, William Barringer, Royals varsity head wrestling coach, wants to go all in with the wrestling program.  

“I have always wanted to coach but coaching takes a big time commitment and I didn’t want to only partially commit so my first few years teaching in the district I didn’t help out much. As soon as I finished up some schooling and knew that I would be able to commit more time, I knew I wanted to go all in on the wrestling program.” Barringer said.

Barringer taught elementary physical education at Hopkins for three years at Eisenhower/XinXing, Alice Smith, and Gatewood.

So far, it looks that Barringer is putting a good impression on the team.

“Coach is focused on building a good solid wrestling program with lots of people,” Aaron Bertsch, sophomore, said.

Barringer doesn’t just bring his leadership and his work ethic to the mat, but also his past experience.

“Overall I think I had a good career. I was lucky enough to be a part of a decent wrestling team in high school at Highland Park. Highland Park is not known for wrestling so to have a few dedicated guys there the same years as me was pretty lucky,” Barringer said. “Then I wrestled at Luther college. Luther has a pretty strong wrestling tradition and I really enjoyed being in an environment and community that appreciated wrestling.”

If your looking to join the wrestling program, it’s never too late to try.

“Wrestling is one of the few sports that you can start in high school and still have plenty of success.  Stop by wrestling and let me try and convince you to give it whirl,” Barringer said.