Wildcats find new pack leader as Schneider takes wrestling reins

Change can be challenging, even for trained athletes. Wildcat wrestlers are going through their own change as  the youth of the roster is reflected by first year head coach Brent Schneider.

Assistant coach Zach Bartels, who previously wrestled at West, believes in Schneider as more than just a coach.

“I think Coach Schneider is a great addition to this program. Obviously, we lost a good coach last year with Coach [Matthew] Cuadra, but that’s in the past nothing; we can do about it now,” he said. “I’ve known him for 10 years of my life, so I’ve known him as a good guy and a good coach.”

Junior Will Dailey believes that, through Schneider’s vast experience on the mat and as a trainer for Team Nazar, the squad will be on another level.

photo by Kaz Karla

“I think we are in good hands. Coach Schneider has been coaching for a really long time, and he knows what he’s doing and talking about,” he said. “I think he’s a really great coach.”

Based on past experiences with the new coach, senior wrestler Juan Heredia expects Schneider’s experience to lift the program.

“I’m excited to see what he brings along. I know he’s a very experienced, wise coach and he has a lot of connections in the wrestling world,” he said. “He’s been around the sport for a while now, and I’ve been able to work with him in the past, so just being able to really work with him a lot more gets me excited about this upcoming season.”

After the first practice, Schneider saw a team defined by toughness and a good mentality.

“I think everyone showed up with a good attitude and worked hard for the whole practice. Lots of positives going on with the guys. They wrestled hard and no one gave up, so that’s really good,” he said. “Everyone was ready to work hard and come back the next day.”

Sophomore Colden Searles appreciates the team’s intensity and believes maintaining this energy consistently is the goal.

“The energy right now is super high. Everyone is coming into practice; everyone is really hyped up right now, and I think we are ready to go and execute,” he said. “We are hoping to keep this energy all the way through the season.”

Junior Yylah Yang believes the intensity of the underclassmen can contribute to the program with youthfulness and fresh attitudes. 

“The team is very youthful and energetic. While they don’t have that much experience as other seniors that started since middle school, the freshmen and sophomores bring a lot of energy to this team,” he said. “They have also been working very hard in the off-season, like going to open mats, tournaments, and camps. Everyone is excited for this new season with coach Schneider.”

Bartels is not concerned with inexperience, but excited about what they will bring to the program.

“I think that we have a very young team. I think that this team has a lot of skills to bring to the table,” he said. “They have some good experience because a lot of guys have been wrestling over the summer, and so that’s going to be hugely beneficial for us.”

While wrestlers feed on energy and passion, Bartels needs them to maintain discipline no matter the situation.

“The wrestlers need to bring intensity for sure, but they need to be leaders not just on the mat, but in the classroom as well,” he said. “They need to hold their other teammates accountable, like if they are slacking off, they need to tell them to focus back in. They need to make sure that their grades stay good, like I mentioned before, and they just need to make sure that they come ready to work at every practice.”

Heredia believes the Wildcats are ready to meet these expectations and has its goals in place as they enter the season.

“We’re locked in. We’re trying to focus on being the best we can,” he said. “As wrestlers, it’s going to be a very tough task and it’s not going to be easy, but we’re not going to let that bother us either.”

Schneider feels that wrestlers still have room for improvement.

“I think it’s just the skill sets. We have a really young program here. There are only a couple of seniors and then a lot of underclassmen, so we just need to get everyone a good skill set and focus on technique,” he said. “I think the basics that start from the beginning and just learning that core group of techniques that you need to win in any situation.”

According to Bartles, wrestlers could improve their performance in competition.

“I think our main room for improvement is to focus on the overall condition of our wrestling team. What we are going to do a lot is repetition,” he said. “Just getting the moves right by doing it over and over. We’re not going to focus as much on the conditioning aspect of wrestling, but we’re going to do a lot harder drilling and what not.”

Yang hopes to lead by example as the team learns about more than just wrestling.

“Within the whole team, I would like our work ethic to improve because when I was the underclassman, I didn’t take the sport as seriously, but I hope to teach the underclassmen more to take it seriously,” he said. “Even if they do other sports, wrestling is still important because it teaches you different aspects of life such as discipline and work ethic.”

Similarly, Dailey questioned the focus of wrestlers while practicing, indicating the need to be more serious when practicing.

“We need to stay on task and make sure we are doing what we need to be doing. Everyone knows each other very well, and, ironically, it makes it easy to get off task and start talking to our friends or teammates,” he said. “I think that’s the room for improvement for this season.”

Sophomore wrestler Preston Schneider agrees, strongly believing the new coach will be able to discipline the team away from those habits.

“Coach Schneider will push us to work hard and not slack off at practice which will help us with discipline,” he said. “Going into this season he will push us harder than we've worked in years past to improve as a wrestler.”

In addition to team goals, wrestlers, such as Yang, are driven by their own personal visions.

“I am hoping to improve my discipline. Previously, I was an underclassman, so I didn’t have the same seriousness as the seniors had during my previous years, but I do now,” he said. “I hope that Coach Schneider can teach me how to be more disciplined and be better as a wrestler, since he has a great wrestling background.”

by Mark Jung and Lydia Hill

Published December 1, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 122 Issue III