Maier to take over as Big Macs’ wrestling coach
Submitted photo
Jurdon Maier shouldn’t have any trouble getting a bus when Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team travels to dual meets and tournaments this season.
Maier, a 2007 graduate of Canon-McMillan who is the director of facilities and transportation for the school district, was hired during last Thursday’s school board meeting as the head coach of the Big Macs.
The position was vacant after Brian Krenzelak resigned to dedicate more time to his family.
Maier, who was on Krenzelak’s staff during his three-year run, didn’t have a head coaching job in mind when he accepted the assistant coaching position.
“I didn’t think about the head coaching job because I thought it would be some time before the position would open since Coach Slack had been around the program for so long,” Maier said.
Maier wasn’t 100% sure about the job when, “Slack,” as he is affectionately known at Canon-McMillan, decided to resign, but the support he received encouraged him to apply.
“Everyone was very supportive and reached out to me because they wanted me to stay, but the wrestlers were the ones that really turned the table for me,” Maier said. “They offered their support, and I decided to apply. The final interviews took place the Tuesday before the school board meeting. I didn’t have to worry about it for too long.”
With the emergence of girls wrestling, many programs have employed a separate head coach for the boys and girls teams, but Maier is the head coach for both teams, however, he will handle the day-to-day operations with the boys squad. He will also attend dual meets and tournaments where the boys compete if the girls are in action at the same time at a different venue.
Maier will be assisted by Albert Miles, Mark Powell, Marky Angle and Cody Klempay for the boys, while Ron Totterdale, Sheila Mitchell, Kevin Saniga and Dave Gump will guide the girls.
“I will be there for the girls team as much as I can, and we plan on having dual meets that feature junior high, girls varsity and boys varsity on the same night,” Maier said. “I have great assistants that work with the girls team, too, so I am confident they will have the girls team ready. The support for the wrestling community at Canon-McMillan is some of the best around.”
The success of the wrestling program also leads to expectations, which Maier is aware of.
“When you are coaching a program that is solid year-in and year-out, the expectations are going to be there,” Maier said. “The kids know about what to expect, and we have kids that have spent their summer working to get better.”
Maier, an Army veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 before graduating from Washington & Jefferson, is eager to work with Canon-McMillan Athletic Director Frank Vulcano Jr.
“It is a huge advantage to have someone like Frank as your AD,” Maier said. “You are talking about a guy who is a Hall-of-Famer and knows about all there is to know about the sport of wrestling.
“I don’t think it has really hit me yet in getting the job. It will probably occur once the season starts officially. I am eager to see the kids when we get back to school, and I hope to get more kids to come out for the sport. I am at every building in the district with my job throughout the day, so I get to know all the kids.”