Former Avery High School and Appalachian State University wrestler Derrick Calloway has accepted the position of head wrestling coach at Alleghany High School in Sparta, NC.Calloway, a 2004 Avery High graduate, was a standout heavyweight wrestler in high school for former Vikings head wrestling coach Matthew Bentley, and wrestled at ASU under the tutelage of fellow Avery alum and then-assistant wrestling coach John Mark Bentley, who has since taken over as head coach of the Mountaineer program.
A 2008 Appalachian graduate, Calloway has worked the last two school years in the Mitchell County school system as assistant coach at Mitchell High School and with the county’s youth recreational wrestling club.
Derrick takes over as head coach at Alleghany following the successful tenures of former head coach and current Alleghany principal Paul Crouse and, most recently, from former head coach Jimmy Rutherford. Calloway is just the sixth head coach in the illustrious history of the Trojan wrestling program, and will also have a teaching position working with the EC (Exceptional Children) program at the school.
“I am honored to have this position. People across the state were applying for it, and I feel really blessed to have this job to take over such a program,” Calloway said in an interview this week. “Alleghany has an amazing backing of support from the community. I feel right at home already, and people have been so supportive. I’ve had parents and coaches help me with finding a place to live in Sparta, and folks have introduced themselves to me and offered to help out in any way they can.”
The name “Alleghany” is synonymous with success around state high school wrestling circles. The school won state team championships in 1989, 1997, and 1998, while winning state dual team championships in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The Trojans are also nine-time regional champions.
Coach Calloway is well aware of the historic pedigree at Alleghany and looks forward to embracing the traditions and continuing the train of success.
“The tradition and history of Alleghany wrestling is known throughout the state and the Southeast. There is such a great tradition of excellence. When the school doesn’t win a state championship it is a bad year, since the team was so dominant while winning state championships in the 1980s and on through the 1990s and into recent years,” Calloway stated. “The program is backed by a great community. At most home wrestling matches you’ll see 30 or 40 people attend at a school, where at Alleghany there are hundreds of folks who come out to support the team. Wrestling I have been told is the heart and soul of Alleghany, and that I shouldn’t be surprised when the town closes down during wrestling matches like you would see for football games in the movies.”
The process that led to Calloway’s hiring occurred over a period of several months and was unique.
“I was at a tournament with Mitchell at North Wilkes and former Alleghany head coach Paul Crouse was refereeing a match one of our kids was involved in. At a point during a match, I started yelling and pointing that a takedown should have been awarded, and Coach Crouse told me to step back from being on his mat or risk getting ejected. Immediately after that he came over and asked to speak to me after the matches,” Calloway explained. “I thought he was upset with me. He told me he loved my passion and enthusiasm, and how my style reminded him of him. He asked me if I might be interested in coaching at Alleghany."
Calloway continued, "At the state tournament he informed me that the head coaching position was opening up at Alleghany and if I was interested, which I was. We kept in touch via email over the past couple of months, and I interviewed a couple of weeks ago for a special education teaching position as well as the head wrestling coach’s position.”
It is obvious shortly into any conversation with Coach Calloway that he holds Avery County dear to his heart and is extremely grateful for the guidance he received from the coaches he wrestled for and learned his craft.
“Avery County has a great tradition of wrestling. One of the main things Coach Crouse liked when I interviewed was that I had been coached in high school by Matthew Bentley and in college by John Mark Bentley. People know what those guys did in wrestling, and the Bentley name is well-known in wrestling circles for success as both wrestlers and coaches. Not only is them, but their high school coach Hank Hardin is also beloved and greatly respected around the state,” Calloway said.
“When I was interviewing for the job and working in the wrestling room with Coach Crouse, I was showing him a wrestling move. He asked me “Who did you learn that move from?” and I told him that it was learned from John Mark Bentley. Coach Crouse then asked “Where did he learn it from?” and I said “From Matthew Bentley.” Then Coach Crouse asked, “Who did Matthew learn it from?” and I said “Coach Hardin.” Coach Crouse then said, “You are from a line of coaches that has made Avery known for its in-your-face, aggressive, six-minutes, non-stop style, and that’s what Alleghany is.”
“Each of the three Avery coaches were great wrestlers and have been great coaches who have had impressive results during their tenures. Learning from them and working with them has instilled in me a knowledge and technique that I needed to have to possibly reach that kind of success myself as a coach.”
Although his alma mater is special to Derrick, in no way does that mean he or his Trojan wrestlers will take it easy or let up should Alleghany meet the likes of Avery or his former employers at Mitchell.
“I believe the most respectful thing I can do as a coach is to give Alleghany everything I have as a coach to prepare our kids to beat anyone, no matter who it is on the mat. I believe you respect all your opponents. If it’s a kid from Avery we’re facing, I want to win,” Coach Calloway said.
“From whistle to whistle, if it’s a Brock Yackey or any of the other wrestlers from Avery or Mitchell, I’m going to give everything I have as a coach to help my wrestlers to beat that opponent. I respect both those schools, but I believe if you slack off or don’t give all I have to help our kids win, I’m doing a disservice to Avery and Mitchell, and even more so to Alleghany who has entrusted me to lead them to a championship.”
At age 23, Calloway is one of, if not the youngest head wrestling coach in North Carolina. Despite his relative youth, Derrick understands that there will bumps along the way that will help mature him as a coach and shape his stamp on the rich Alleghany tradition.
“I know that I’m an Alleghany Trojan now, but I still feel that I’m carrying on that Avery tradition that has been passed down from Coach Hardin to Matthew and John Mark. Coaching has been a dream for me since I was kicked off a recreation league basketball team in eighth grade,” Calloway stated. “I knew I wanted to take over a program one day. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but I like that people are going to be watching. We have some rebuilding to do as we lost a few wrestlers, but I think people will be supportive and that folks will like what they see.”
Congratulations to Coach Calloway and best wishes as he begins his head coaching career at Alleghany!
