Londonderry wrestling now a family affair

First-year Londonderry wrestling coach Jim Marron has quickly settled into his new job, and with good reason.

After all, he has been an assistant coach with the Lancers for the last 10 years, and was coach of the Londonderry Middle School program since 1996, where he won middle school Coach of the Year honors twice. He also spent two years coaching at the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I. With a resume like that, it's not hard to see why he quickly acclimated to the pressures of head coach at the high school level.

"I think a lot of the nervousness is pretty much gone," he said. "I'm fairly settled into doing what I need to do. A little excitement comes with the nature of the beast, but I think my historical background dictates you don't do much of the warm fuzzy stuff, you just get to work."

Getting to work is easy though, when you have Marron's experience and, perhaps more importantly, his support staff. This winter, he will coach alongside his sons, assistants Shames and Sean Marron, as well as the Murphy brothers, Ryan and Travis.

"It's just the natural progression of things (to come back and work with your father)," said Shames Marron during practice on Monday. Even though school and all after-school activities had been canceled, Shames Marron and his father were in the Londonderry High wrestling room, putting 14 team members through another practice.

By all accounts, the boys on the team already love their new coaching staff, which is more than willing to go to the mats with the Lancer wrestlers to show off a technique or correct a mistake.

"All the wrestlers know the (younger) Marrons and the Murphys are new to coaching, but they're very open," said Lancers captain Scott Worth, who has wrestled in the Londonderry system since sixth grade. "They'll go up to you and suggest better things instead of sitting back or letting Coach Marron do it. They all wrestled for Londonderry besides Travis Murphy (who went to Trinity). Personally I like the hands-on style. I know a lot of us like having them walk around the room. It's nice to have. I think in the sport of wrestling that most people like that."

The coaches' active role has already paid off. Worth had been struggling in every practice because he kept reaching back and touching his opponent's head. ("Everyone knows you can't do that," he said). One of the coaches took him aside and drilled that fact into him. In the Lancers' final preseason meet, it seemed to work. Worth didn't reach back once.

Marron, too, was effusive in his praise of the young coaching staff. "I think it's extremely helpful to have them around," he said. "I have the mentality that I have to coach the coaches and they coach the wrestlers. I'm going to keep my two cents out of motivating the wrestlers and let them do it. Those four guys can push some pretty serious intensity around the room. But they're an enjoyable kind of intense. They take the time to show the kids how to do things and take the time to get it right. They do all the things a good coach does, and I wouldn't be surprised if they got their own programs some day. (Because of them), things that normally take programs years to do is happening for us in days and hours."

The Marron boys were good wrestlers in their own right, but Shames Marron, who did two tours of duty in Iraq, was probably the best. He was a four-year wrestler and qualified for New Englands while at Londonderry. After high school, he joined the Marines and quickly found out about the All-Marine team and spent a lot of his time off practicing with them.

"Those guys are some of the most insane athletes I've ever competed with, and just in a practice setting," said Shames. "I was on a TAD assignment (Temporary Assigned Duty), and they welcomed me there for a short time. They are amazing. They get pulled from all over the Marine Corps to wrestle there, so that was quite an experience."

Because of all that, Shames Marron has become a better student of the game.

"His technical skills and knowledge of the sport are incredible now," said his father.

As happy as he has been with his coaches, Jim Marron also said he has been especially impressed by the Lancers' incoming class of lightweight wrestlers. Freshmen James Chase, Andy Janowicz and Joe Maio have turned in solid performances at both of the team's two preseason meets. They were solid against Bonny Eagle High School, which finished third in Maine last year, and sparked another strong effort from the team against Division 2 powerhouse John Stark.

"They wrestled technically correct, strong and powerful," said Jim Marron. "It was nice to see. Everyone fed off of it. It's good when the young ones are earning respect and picking up the slack right away."

The Class L wrestling season officially gets underway today.

Class L wrestling preview

Londonderry

2006-07 record: 8-5

Returning starters (6): Cody Byrd, Jr., 145; Kyle D'Urso, Sr., 140; Scott Worth, Sr., 171; Joel Cotton, Jr., 171; Justin Oliverio, Sr., 130; Scott McGowan, Soph., 112

Returning lettermen: Same as above

Promising newcomers: Jason Gagne, Sr., 145; Shane McInnis, Sr., 160; James Chase, Frosh., 130; Andy Janowicz, Frosh., 119; Joe Maio, Frosh., 125; Jesse Park, Jr., 130/135; Corbin Kennedy, Sr., 189; Nick Lanchester, Sr., 215; Tom Manley, Jr., 215; Kevin Handy, Sr., 285

Candidates in all grades: 46

Captains: Scott Worth

Assistant coaches: Shames Marron, Ryan Murphy

Opener: at Nashua South Dec. 5

Odds and ends: Jim Marron, who has been the middle school coach since 1996, takes over for Scott Insinga (26-14 in four years), who is now an assistant athletic director in Nashua. Marron, who previously coached at the Naval Academy prep school, has been doing double duty, having also been an assistant at the high school for 10 years. ... One of the Lancers' assistants is Marron's son, Shames Marron, a 2001 graduate who joined the Marines and served in Iraq. ... The Lancers will need to regroup after the loss of Chris and Cody Rideout, both of whom were New England placers. ... Freshman Joe Maio finished second in the middle school state tournament last year. ... Junior Cody Byrd came on strong last year and was a New England qualifier.

Coach Jim Marron (1st year): "I see us being able to be at least .500, but this is a transition year."

Pinkerton

2006-07 record: 11-6

Returning starters (7): James Herlihy, Jr., 130; Kenny Smith, Jr., 125; Ian Beck, Soph., 160; Will Cordeau, Soph., 135; Colin Crowell, Soph., 140; Charlie Jones, Sr., 189; Steven Lord, 152, Soph.

Returning lettermen: Pat Lee, Jr., 215; Dylan Burke, Soph., 145; C.J. Trieb, Soph., 285

Promising newcomers: Dave Owens, Frosh., 119; Jake Loder, Frosh., 125; Alex Gerhot, Frosh., 103; Ryan Scott, Sr., 171; Cameron Jaworski, Soph., 119

Candidates in all grades: 30

Captains: Ian Beck

Assistant coaches: Jim Cherniack

Opener: Hosts Manchester West Dec. 5

Odds and ends: Sophomore Ian Beck, who was 42-8 and a New England qualifier at 140 last year, has moved up three weight classes to 160. He is also a rarity as a sophomore captain ... Another New England qualifier, sophomore Trent Trammell, did not come out for the team ... Senior Ryan Scott, who took last year off, has looked impressive in the preseason. ... Big things are expected of freshmen Dave Owens and Jake Loder. ... Charlie Jones, a returning 189-pounder, is the only senior on the team.

Coach Ken Najem (8th year): "We look to be challenging in the Class L (Division 1) tournament. We might not be talented enough throughout the lineup to win the tough dual meets, but we should be right up there at the tournament. (Freshmen) Dave Owens and Jake Loder should have a good year."

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