The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Dan Findley: Patron Saint of wrestling
Former Southview standout takes over the reins at Lorain, ready to restore Titans to glory days
Lorain has a new face leading its program.
Dan Findley takes over as head coach of the Titans after serving as an assistant coach the prior four years.
Findley is deeply rooted in Lorain, having wrestled at Southview and was a state alternate. His family has wrestled throughout the program for “many years.”
He already has big plans. “We’re excited to get started,” Findley said. “We’re really young and we only have five guys that are coming back that were in our varsity lineup last year because we graduated 10 kids, and a lot of them were the leaders of the program.”
Findley takes over for Mark Moos, who wants to focus on his family. Because of Findley’s ties to Lorain’s history, he’s hoping to bring back the Titans to their glory days.
“We want to bring back the old-school style,” he said. “When it was Southview, we were a powerhouse team in Lorain and we’re just trying to bring that back.”
Senior Kelvin Torres (220) is nursing an ankle injury suffered while playing
football and Findley hopes they can get him back. With him, the Titans will feature a full lineup, led by Findley’s son — Dan “Bubba” Findley.
Findley (145) went 25-6 last season but has had bad luck in the postseason.
Coach Findley thinks this could be the year his son fully puts things together.
“He’s had good numbers throughout his career,” Findley said. “But whenever it comes to the postseason, he always catches
a bad break and never gets to compete. This year we’re expecting him to go all in and we’re hoping we can get him to Columbus.”
It’s a common theme throughout the wrestling world for a coach to coach his son on the team.
But it doesn’t make it any easier for Findley.
“It’s challenging,” he said. “It’s hard to separate the two and not have favoritism toward him. I kind of lean on my assistants to work more with him so we’re not butting heads. But I’ve enjoyed watching him grow in the room.”
Coach Findley’s duties will get tested right away as the Titans host the Lorain Kickoff Classic to open the season Dec. 1-2. And he hopes it’s the start of a year in which they capture a Lake Erie League title.
“We like opening up at home. That way it’s a little bit less on the kids,” Findley said. “For a lot of them, it’s the first time stepping in and wrestling as high schoolers. It’s a bit more relaxing being at home for them. In the conference this year, I really believe we can pull it off. I might be getting Kelvin Torres back coming off football season, so if I can get him back, he can be the one that pushes us over.”
“We want to bring back the old school style. When it was Southview, we were a powerhouse team in Lorain and we’re just trying to bring that back”
— Lorain coach Dan Findley