Laxton named wrestling head coach at Soddy-Daisy

Soddy-Daisy High School didn’t have to look far to find its new wrestling coach. Brad Laxton, who has been a Trojans assistant for five years, was announced as the program’s head coach Friday afternoon, taking over for Jim Higgins.

“If you want to coach high school wrestling, this is one of the best places to be,” Laxton said. “This is the job a lot of folks would want, because of the community support and the tradition.

“It’s an honor to get to coach at a program that has such a great history, and to follow in the footsteps of guys like Coach Higgins and Steve Henry is humbling. I really appreciate the opportunity.”

Laxton is a native of Deshler, Ala., where he wrestled and played football. He later wrestled at the Air Force Academy. He has previous prep coaching experience at Live Oak in Florida and was an assistant at East Hamilton before taking over as head coach at East Ridge. He guided the Pioneers to a fourth-place finish at the state duals during his three years.

“Because of the success our program has had, and the high expectations, we knew it was really important to find someone with experience in running a quality program,” said Soddy-Daisy athletic director Jared Hensley. “Brad has been with our kids for a while, and that relationship he has built with them was a big reason we wanted him. He’s worked well with the kids, and he knows how important the program is here.

“We believe this is a really good fit, and we’re excited to have him taking over.”