New Oberlin coach ready to rebuild at alma mater

The Oberlin wrestling program has a new head coach, and he is a familiar face.

Mason Bremke, a 2011 graduate of Oberlin, is taking over starting this season. Bremke spent four seasons as the assistant coach at Black River under Jesse Campbell, but has been out coaching since 2017.

Bremke and his assistant, Jake Campbell, were looking for a school to coach at. Like fate, Bremke’s high school came calling. “It’s like a welcome-home kind of thing,” Bremke said. “I have been here and walked these halls and the kids respect that. That I am here and have been here.”

Bremke and Campbell are starting with the basics with this year’s team.

“Going into the season, we are small in numbers, trying to rebuild from COVID-19. But Oberlin has always been kind of small, and we are just trying to get the fundamentals down and get the kids some wins,” Bremke said.

The Phoenix had two wrestlers last season during COVID-19. This season, they have six, all of whom are freshmen and sophomores. Bremke said each step is important during a rebuild.

“We are just trying to build,” Bremke said. “Get some reps, get some understanding on the fundamentals of wrestling and maybe put some numbers on next year.”

When taking over a program, it can be a reassuring feeling when the coach knows he will have the same wrestlers for more than one year. With no upperclassmen on the roster, Bremke has that.

“Sometimes you have to unteach bad habits, and I don’t have to do any of that,” Bremke said. “We came in the first day and said this is a (wrestling) stance. This is what we do. This is the basic fundamentals of wrestling. We have a sophomore who has never wrestled before. So we just started with the basic fundamentals of wrestling. We aren’t even crawling yet. We are just laying on our bellies. By the end of the season we will be running. But we are starting from scratch.”

Culture and understanding the team you have is important, as well, and Bremke is making sure he doesn’t box any of his wrestlers into becoming a certain type of wrestler.

“There are two types of wrestlers,” Bremke said. “The wrestlers who only wrestle and play one sport and are trying to win a state championship and that’s the reason they do it. Then there are the wrestlers that are trying to be better at football or another sport and understanding that we have to work with everyone’s individual needs and working with all the wrestlers. I learned that very quickly.

“One kid’s goal might be a state title and the next kid’s goal might be to be a conference champ. Understanding that and working with the athletes.”

Structure and organization are also a big part of the program and culture that Bremke wants to build.

“There are also some kids that the program needs them, but there are a lot of kids that need the program,” Bremke said. “They need to do this and understanding that outside of the strictly wrestling part of it will make athletes better athletes and coaches better coaches. Understanding their individual needs as a wrestler and where they are coming from and what goals they have.”

Jake Campbell’s ties to Bremke run deep. Jake Campbell the youngest brother of Black River coach Jesse Campbell. Jesse Campbell was Mason Bremke’s off-themat and summer coach and was the head coach at Black River during Bremke’s time as an assistant coach.

Bremke coached Jake at Black River for all four years. So the familiarity between them and their coaching styles is strong.

“When I teach something, it’s the same as the way Jake teaches it and when Jake teaches something, it is the same way I teach it because I taught it to Jake,” Bremke said. “So it is all coming from the same skill tree.”

The Phoenix will open their season Dec. 3 at the Lorain Titan Classic.

“My biggest thing is get out there and learn something,” Bremke said about expectations. “Use everything I have taught them and those basic fundamentals and learn. The biggest thing is learn.”

“I have been here and walked these halls and the kids respect that. That I am here and have been here.” — Oberlin wrestling coach Mason Bremke