World-class wrestler to lead Ocean View, looks to revitalize program
Wrestling may not be one of the first athletic programs that one thinks of at Ocean View High, but the Huntington Beach school recently hired a coach who has put the sport first his whole life.
Petros Petrosyan, 59, a decorated wrestler on the world stage, is about to embark on a new adventure, as he approaches his first season as the head coach of the Seahawks.
Earlier this month, Petrosyan won the gold medal in the 88-kilogram freestyle division of the United World Wrestling Veterans World Championships in Bulgaria. It marked the second time he has won a title at the tournament.
Petrosyan now takes over a program that has struggled to bring students into the wrestling room, at times working with single digits in terms of the number of participants. The Los Alamitos resident said he was looking for a program close to home that he could build from the ground up.
Some students have told Petrosyan that they are looking to place in the Golden West League, but Petrosyan is intent on helping them to exceed that goal.
“Most are looking at placing in league, while I’m looking at going much, much further than that,” Petrosyan said. “Confidence is built through hard work slowly. I know how to build this. I will help them, as I remember starting as a young village boy in Vanadzor, [Armenia], then moving up to national and international levels of competition.”
Ocean View athletic director Tim Walsh said that sports like wrestling that did not have built-in youth leagues feeding into the high school suffered because of the coronavirus pandemic. Walsh is excited about welcoming Petrosyan onto campus.
“He exudes an incredible passion for wrestling,” Walsh said of Petrosyan. “Frankly, we’re at a spot with our program where we need that. We’ve had a situation the last few years that it’s been super inconsistent, and he’s so invested in wrestling.
“… I get a great vibe from him. He’s a great human, just talking to him about life, in general. This guy that’s such an incredible wrestler himself, that’s had so much success — who I’m confident could destroy me if he wanted to — is such a mild-mannered gentleman. … You wouldn’t guess he’s this incredible, tough human being just because of the way he carries himself.”
Sol Pool, a senior wrestler for the Seahawks, said that Petrosyan has taught the wrestlers new moves and reinforced them in the days that followed. The program is seeking greater numbers, but for now, Pool said he has been able to learn up close from Petrosyan, who has served as his sparring partner at times.
“I hope to show them that I am not just [a] competitor [and] coach, but someone they can come to like a second father, or at least an uncle,” Petrosyan said of what he hopes to provide his students. “All wrestlers on a team are automatically family — your teammates are your brothers and sisters.
“The highs, the [lows], the camaraderie, mutual respect built, sweat, blood and tears of training in the world’s hardest sport binds us together. They will see that the accomplishments they achieve through wrestling will redefine them into better versions of themselves. When they go to college, learn their trades, start their own businesses, they will be vastly more successful because they were wrestlers and champions before.”
A 10-time Armenian national champion and an eight-time U.S. Open Masters national champion, Petrosyan moved to the United States two decades ago. He is now the head wrestling coach for Orange County Grappling.
That relationship began when Petrosyan and Brian Jones, a multi-time world medalist himself, walked into a gym for a workout. Gene Patiño, a co-founder of Orange County Grappling, knew then it could be a one-time appearance, but it turned out not to be so.
“He was working out here and wrestling, coaching some of the guys, and the guys liked him coaching,” Patiño said. “They were like, ‘Man, I’ve never seen this style.’
“This is a different style that he coaches than the American-style wrestling. … Way more foot sweeps, throws, there’s integration with judo. The European style is not as full-force aggressive as the American-style wrestling, and it’s more technical.”
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