Copied below is a recent article regarding Ponderosa High School and their coach.
Ponderosa High School Wrestling Article A Recipe for Success
By John Olivas
Little did Tim Ottmann know that what began in Albuquerque NM would bring him to this place; a place atop the 2003-04 Class 5A team rankings. You see his team is the defending Class 5A state champs. But that’s not all. Ottmann is at the helm of one of the most respected high school wrestling programs in the state of Colorado.
What Tim Ottmann, as a coach and man, brings to this Mustang team is consistency; consistency coupled with the desire to be better than your best. When asked about his teams recent success he modestly reply’s “I couldn’t do what I do without my great assistant coaches, I delegate a lot and that makes my job much easier, plus the kids are great - they really wanna be here (in the wrestling room).”
Tim's love affair with wrestling began back in his youth in Albuquerque NM. “My dad was the head football coach and a wrestling ref, I guess I kinda followed his lead,” said Ottmann. As a boy he could be found on the football field or on the wrestling mat, something that continued on into his college days, "I wasn't good enough to wrestle in college, but I did ref, " he said, “I always knew that I wanted to become a coach.”
After graduating from the University of NM with a degree in physical education in 1983 Ottmann secured a job at Burgess high school in El Paso TX where he coached both football and wrestling till 1990. While looking for a location to settle in and start his family coach Ottmann found an ad for an open coaching spot in Parker, CO. He interviewed with Duane Knox, then coach and AD at Douglas County high school, and the rest is history.
Well there are a room full of wrestlers, supportive fans, and parents that are glad that Mr. Knox had the foresight to hire Tim. Ponderosa has won three state titles the first in 97, then 98, and more recently 2003. What goes on in the Ponderosa wrestling room to produce those kinds of results? Short answer, it begins long before they step in the room as a high school wrestler. It begins with the Ponderosa feeder programs. Coach Ottmann is very involved with the local area youth wrestlers, “I run a once a week practice for the ‘Cardinal’ team,” The Cardinal team, he explains, are the beginning wrestlers. “Once a week is enough for them,” he said, “they see limited action during the season but they keep on coming back!” The Ponderosa varsity wrestlers run the “Gold” team, made up from the more experienced youth wrestlers. The varsity wrestlers as well as Ottmann and his assistants, are on hand at Sunday’s Western Suburban League wrestling tournaments to coach the kids. “I think it’s a great way for our varsity wrestlers to give back to the community and it gets them some coaching experience,” remarked Ottmann, “it also is a great way for the younger kids to get to know me.”
This season the Mustangs added a new twist into their out of state schedule. In addition to being regulars at the highly touted Reno Tournament of Champions, held annually in Reno NV, Ponderosa made the trek back east to Ohio to attend a little get together at Walsh Jesuit high school, more aptly known as the Ironman. The Ironman is definitely one of the toughest high school tournaments in the entire United States. There you’ll find the likes of powerhouse high school teams Blair Academy and St. Edwards high. “There are no easy draws at that tournament (the Ironman),” said Ottmann, “you could draw the number 8 seed and find out that he is a 2 time state champ.” It was a humbling experience for the Mustang’s as most went two and out, but the experience was worth its weight in gold. “The level of high school wrestling is much higher back east, the kids are bigger, stronger, disciplined, and much more physical,” said coach Ottmann, “my wrestlers now know what’s out there and know that they have to really push to reach that level.”
What can Colorado high school teams do to compete at that level? Coach Ottmann’s solution to the problem is rather simple, “Colorado needs to focus on finding tougher competition. We can’t compete with the out of state kids because of the (high) level of competition they see week in and week out.” He went on to add “maybe we should start our freestyle season a little later, say in April, and make our focus Fargo (USA wrestling’s national championships). We’ll get our kids more exposure that way and they’ll really see some quality competition.
In wrestling, as in life, things are not always easy. Last summer Adam Meyer, a former Ponderosa varsity standout, fell asleep at the wheel of his automobile and was killed when his vehicle veered off the road and crashed. Naturally the whole Ponderosa organization was devastated but their response was no less than grand. The team organized the Macedog foundation. Macedog was Adams nickname and the foundation was created to not only lovingly preserve his memory but to help local area wrestlers and programs. The first thing the foundation did was to purchase a team bus for the Ponderosa high school team. “We were at the Oklahoma State Team camp last summer, we’ve always rented vans to travel to those types of events,” said Ottmann, “and then we got the idea for the bus.” Macy and Suki Meyers, Adam’s parents, organized several fundraising events to fund the foundation, and the Ponderosa HS team was the benefactor, via a 47 passenger charter bus. “Ironic,” said coach Ottmann, “we bought the bus, which just happened to be cardinal and gold (in color), from a company called Rambling Express, so all we had to do was to change the name Rambling to Macedog, and it was a fit. I can’t think of a better way to keep Adams memory alive”
With two tough out of state tournaments under their belts, one at which Ottmann saw two of his wrestlers place, you would think that the Mustangs might be somewhat complacent. Not so, “we have the Arvada West tourney coming up and the Top of the Rockies is always one of the toughest anywhere,” he remarked. When asked about great individual efforts he was quick to praise 160 pound Tito Rinaldis. Tito did not begin wrestling till his freshman year. The season high for him thus far is his second place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions. “Quite an accomplishment for a guy who got a late start in the sport,” noted Ottmann.
As for his team’s outlook this year? “I am not so much worried about our freshman,” said Ottmann, “they have all been wrestling for quite awhile and they know how to handle themselves. We need to have our JV wrestlers step up. They know what they need to work on and they need to stay focused on improving. We won’t win state with one or two champs, to place high we’ll need guys to come through on the backside of the bracket and score some points.” No doubt the Ponderosa wrestling team will be prepared to face the challenge.
