Starting at the bottom and working your  way up to your goals is only possible with consistent effort and dedication. 

2005 Dallastown graduate Brian Tucker started wrestling at age five. Now, at 31, he is the head wrestling coach at Seton Hill University, a Division II school outside of Pittsburgh.

At DHS, Tucker spent his four years as a varsity wrestling starter. He also played football up until his senior year.

Tucker spent his years on the Dallastown mat being coached by current head coach Mr. Gable.

“Brian was always a very mature, hardworking student-athlete. He was very receptive to suggestions and was always striving for personal improvement,” Gable said.

If Tucker remembers correctly, within his high school career the team made it to two or three conference championships and they were a district team runner up.

“In all honesty we probably didn’t realize how great those accomplishments were, due to Coach Gable’s high expectations of us and his motivation for us to always strive for more,” Tucker said.

He believes that the atmosphere and the relationship of the team is what lead them to success.

When moving up to college wrestling, Tucker was a walk-on at Ohio State, then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh to finish his undergrad degree.

Tucker began his coaching career at Bloomsburg University as an assistant coach, while getting his master’s degree.

Upon finishing his masters, he went to coach for Seton Hill University. This will be his seventh season as head coach of the Griffins.

When asked what he enjoys most about coaching Tucker said, “Seeing the growth from the guys coming in as freshm

an to when they graduate. Growth on the mat, but even more, growth as people.”

He talks about watching his student athletes reach their goals and strive to do great things. Tucker also enjoys watching them build relationships with one another.

He reveals that one of the biggest struggles as a coach is sometimes “wanting it more than the athletes.”

Dallastown graduate Rodney Sunday (Class of 2014) is now a senior at Seton Hill, wrestling for Tucker.

“He has an eye for seeing the underlying talent in wrestlers who may be needing more guidance to reach the next level,” Sunday said about his coach.

What motivates Seton Hill freshman Luke Ewing is that Tucker doesn’t ask the team to do anything that he won’t do himself.

“If we are running, for the most part he runs. If we lift, he usually jumps into the lift. He knows how hard our workouts are and is willing to be a part of it with us,” Ewing said.