This off-season, Coach Taylor was promoted from Assistant Coach to the Head Girls Wrestling Coach for the Fairfield Indians.

What first sparked your love for wrestling, and how has the sport shaped who you are today? 
Coach Taylor: I had tried multiple sports as a kid. Baseball, soccer, basketball, and football. But nothing really stuck. Then a friend of mine started wrestling in 3rd grade and invited me to come. And I fell in love with it right away. I really liked the idea of only having to rely on myself to win or loose. Wrestling definitely taught me to have a solid work ethic, and be on time. If you want results you have to work hard for it. 

Who was a coach, mentor, or teammate who had a big impact on your wrestling journey, and what lessons did you take from them? 
Coach Taylor: Definitely my 1st coach, Coach Ross. From 3rd grade until my freshman year I wrestled for him. He was always so patient. Never yelled really but you knew what he expected. It didn't matter if you won or lost to him. If you gave 100% and lost that was ok. Also my older brother. We wrestled on the same highschool team together for 1 season. But we wrestled multiple seasons in freestyle. No one is gonna push you like your big brother. The 1 big thing I took away from both of them is looses are important to growth. They're a necessary evil. You learn more from a loss that you do from a win. It's how you respond to the loss that matters. 

What are you most excited about as you step into this role with the Fairfield girls wrestling team? 
Coach Taylor: I'm really excited to see what we can do this season. The girls returning are extremely tough, and work very hard. I'm excited to see how far the team can take them. 

What's one thing you hope every wrestler takes away from being part of this program, both on and off the mat? 
Coach Taylor: Be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday. Even if it's 1 little thing. 

Wrestling is often described as both a physical and mental sport—how do you plan to help your athletes grow in both areas? 
Coach Taylor: We're gonna work through the tough times together. There's gonna be big wins and big losses. It's gonna happen. We're gonna dust off and get in the room and figure it out together.