Most school districts are not adding athletic programs. That's why it is surprising that Beaver Area High School has added a varsity wrestling team.

"The district has had an elementary program for four years and a junior high program for two years," Beaver coach Dwayne Nasiadka said.

"The next step was to introduce a varsity program."

That's where Nasiadka stepped into the picture.

"I know the elementary coach," said Nasiadka, referring to Anthony Talerico. "He told me the school district was looking for a head coach and asked if I wanted to get back into coaching."

Nasiadka is a 1992 graduate of Shaler High School who was a two-year starter for the Titans. He wrestled two years at Penn State University, then tranfered to Duquesne University.

"I never finished college," Nasiadka said. "Instead, I started my own business. I've run Nasiadka Landscaping for the last 12 years."

Shortly after leaving Duquesne, Nasiadka returned to wrestling as an assistant to Rick LaFerriere at Shaler High School.

"I worked with Rick for 11 years until the end of the 2006 season," he said. "I really missed wrestling during my three years away from the sport. I wasn't really looking for a coaching position, but was thinking about it."

Then came what he considers the perfect opportunity.

"The idea of starting a program from scratch was very appealing to me," Nasiadka said. "I've never been involved in a situation like this before and it really caught my interest. I especially like the teaching part of coaching and this was a great opportunity to put my mark on a program in its infancy.

"We have 20 kids on our varsity roster. I'm very happy with the turnout. But I am a little disappointed that we will not have a junior high program this year. The district has dropped the junior high program for one year, so our ninth graders will be staying with the elementary program. I've been assured the junior high program will be reinstated next year."

The elementary program has 40 wrestlers.

"A good feeder system is the key to our future success," Nasiadka said. "We need to bring the kids up through our program. The experience they gain at the elementary and junior high levels is imperative."

Beaver has been placed in Sub-Section A of Section 1-AA along with Avella, Burgettstown, Center, Freedom and South Side Beaver.

"The section they placed us in is a good fit," Nasiadka said. "I expect to take some lumps, but we should be OK by the end of the season. We have a lot of young kids and a lot of inexperience. But we do have talent in the room."

Not surprising, Nasiadka's top two wrestlers are freshmen.

"Ben Palermo and Kurt Struwe are a pair of freshmen who have set themselves apart from everybody else," he said. "I'm really looking forward to watching them mature into quality wrestlers."

Beaver's first match was last night against Center. The Bobcats are entered in three tournaments -- West Mifflin, Midwestern Athletic Conference tournament, and Burgettstown tournament.

"We still have six [scheduling] points left," Nasiadka said. "So we might pick up another tournament."

Nasiadka has set very reachable goals.

"Our goal is to keep improving as the year progresses," he said. "As long as they are getting better, we can work on things from match to match."

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