After six years as an assistant with the Falcons, Nation Ford’s Bret Peltier has been hired to take over the wrestling program.
Peltier, 28, is a former college wrestler that served as an assistant under Tony Forte for three seasons and Dan Snell for three seasons before that at the school. Being a head wrestling coach is something Peltier said he has always wanted to be.
“One of the goals of mine was to be a high school coach eventually,” Peltier said. “They (Snell and Forte) helped me grow as a coach and as a person. I am super excited for the opportunity.”
When Forte decided to step down after the season, he recommended Peltier for the position. One goal, Peltier said he would like to see is to bring another state champion back to Nation Ford.
“It is something I definitely want to do,” he said. “Hopefully I can help Nation Ford progress even further than we did with Forte and Snell.”
Nation Ford graduates two seniors and brings back a lot of wrestlers with experiences next year coming up through the ranks. Besides winning, Peltier said he would like his wrestlers to be model student athletes.
“I would like to get them to graduate with honors from high school and get to a college and get a four-year degree,” he said. “I want them to get those life skills they need in life to be successful. I want them to be better people, not just wrestlers. When they put on the Nation Ford singlet, they aren’t just representing themselves, they are representing their family, their friends, their school. I want them to work hard, be hard nose, do the right thing, and treat others with respect. I want them to be better people off the mat in how they carry themselves. That is something I am big on.”
Peltier grew up in Rhode Island and wrestled in high school and then walked on at N.C. State University, wrestling there in college for two years.
“I got in to wrestling at the age of 6 and have been around it my entire life,” he said. “I traveled all around the country. I have seen a lot of wrestling.”
Peltier got a job at Fort Mill Middle in 2016 and became the assistant coach at Nation Ford that same year. He currently teaches English and Social Studies at Forest Creek Middle, but would like to get over to Nation Ford to be on the campus with his wrestlers.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
