Wade Discher was inducted into the Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame Sept. 28 for his work leading Wasatch County School District’s wrestling program — and he found his way to the program almost by accident.
A North Dakota native, Discher has always loved wrestling. He got his start in the sport around age seven, competed throughout childhood and was recruited to the University of Mary’s team out of high school.
Discher earned two All-American titles for the school in North Dakota’s capital city and began coaching.
When he was about 25, Discher moved his family to Green River, Wyoming, so he could teach high school social studies. He said he wasn’t looking for a coaching job, but the district’s strong wrestling culture drew him in.
Soon after, Discher got his first look at wrestling Wasatch County-style in a head-to-head match-up between Utah’s high school wrestling champs and Wyoming’s. Wasatch High School was undefeated in the contest for nearly five years in a row.
“The gym is packed to the rims. They got the extra bleachers pulled out back, and it's just a crazy crowd, and we end up beating them,” Discher said.
Steve Sanderson, another Utah Hall of Famer, was the head Wasatch coach at the time, but he was planning on leaving to spend time with family.
Though he didn’t know it, Discher was being eyed as Sanderson’s replacement, but he almost didn’t interview for the coach’s job. That’s because he was considering another district, which had the worst wrestling program in Wyoming.
“I thought, ‘Do I want to take over for a legend with high expectations and all that stuff, or do I want to build my own program and do it from scratch basically?’” he said.
Wasatch hired Discher in 1997 and Sanderson mentored him for a year. Wasatch’s wrestling program has hundreds of kids and encompasses the youth, junior and high school levels, so Discher had a lot to learn.
Discher was at the helm for six years and helped the team win four state championships. While the program was thriving, Discher moved to Minnesota in 2004 to be closer to family.
During his four-year hiatus, Discher stayed connected to Wasatch’s program at national tournaments. While Wasatch was still performing well at state championships, he learned the program’s youth programs were suffering. Then, at one national tournament, former Wasatch High Principal Paul Sweat asked Discher to come back.
"He took me out to dinner, me and my dad and my wife, and just said, ‘Hey, we really want you guys back,’” Discher said.
He took the reins again in 2008 and won six more state wrestling titles before retiring from coaching in 2023.
Throughout Discher’s tenure, he said his coaching philosophy was to focus on development rather than outcomes. He saw every season as another round of practice and believes that when kids feel good about their progress on the mat, their self-esteem grows.
“We're just going to practice,” he said. “We're going to go out, we're going to go fix things. We're going to try it and not focus on the immediate results, but look at the growth throughout the year, and hopefully, at the end, we're ready to go.”
Discher also mentored dozens of individual state champions during his time at Wasatch. Hank Hanssen was the last state champion he coached.
Hanssen said the Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame induction can’t adequately represent how great Discher was as a coach. He said Discher was technically savvy and was able to hone students’ technique as well as help with the mental side of the sport.
“He put so much effort into getting to know each member of the team, and really had our hearts, not just our respect,” Hanssen said. “I look up to him in not only his wrestling prowess, but his excellence as a human, his faith as a Christ follower and an example as a dad and a husband.”
Hanssen began wrestling at age seven, but struggled during his freshman and sophomore years. He faced multiple injuries and had two knee surgeries.
Though discouraged, Hanssen said Discher was instrumental in keeping him in wrestling. Hanssen was cleared to compete again two months before the state tournament in 2023.
He was unseated at the start of the tournament, but Discher finished first in his weight class.
Discher said he retired from coaching to spend more time with his family. But he’s still teaching and holds an administrative role in the Wasatch County School District.
Looking back at his career, Discher said he still views himself as that passionate 25-year-old who got his first head coaching gig at Wasatch High. And he still loves wrestling.
