MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For University High wrestling coach Ken Maisel, celebrating his 25th season at the helm of the Hawks program, West Virginia has been his home ever since arriving in Morgantown.
“I grew up in Amityville, Long Island, N.Y.,” he explained after feigning disbelief that his tenure at UHS has grown so long. “My dad [Norm] was my wrestling coach there until I graduated in 1986. I had to choose between Syracuse and WVU — I’m pretty sure I thought it was in the western part of Virginia back then — but [WVU coach] Craig Turnbull sold me on moving away. And I guess I never left, and I’m glad I never did.”
While he describes himself as “very good in high school, but average at best in college,” Maisel wrestled at 142 and 150 weight classes, respectively, at WVU behind Scott Collins and Jim Akerly — Collins was the Mountaineers first ever NCAA champion and Akerly was an All-American.
“They were two tremendous athletes and battling with them every day in practice taught me so much about the sport,” he said. “Technically, they were great, but they also worked so hard and stayed with it through everything. I’m proud to say that Scott and I were roommates — and two of about 20 freshmen that first year — and by the time we were seniors, we were the only two left. There were rough times for sure, but I know it eventually made me a better coach.”
After graduating, Maisel assumed he’d head back home to Long Island to find a coaching gig, but Collins convinced him to take a master’s degree position, instead, which combined coursework with an internship in the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.
“I hated that job,” Maisel said jokingly. “[I] hated being stuck at a desk all day so much that I knew I wanted to find something else ASAP. That’s when [UHS football coach] John Kelley asked me if I wanted to coach his freshman team in 1993. I agreed, and at the end of the summer, University principal Bill Wilson offered me a teaching position. I stayed, helped out with football and with wrestling under Mike Pastuch, and when Mike asked if we could switch spots, I became head wrestling coach, [and have] been doing it ever since.”
Considering the solid success the UHS program has enjoyed for years, it’s hard to imagine the tough times Maisel inherited.
“Oh, we were terrible,” he said. “It was hard to watch the kids get pinned, pinned, pinned. I told my wife [Tammy] that I’d give it five years, and if we didn’t turn things around, I’d let someone else try. Back then, we were in the old North Central Athletic Conference. Every year, the NCAC champs were North Marion or Fairmont Senior. Well, that fifth year, we won so that made me feel like I was doing the right things.”
Area coaches agree that Maisel’s program is indeed the standard for success.
“Ken is synonymous with high school wrestling, for sure,” Morgantown coach Joe Abu said. “He’s very involved, serving on committees and governing boards, as well as building a solid feeder program from [youth] ages on up. He’s streamlined the flow from youth through middle school into varsity, and he stays in touch with all the kids so he knows exactly what he’s getting at the high school level. He’s someone to emulate in building a program for sure.”
Preston assistant Brad Reed agrees, and adds that he’s helping to grow the sport for the entire area as well.
“He does so much for the wrestling community,” he said. “Coach Maisel sets the bar for what a program is supposed to look like. Plus, he’s building the sport of freestyle wrestling throughout the state. He’s so knowledgeable and so willing to share that knowledge.”
Indeed, the very first thing Maisel identified when he took over at UHS was the absence of a middle school program in Monongalia County.
“There was none,” he said, “It’s very rare to take a new freshman wrestler to a state tournament caliber level. So we had to find a way to make wrestling cool and fun and popular, and the only way to do that is to recruit endlessly. Winning always makes that easier to do.”
Of course, with so much passion and energy poured into the sport he loves, there are always sacrifices that must be made, and Maisel has wondered if there have been times he’s missed out on too much family time with his daughters Lauren and Julia, and son Nico.
“I wonder sometimes if all the time away from my family was worth it,” he admitted. “Nobody coaches high school for the money, that’s for sure. But they’ve all been so supportive, and I guess I feel a little bit like I can’t leave the program high and dry, you know? I still love it, love watching the kids grow into fine young adults — watching them buy in and set the tone for the tradition that is Hawks wrestling.”
After all, Maisel still has a few things on his wrestling coach bucket list to check off.
“Well, we haven’t won a state title yet,” he said. “We’ve been close, but that would be nice to bring back to UHS. I guess I’ve been hanging around to coach my son — he’s in elementary school — if he’s still interested. I think that would be pretty cool.”
