In 1994 Vidalia Kids Wrestling got off the ground when Coach Chet Procter, Mike Phillips, and Kent Townley begin working with a handful of wrestlers at the J.D. Dickerson school. Among that group was 8th-grader Jerome Powell, now a senior and three time state champion. That year Jerome entered the Kids State Tournament and placed 3rd.

In 1997 Mitch Harrington, Kent Townley and Rich Smith (along with a few dads) teamed together to coach the Vidalia Kids consisting of about 15 wrestlers. This same year, Timothy Davis became our first Kids State Champion in the Novice Division held at Fitzgerald High School. David McLeod, a first year Pee Wee, placed 3^rd in the State Tournament.

In 1998, Timothy Davis repeated as State Champion in the Novice Division. Timothy earned the privilege to participate in the Kid’s National Tournament in Topeka, Kansas where he was eliminated before placing in the Tournament. In this same year, Craig Bowens also placed 3^rd in the State Tournament Midget Division with Travis Townley also making a strong showing in the same Division.

This year (1999) the Kids program has grown to 35 with 9 Kids from Vidalia qualifying for the Kids’ State Tournament. This growth was largely due to the fantastic work of our coaching staff, again headed by Kent Townley. This year's Vidalia Kids were the beneficiaries of dedicated and extremely talented volunteer coaches including Eric Shifely (real life Physical Therapist), Mike Nicholas (also a Physical Therapist), Gregg Hardy (currently completing his Education Degree), Alan Adams (Farm Bureau Insurance, Dad), and me (Wade McLeod, Southern Nuclear, Plant Instructor and Dad). Also, for the first time, the Kids Program produced two State Champions, David McLeod (65 lbs. Bantam) and Timothy Davis (70 lbs. Schoolboy).

STAY TUNED: SPECIAL COACHES CORNER LINK IS COMING SOON! Coaches' corner will profile one of our extremely talented and dedicated volunteer coaches.