Zach Hocker

Coach Zach Hocker
SLAM!NV
Pictures Courtesy of Zach Hocker
Coaching is a Blessing
I have been a part of the wrestling community for over 20 years in the Las Vegas valley. I am a product of The Valley Vikings, and Desert Pines Jaguars Youth wrestling programs coached by my dad, Scott Hocker, and my uncle, Bobby Ozuna. I attended Las Vegas High School where I was a four-year Varsity wrestler under three different coaches, Joe Mac Sellers, Joe LaRocco, and Aric Thomas. While I was at Las Vegas High, I was able to be a part of an extraordinary team of wrestlers each year. I was able to have partners like Rob Reyes, Ryan Duke, Miguel Garcia, Roman Garcia, to name a few. Each year, those individuals pushed me to my absolute limits and beyond, so that I could be the best wrestler for the team that I could be. I eventually won my 4A Nevada State title in 2007 at the 171-pound weight class. I posted a 124 – 25 Varsity Career Wrestling Record and earned a small scholarship to wrestle for the Hazewinkel brothers at the Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. I did not stay, for a multitude of reasons, and I returned home.
 
For many wrestlers, that is where their story would end. Blessed as I am, that was not the case for me. I had returned home in my own opinion, a disgraced wrestler. I was attending the newly renamed College of Southern Nevada while working a couple of part-time jobs when one of my high school coaches, Aric Thomas, gave me a call that breathed new life into me. He told me that he needed a Junior Varsity Assistant’s- Assistant, the lowest title on the coaching staff. I jumped at the chance. My dad has always told me to give back to the community that raised me, and I felt that God had given me the chance to do that.
 
For the next four and a half years I was able to earn my teaching degrees from CSN and UNLV while getting some of the best on-the-job training as a coach that there could be. I got to watch Coach Thomas build a magnificent team that won a lot, but what I learned most from him was patience and composure in the high-pressure arena of coaching. He was, and is, one of my favorite coaches. I then got to be a part of one of the most talented teams I had ever seen, not named Cimarron-Memorial. We won back-to-back Nevada State Titles under one of my personal heroes, Greg Gifford. I was fortunate enough to have moved up to varsity assistant coach and then to head varsity assistant coach in those years. While under Greg, I was able to learn higher-level techniques and a new level of intensity that was easy to adopt.
 
Greg stepped down as Head Coach in 2012, and I interviewed for the job. I was the fourth–of four– applicants. I got the job, when everyone else had turned it down. This started a brand new chapter in my life at 22-years old. In the seven years that I was the Head Coach of Las Vegas High School, I compiled a 149 – 40 overall dual record, coached 53 Regional Placers, 42 State Qualifiers, 21 State Placers, 8 Individual State Champions, and a handful of All-Americans. I would be in error if I did not thank my Coaching Staff, who worked tirelessly to ensure that our east-side wrestlers had everything they needed to have a shot at success. I also was encouraged and mentored by Joe Petrie for which I am eternally grateful.
 
My time at LVHS had come to an end in 2019 and a new journey and opportunity presented itself by way of my good friend Jake Rollans, and my current principal, Dan Triana. Both men asked me to join their new school SLAM! Nevada. I prayed, asked my wife, and took the job. In the last three years, I have learned many new things as a coach and reinvigorated my passion for wrestling. Being able to coach alongside Jake has brought a joy, and love for the sport that I have honestly never had. We are looking forward to developing and shaping our wrestlers into successful College Student-Athletes. Through all of the turmoil and tribulation of the last year and a half, we finally seem to be getting back to doing what we love, helping young people grow into successful adults. We have signed two current Varsity Wrestlers to College Wrestling Scholarships. (Luke Van Orden, UVU, and Saoul Prado, Baker). We look forward to continuing this trend at our school and hope to see other Nevada schools do the same. Our Slam Bulls will also be representing Nevada at The Beast of the East in Delaware, and Gut Check Invitational in Washington this year. We hope to carry our Battle Born mantle and represent it with dignity and class on the East Coast.
 
I have witnessed the ups and downs of Nevada wrestling as a whole. We (NV) have had wrestlers earn scholarships at all levels of the spectrum. Some of the notable DI standouts are The Giffords at Fresno State, The Woods brothers at Oregon, Ryan Bader and Ray Waters at ASU, Division I National Runner-Ups Chase Pami at Cal Poly, Joey LaVallee at Mizzou, Sean Cannon at UNC, Britain Longmire at Cal Poly, and 4x Division 1 NCAA Qualifier Bryce Saddoris at Navy. All the way to our current Division I representatives in Andrew Berreyesa at Cornell, Antonio Saldate at Cal Baptist, Ty Smith at UVU, Connor Bourne at American University, David Remer at Arizona State and Joey Mazzara at North Carolina.
 
In order to lengthen that list, high school coaches must learn to partner with their new local clubs to produce an identity and culture here in Nevada that has only been seen in glimpses throughout our history. (Eldorado, Cimarron-Memorial, Las Vegas, and Wooster being the schools that stick out in my mind) With our southern club programs: Gold Rush, ATC, LOG LV, and Pride gaining prominence I believe Nevada’s Wrestling stock will rise in the coming years. Wrestlers have always been unique athletes that are able to adapt to any situation and thrive. Our coaches need to remember how to do that and we can regroup, retain, and expand our National Presence in the coming years.
 
I want to also take this rare opportunity to thank my wife, Jaimee, and give a shout-out to my two children, Micah and Hannah for their love and support these last fourteen years. Both my children have strapped shoes on and begun their journeys as youth wrestlers. So I pray that the next fourteen years, and beyond, will be as successful as the last.