Marcos Austin is no stranger to coaching, as he was a co-head Coach at BC for the past seven years. He started wrestling at the age of ten and was fortunate to be part of the Bakersfield College wrestling team as a student, assistant, and has been promoted as the Head Wrestling Coach on Jan. 6 after the resignation of Brett Clark last December.
Austin was welcomed as a wrestling coach with confidence that he will bring energy and enthusiasm to the team. According to the Bakersfield athletics website the BC Athletic Director Reggie Bolton, “He is more than qualified to lead the program and will bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm in leading, mentoring, and coaching our student-athletes.”
While Austin’s new role as a coach requires him to do more paperwork than before, his approach to the students and the wrestling philosophy will stay the same. He is surrounded by an incredible coaching staff all of whom have been with the program since he began as the co-head coach.
It is no surprise that the covid-19 has taken its toll on all sports programs, and with wrestling being the ultimate contact sport, one would ask how a wrestling program would move forward. For Austin the answer is simple, “Wrestling as a sport must adapt. I have and continue to be challenged this year. I will continue to adjust to meet those challenges,” he said.
Austin’s goal is to put the team in a better and stronger position than previous years. For him, success is not about the immediate gratification of winning, or the dissatisfaction of losing, it is about growth, development, and having a good mindset. “It is about the journey, not just the immediate outcome” he said.
Austin is confident with his team of young athletes this season he said the “team has ten returners, including five state qualifiers coming back.”
Austin shared he is “hopeful that life will go back to normal, and students will go back to school soon, rough times, as well as good times, do not last.” He is aware though, that it is important to keep students safe while staff continually work to motivate and enhance their learning environment within those protocols.