New GFS varsity wrestling head coach Paul Hammond. by Tom Utescher Germantown Friends is beginning the 2016-17 wrestling season under new head coach Paul Hammond, who became familiar with the Tigers' …
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New GFS varsity wrestling head coach Paul Hammond.by Tom Utescher
Germantown Friends is beginning the 2016-17 wrestling season under new head coach Paul Hammond, who became familiar with the Tigers' program and individual athletes at the school while serving as assistant varsity coach last winter. Adding to that sense of continuity, Patrick Mark and 2012 GFS grad Luke Furukawa will be back on board as assistant coaches this season.
The new skipper, Hammond, commented, “My goal is to bring new energy to the GFS Wrestling Program while continuing the legendary work of retired coach Kazem Gholami. Our athletes are extremely coachable and hard‐working. I look forward to each of them learning on the mat and attaining the goals that they have set for themselves.”
Hammond's roots are in Columbus, Ohio, where he was a standout athlete in both wrestling and soccer. He was a fourth-place qualifier in wrestling under the Ohio High School Athletic Association and then was a two‐year starter for the Lincoln Memorial University soccer team. He then transferred to Kent State, where he started for their NCAA Division I wrestling program for two years.
Hammond coached soccer at Lanier Hill High School in Georgia, where he was also Sports Fitness Coordinator for Sports Fitness Camps in Atlanta, and an Athletic Maintenance Assistant and Event Planner at Emory University.
Moving north to Pennsylvania, he made the switch back to wrestling in 2014 when he signed on as a coach with Beat the Streets, a Philadelphia organization that pilots wrestling programs throughout the city encouraging children to become productive citizens through wrestling and leadership.
He has worked extensively for two other non‐profits: Playworks Pennsylvania, where he was a coach and program coordinator, and Urban Youth Academy.
When not coaching and managing sports, Hammond works as a turf field manager for Germantown Friends and is part of the grounds crew for the Philadelphia Phillies.
GFS Director of Athletics Katie Bergstrom Mark commented, “Paul brings a clear, positive and intense coaching philosophy to the program. He has demonstrated that he connects with each athlete and has the in‐depth wrestling knowledge to take our program to new heights. This year’s group of wrestlers is the largest in the recent memory of the GFS program. I’m excited to see each athlete’s growth under Coach Hammond’s leadership.”
