Before his team stepped foot on the mat, coach Joseph Lamplot had one priority when taking over as Point Park’s women’s wrestling coach: building a culture.
“My life and coaching mission is to provide opportunities for those that normally wouldn’t have them,” Lamplot said.
Point Park Athletics welcomed Lamplot in August to coach women’s wrestling in its first year of competition.
“He’s very, very big on team chemistry and building a family atmosphere,” Vice President of Athletics Scott Swain said.
Lamplot wasted no time. He inherited a full roster of 10 first-year women’s wrestlers, leaving him to grow the team dynamic and culture from scratch.
“I think it’s a great way to build a foundation for the program,” Swain said. “When you have all freshmen, you have to build that family and that team chemistry.”
In order to connect with his team on a deeper level, Lamplot instilled an unconventional practice schedule to connect with his athletes on a professional and personal level.
“Something that’s been big for any team I’ve coached is culture experiences, getting people outside their comfort zone,” Lamplot said. “I can do that here in a way that I can’t do anywhere else.”
Lamplot shared that he wants his intentions and message to be “clear and concise.”
Rather than holding a few long practices each week, Lamplot holds one-hour sessions six days a week.
Lamplot kicks off the week with “Mindset and Experience Mondays.” This time allows him to discuss personal development and “mental topics” with his wrestlers. This includes sleep recovery, yoga, mortgages and entrepreneurship.
Lamplot carries these same values to the mat.
First-year wrestler Rei Vlahov said Lamplot’s coaching style embodies both a demanding and compassionate attitude.
“Coach has a very outgoing personality, so even when he makes practices hard, he shows how much he cares for us after,” Vlahov said. “We will always have recovery plans for after practices. He’ll also make sure it’s known how hard we are working and how much that means to him and just overall that he cares for us.”
The team prepares for its introductory season, which begins next month.
“It’s been an unbelievable experience,” Lamplot said. “It’s way exceeded my expectations. The women are tremendous students, tremendous kids . . . I already feel like we’re a family. We’re getting comfortable challenging each other.”
Lamplot has long been dedicated to the sport. He most recently served for two years as the head assistant coach at West Liberty. He’s previously established three wrestling programs among high schools and colleges, with experience coaching at the Olympic Training Center as well.
The team will make its debut on Nov. 1 in Tiffin, Oh.
