Art Banderas, Lexington girls wrestling head coach, (Dave Weilers, Central Nebraska Today)
LEXINGTON — As this season comes to a close, it is with a heavy, yet hopeful heart that I announce my resignation as Head Girls Wrestling Coach at Lexington.
With change on the horizon in both mine and Libby’s (My wife/Coach B ) personal and professional lives, this felt like the appropriate time to step aside. This decision wasn’t made lightly, but it was made with peace, gratitude, and pride in what has been built.
From the very beginning, the goal was never just to coach a team. The goal was to build a foundation. One that begins development at the club level, grows through middle school, and is strong at the high school level. A foundation built on culture, structure, and shared expectations for excellence.
Five years later… that foundation is now in place.
This program has a strong sense of identity. It has new traditions, a strong and highly competitive returning team, and everything it needs to continue having success. We have uniforms, warmups, practice facilities, new wrestling mats, a strong schedule, team plaques, a Wall of Fame, coaching positions for a full staff, routine, expectations, a standard, development at all levels, and money in the bank.
But more important than any of that is culture.
Lexington Girls Wrestling has one.
This is a strong, gritty, resilient, mentally tough group of girls. It’s hard to start anything without an identity and team culture, and our girls built one through hard work, belief, commitment, and sacrifice. That is what I’m most proud of.
To our wrestlers, thank you for trusting the process, for showing up when it was hard, and for carrying this program forward. YOU built something that will last for those who come after you.
With the foundation set and the culture established, it’s time for me to move on and allow the next chapter to begin. I truly believe this program is positioned to continue growing, thriving, and competing at a high level – this team returns most of its starters.
Thank you to the families, wrestlers, coaches, administrators, school board, Lexington Wrestling Club, Booster Club, Lexington Community, and my wife (Coach B ). I will always be proud of what we built together.
I can say without hesitation that I gave this team absolutely everything I had in me. It was always my intention to build this “for those that came after us”. Thank you, Lexington. I leave you with a piece of my heart.
