High school wrestling: Martin to return to Great Bridge

A legend is back.

Steve Martin, who led Great Bridge to 12 wrestling state championships in 13 years before leading Old Dominion for 16 years, is returning for a second stint as the Wildcats’ coach.

Martin will officially begin the job in the fall after his contract with ODU expires this summer.

“As I went through the last year looking at my options, it always came back to being involved at some level,” said Martin, who also considered collegiate options after ODU discontinued the wrestling program last spring. “I think timing-wise, it just kinda happened out of nowhere. But I think all things work out for a reason and I’m thankful to be able to help in the sport of wrestling at Great Bridge.”

Martin became Great Bridge’s coach in 1991 and compiled a 306-15-1 record, coaching 40 state champions, 98 state place-winners, 35 All-Americans and six national champions. His teams were nationally ranked all 13 years, and the 2003 and 2004 squads earned the nation’s top public school honor.

At Old Dominion, Martin sent dozens of wrestlers to the NCAA championships and won 172 dual meets to tie the record set by ODU’s first coach, Peter Robinson.

“He’s a very driven guy,” Great Bridge athletic director Sean Townsend said. “And obviously his résumé — I haven’t gotten a résumé that impressive before.

“What’s impressed me about Steve and what I’m excited about is Steve has a vested interest in growing wrestling in the whole area, whether it’s bringing duals to Great Bridge, growing the club, continuing to improve on our resurgence and keeping that upward trajectory we seem to be on to keeping us on top of the state and at the national level.”

Martin made clear Great Bridge’s wrestling staff will remain the same; former coach Matt Small, who won two state titles and coached nine individual champions, will still be involved in the program.

“Matt did an unbelievable job getting the program back where it needed to be,” Martin said. “We’re pretty much on the same page on technique and training philosophies. I’m very thankful. I would not be doing this job without Matt Small on the staff. That was one of the things that had to happen.”

The 757 is also home to Martin’s family. Leaving for a job elsewhere wasn’t appealing.

“My family is all in this area,” Martin said. “I’ve got six brothers and sisters. Everybody is in this area. So I wasn’t gonna leave the area. It wasn’t gonna happen. At this point in my life, I’ve done a lot and I’ve seen a lot and I really needed the right fit for me. Great Bridge is the only one where I could check off all the boxes.”

One bonus box included coaching his son, Max, who won a 106-pound state title as a sophomore last year.

“I think it’s gonna be a unique situation,” Martin said. “I’ve been helping him out the past year more than ever. It’s gonna be a cool thing.”

Beyond building upon Great Bridge wrestling’s strong foundations, Martin aims to grow the sport in the area. He hopes to set up marquee duals with top programs like Cox, Kellam and more to bring out fans and alumni en masse.

Martin expressed desire to work with local coaches to better realize the potential for wrestling in Hampton Roads. Of course for Martin, that starts at Great Bridge.

“First, we want to be able to create good students so they can be productive members of society,” Martin said. “I want to make sure they’re good kids. We want to make them the best wrestlers they can be. I’m not gonna put a timetable on when we’re gonna do this or when we’re gonna do that, but I think we’re gonna be very competitive.”

Ray Nimmo, 757-446-2364, ray.nimmo@pilotonline.com