George “Buzzy” Mann grew up in Oklahoma and wrestled in Stillwater in elementary school, in Wapanucka in junior high and in Ada in high school.

He went on to wrestle at Carson-Newman College, qualifying for nationals two years while missing the other two years because of ACL surgery. He also reached the finals of the Christian College Nationals.

Buzzy amassed a career record of 439-170-2 in 31 years as a coach.

Mann’s career began as an assistant for one year at at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tennessee before moving to Carson-Newman to complete a master’s degree and assist with the Eagles’ program. He coached football and softball at Roane County High School for a year before getting back into wrestling at Greenville High School, as an assistant coach for three years and head coach for three years.

Buzzy returned to Dobyns-Bennett in 1996 and coached there until his retirement in 2017. When Mann took over, the Tribe grapplers were practicing in a small corner of the school. Now the program has its own wrestling wing.

He had a record of 378-169-2 in 21 years at Dobyns-Bennett, including numerous conference, district and regional dual championships and produced numerous individual region champions and all-state wrestlers. The Indians made six state dual appearances under Mann.

Additionally, Mann saw the expansion of the program into John Sevier and Robinson Middle Schools and was instrumental in launching an AAU program.

Under his watch, the Indian Classic Tournament blossomed into a two-day event that regularly hosts 32-33 teams. The wrestling program has also partnered with the Kingsport Convention & Visitor’s Bureau for two decades to bring a pair of national events to Kingsport.

The AAU Spring Youth Nationals in March and the AAU Elementary National Duals in April are held annually at the Buck Van Huss Dome.