Steven Gaydosh
Born in Bridgeport, CT, Steve Gaydosh was first introduced to wrestling in a 6th grade PE class. Steve graduated from Amityville Memorial High School in 1968, where he was a two-time league champion and twice a county place finisher in wrestling, and also played varsity football for three years under the legendary Hall of Fame coach Lou Howard. After high school Steve continued his education and wrestling career at Springfield College in Springfield, MA, where he was a four-time New England Champion and a team captain his senior year. From 1972-1974, Steve was a member of the Athletes' in Action wrestling team, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ ministries. Through Athletes' in Action, he attended Team USA training camps and practiced daily with World Team members and Olympians. In 1974, he moved to Waynesville, NC, and began a five-year stint at Tuscola High as a PE teacher and head wrestling coach. It was here that he coached his first state champion. From 1979 to 1982, Steve attended the University of Tennessee, where he served as a graduate assistant for the UT wrestling team, and worked with legendary coach, Gray Simons. At UT, Steve helped coach and recruit seven wrestlers who won 11 All-American honors, including UT's only National Champion wrestler, Chris Edmond. In 1982, he moved to Vestavia Hills, AL, where he taught PE at West Elementary and became head wrestling coach at Vestavia Hills High. During his career at Vestavia, he established their wrestling program as one of the premiere programs in the Southeast. During his tenure, he coached 13 State Championship teams and nine second place teams. Thirteen times he was named Alabama's Classification Wrestling Coach of the Year. He also coached 86 individual state champions and innumerable place finishers. In 1994, Steve was inducted into the National High School Coaches' Association (NHSCA) Hall of Achievement. Since 1997, Steve has served as the president of the NHSCA, and has actively promoted their national high school tournament. In 2000, USA Wrestling Magazine named him Coach of the Year, and also in 2000, he was named National High School Federation's Wrestling Coach of the Year. Steve was inducted into the Vestavia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. Coach Gaydosh retired after 34 years as a teacher and head wrestling coach of the Vestavia Hills Rebels, but he continues today as an ambassador for the sport he loves. Currently, Steve is involved with Beat the Streets Birmingham, which develops wrestling programs in inner city schools. Despite his career successes, it has been said that Steve's greatest accomplishment is his family.
Awards:
Year
2017
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Award
Lifetime Service to Wrestling
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Chapter/Region
Alabama
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