The neighbors probably thought Mike Fitzpatrick was crazy.

"I was cleaning a wrestling mat on my front lawn in the middle of December," the new Ambridge coach said of that cold day in 2000. "We found the old mat at the football stadium smashed under a bunch of old equipment."

Fitzpatrick was referring to Ambridge's Moe Rubenstein Stadium and his goal was to ressurect the Bridgers wrestling program.

"That was the only mat we could find," said Fitzpatrick, who was recently named Ambridge Area's new varsity coach. "It was rock hard, but it served the purpose until we got the varsity program reinstated."

Ambridge discontinued its program after the 1993-94 season. The Bridgers joined in a co-op with Quigley Catholic the following year and competed that way for the next seven seasons, with Quigley's Ed Driscoll as coach.

"A lot of kids didn't want to go to Quigley every day to practice," said Fitzpatrick, a 1980 Ambridge graduate who was working as a youth coach at Quigley during Ambridge's seven years with Quigley. "Ambridge wouldn't restore the varsity program until we could show them there were enough kids."

With that in mind, Fitzpatrick and Ron Wilson decided to start a junior high program at Ambridge.

"It was a real battle," Fitzpatrick recalled. "We didn't have any funding. In fact, we didn't have anything, not even a mat. That's when we went searching and found that old mat at the stadium. We used that mat to get the junior high program started."

With Fitzpatrick and Wilson carrying the ball, Ambridge's varsity program was resurrected during the 2001-02 season. Larry Knopsnyder served as coach for two years, before turning the reins over to Rich Catalano, who coached the Bridgers for five seasons. Catalano a former North Allegheny wrestler, stepped down at the end of last season.

"I'm the one who found Rich and brought him to Ambridge," Fitzpatrick said. "I served as his assistant for all five years."

Things have changed quite a bit over the past seven years.

"Now we have a brand new facility," Fitzpatrick said. "We've come a long way since then."

Fitzpatrick is eager to begin his first season.

"I really love wrestling," Fitzpatrick said. "The transition from assistant to head coach shouldn't be very tough, because I already know the kids."

Another assistant coach has taken over at Carlynton.

Jason Knox has replaced Chris Mangum, who stepped down at the end of last season to spend more time with his family.

"Chris asked me to be his assistant when he took the job in 2003," said Knox, who had been Avonworth's junior high coach the two previous years. "I jumped at the chance to coach at my alma mater."

Knox is a 1989 Carlynton graduate who was a three-year starter for the Cougars. He placed fourth in the WPIAL Class AA tournament as a 119-pound junior, then finished second in the WPIAL and fourth in the Southwest Region as a 130-pound senior.

"I learned a lot during my five years as Chris' assistant," Knox said. "I'm really looking forward to my first year as head coach."

Knox has seen the rise of a program during his five years at Carlynton.

"We only had four wrestlers the first year and didn't win any matches the first two years," Knox said. "With the help of the boosters and the youth program, we've been able to build the program into one that is competitive. We had 18 kids competing at the varsity level last season and hope to have even more this season."

Carlynton had an 11-5 record last year.

Chris Day is the interim coach at Burgettstown, while Ed Braddock has moved up to the top spot at Blackhawk.

"Terry Havelka is taking a one-year leave of absence," said Day, referring to Burgettstown's coach for the past 15 years. "His son is a senior at Findlay College. Terry wants to follow his final season."

Havelka announced his retirement from coaching a couple months ago, but has since had second thoughts.

"It's up in the air as to whether he will be back," Day said. "If he wants to come back, I wouldn't have a problem with staying on as his assistant. My main concern is to keep the program at the high level it is right now."

Day is a 2000 Trinity High School graduate who was a three-year starter for the Hillers. He was also a four-year starter at Washington & Jefferson College.

"I always thought I would enjoy coaching," said Day, an assistant at Ringgold the last two years. "My dad [Duane] coached at Fort Cherry [for six years]. He also won five Virginia state titles while coaching at Poquoson High School."

Duane Day hasn't coached since the 1997-98 season, but that has changed.

"Dad has agreed to be my assistant coach," Chris Day said. "It will be great to have him in my corner for my first year as a head coach. In fact, I think he's more excited about this coaching job that I am."

Havelka will remain with the team as a volunteer assistant.

Braddock takes over for Joe Roperti at Blackhawk.

"This is my 11th year with the program," Braddock said. "I was a junior high coach for five years and was Joe's varsity assistant the last five years."

Braddock is a 1980 graduate of Blackhawk who was a two-year starter for the Cougars. He continued his career at IUP, but a knee injury forced him to retire early.

"There's a lot more pressure in being the head coach of the program," Braddock said. "The transition has been very easy because I've been a part of the coaching staff for so long."