By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
Anthony D’Alie isn’t too particular about what he’s called.
His coach in college called him “Tony.” Throughout high school, he went by his middle name – Ole. Now, he says, Anthony is fine.
But it is the one title he has earned – that of Coach D’Alie – that makes him happiest.
“It feels real good,” said D’Alie. “Every person who has had an impact in my life has been a coach of mine.”
D’Alie grew up a wrestler. He tried other sports, but always came back to the mats. The mats, in turn, gave back to him, as he placed third at the WIAA state meet as a senior at Waterford Union High School.
He then went on to wrestle at Central Michigan University – one of the top programs in the country. D’Alie graduated in 2010 with a major in sports studies and minors in athletic coaching and entrepreneurship.
So when he returned to the area after graduation, he knew he wanted to coach.
In stepped Kody Azarian – whose father helped encourage D’Alie before his death. Kody wanted D’Alie to help coach him in wrestling.
And Higher Level wrestling was born. Now considered one of the top youth wrestling programs in the area – if not the state – the program had humble beginnings.
“When I came back, Kody asked if I’d help him,” D’Alie recalled. He got someone to donate an old wrestling mat, and the two went to work in the shed on the D’Alie family property in Rochester.
The end result was four trips to the WIAA state tournament. While Azarian went 0-2 in his year at state – before he started working with D’Alie – Azarian medaled each of the next three years.
He will head to D’Alie’s alma mater to wrestle in the fall.
“To give back to the guy’s son … just what I could give to him was simply enough,” D’Alie explained.
At the same time, D’Alie worked with Cody Nannemann – Waterford’s state champion at 160 pounds this year. D’Alie said Nannemann made tremendous strides while in high school, and also credits him and Azarian with starting Higher Level wrestling.
“That really changed my view of things as a coach,” D’Alie said of Nannemann. “From where he came from to where he is today, it’s miles apart.”
D’Alie takes what he calls an old-fashioned approach to coaching wrestling. Never the most talented kid on the mat, D’Alie said he got a reputation where he could outwork almost everyone.
It’s that style he teaches his enthused students.
“I’m into the old-school, physical, ‘it’s going to come down to the third period’ style of wrestling,” D’Alie explained. “I just want kids who want to work hard, never give up and want to learn.”
And so they have come. From the original two students, D’Alie estimated that more than 100 wrestlers came through Higher Level this year. Some drove from as far away as Hartford to get instruction.
They work hard at old-fashioned drills – wall sits, rope climbing, pull-ups and buddy carries. They even practice by flipping tires.
“Endurance is a big deal,” D’Alie explained.
Among those who have worked with D’Alie include Muskego standout Justin Scherkenbach, a handful of Waterford wrestlers – and Burlington High School 120-pound state champion Josh Bird.
Bird’s father, Kevin, has worked with D’Alie for a long time, and said that his coaching has been invaluable.
“Anthony has done a great job bridging the gap for me and other father/coaches,” said Kevin. “Anthony can do more, communicate better and train kids better than most fathers can do with their own children.
“He has been a great asset to us.”
Just this past weekend, D’Alie held his annual Chippewa-style wrestling camp. Each year, he invites wrestlers he knows and respects in to teach. This year, it was his former roommate Conor Bebbe – who finished eighth at the U.S. World Trials earlier this year – and Ben Bennett, the winningest wrestler in CMU history and a four-time All-American.
“Constantly, it’s me yelling at them, pushing them,” D’Alie said. “But when they hear it from someone else, and they hear someone else saying the exact same things I’m saying to them, they think it’s true – not just my way of thinking.”
D’Alie is hopeful that one day, his passion for coaching will turn into a full-time job. But in the meantime, he is working as a mason, supported by his wife, Amber, and their 14-month-old son, Aiden.
It is an entirely different life from his coaching dreams – something that D’Alie chuckles a little about.
“A lot of people don’t know that,” he said. “The only time they see me is in a Higher Level shirt.”
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