After big school success, Jackson takes on Staples-Motley wrestling
Jim Jackson has coached some of the top wrestlers and top teams in Minnesota high school history, winning state championships at Apple Valley and Shakopee. When he accepted the wrestling coach position at Staples-Motley, he divulged one of his secrets to winning championships: he wanted lunch room duty.
“It’s a great way to get to know the students,” said Jackson. He is also a resource room advisor and teaches a phy ed class.
Jackson won 16 state championships at Apple Valley and two more at Shakopee, then retired from coaching in 2020 with a 868-64-4 record, the highest winning percentage for a coach in state wrestling history.
He has a cabin about an hour from Staples-Motley and Cardinal coach Mark Carlson asked him to drive over to put on a wrestling clinic. While here, Carlson asked him why he wasn’t coaching a team in this area, since his cabin is nearby.
“I’ve never been asked,” replied Jackson.
So he was asked.
Jackson looked at his situation and decided he wasn’t doing very well with retirement because he had more energy than things to do. He also has a history with Staples-Motley, bringing his Apple Valley team here in 1986, after each team had won a state title the year before. Apple Valley was the big school champion and Staples-Motley the Class A champion. The gym was packed and loud for the battle of the top teams.
“It was one of the most incredible atmospheres I’ve been a part of,” recalled Jackson.
He decided to move to Staples and coach again.
Jackson said it takes a long time to build up a program, but his lunch room strategy is already getting more students involved, with 44 wrestlers showing up for the first week of practice, a big increase from past years. Many of the new faces are people who are trying wrestling for the first time after being urged by Jackson, there is also a big group of younger wrestlers coming up through the program.
Jackson would like to expand the team to include more girls wrestlers, as there is now a statewide girls wrestling league in Minnesota, which is one of the fastest growing sports.
“It’s a great opportunity for the girls, we want to build that program,” said Jackson. There are currently two girls wrestling for the school.
This is Jackson’s first time coaching a small town team, so he is learning some of the differences between big schools and small schools. One thing he found out is that Staples-Motley is in one of the toughest sections in Class A, so it will be a big challenge for the team or individuals to reach the state tournament.
At Apple Valley, he started as a middle school coach and it took years to move up to head coach. He likes the idea of starting at the ground level, an approach that extends to the wrestling community in general. He wants more families and volunteers to get involved from the youth program on up. He has assembled a lot of assistant coaches and volunteers to help out with the varsity.
“If one of the coaches can inspire one athlete, that’s a grand slam in my opinion,” said Jackson.
He said he has gotten a lot of support from school administration and parents. Even though the wrestling program appears to be gaining momentum, Jackson knows there is a lot more to do.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” he said, “it’s not going to happen right away.”
Jackson said he has a love/hate relationship with coaching. “I love working with the kids, but there is a lot of work to do,” he said.
Jackson is committing his time to the program because he said it is all about the kids. In the classroom, his job is an advocate for the students who need extra time to get their work done. In the lunch room, it isn’t just about wrestling, Jackson said he wants to help other sports out and has recommended to some students that they join another sport. He also was impressed that the school musical was such a success this fall.
“We want to provide a great education and a great experience,” he said.
