Many students at Granger High say that their favorite part about the school is how at the end of the day they feel like the administration and faculty really care about the students. Coach Clapier is one of the teachers here that show that he goes out of his way and above beyond what is expected.

“Being a coach I try and push my boys to beyond what they think they can do as best as I can,” Coach Clapier said. “What I’m trying to do to improve our future wrestlers is to make a little league and teach the kids to be more competitive and to have a why,” he said.

Being a good coach has its perks and its problems, but it gets easier on learning how to deal with them along the way.

“I have been wrestling since I was four years old, and I think the hardest part would be dealing with problems when a doctor is needed or motivating the boys to do the best they can with grades and absences and their stress,” Clapier said. “I also hate that I don’t see my family very much during the winter. My wife says she doesn’t have a husband during wrestling season,” he said.

Clapier always does what’s best for the students and tries to push them the best he can, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by the students either.

“I think the biggest thing that coach has taught me is that we need to help our community by wrestling and going to school and then coming back to raise your family,” Luis Ramirez (10) said. “He always showed me to push myself to the best I can because if I don’t, then no one else will do it for me. I try to be a nice person and try and make an impact on things I feel are important,” Ramirez said.

This isn’t the only student Coach Clapier has made an impact on.

“I have been wrestling for five years and I think the hardest part is staying on weight” Luke Wamsley (11) said. “After every match, he tells me what I did wrong and what I can do to improve, and that’s what we work on in practice. He has taught me a lot — especially to be good on my feet and how to set up my shots and not to just dive in on them,” Wamsley said.

A coach and a teacher who is inspiring and a great role model is something many kids look forward to.

“This is my first year of wrestling and I have already fallen in love with the sport,” Shayden Tuscic (9) said. “He shows us on what we all can do to improve and make us better and what our why is,” Tuscic said.

Coach Clapier has helped out his wrestlers and his students in a various amount of ways. People can tell the effort, time, and dedication he has towards anything he puts his mind to. He’s a coach, teacher, and friend.