This Valley Stream Central wrestling coach helps develop character on and off the mat

Although wrestling has always been a rigorous sport, testing an athlete’s endurance and resilience, for Valley Stream Central High School wrestling head coach Chris Carbajal, it’s not just about perfecting takedowns and escapes. It’s about instilling confidence, discipline, and character in his athletes.

In his eighth year coaching the program, Carbajal understands the character-building potential of wrestling, drawing on his own high school wrestling experience.

“Wrestling taught me how to be a better person, you know, be more responsible,” said Carbajal. “I was an average student, you know, satisfactory level. As I got older, I wanted to take a little more pride in my grades. I grew tired of doing the minimum. If I do minimum in a wrestling match, I’m not going to succeed.”

A similar story has played out in the life of one of his top wrestlers, Emmanuel Alvarado.

“It’s definitely strengthened me in a lot of things, like my dedication, everything I do,” said Alvarado. “Ever since I started wrestling, everything just came to be so much easier because wrestling is one of the hardest things that I’ve probably done in my life.”

Since fifth grade, Alvarado would watch his older brother, Adrian, on the wrestling mat. When his turn came to  spar, he was serious, subjecting his body to consistent training under the guidance of Carbajal. Now, he’s held his own at tournaments, becoming a finalist at the East Meadow Holiday Invitational in the 116 lbs. weight class.

Success in wrestling, as with so many things in life, requires personal grit and a sense of personal responsibility to improve, noted Carbajal. So when Alvarado’s grades were slipping and teachers reported back to him that he’d fallen behind on his assignments, Carbajal sat him down, telling him to take his studies more seriously to ensure his continued place in the team.

“He just took care of business and his grades instantly got better. The rapport with his teachers got better,” said Carbajal. “He’s human, he’s young, and he will make mistakes, but he thrives, he listens, he goes, and he executes. You can see the maturity growing in him.”

It’s perhaps why Carbajal showed no reservation in making him a captain as a sophomore, a rare advancement.

Carbajal notes that the high school wrestling scene at Valley Stream schools isn’t as big or well-known as other school districts. That’s partly the reason he claims that raising participation numbers at the school has been an ongoing challenge.

“On our team, we have 20 kids. We started at 32. Last year, we started with like 52, or 55 and we ended with 31, so there’s always a big drop,” said the head coach, “That’s the hard thing about the sport: the training is tough.” 

Carbajal is also trying to double down on recruiting kids at his not-for-profit youth wrestling club that practices out of Memorial Junior High School to teach interested youth the basic ropes of wrestling.

“We used to be a top program and I’m doing anything and everything to put Central back on the map,” he said.