Dave McCarthy of Neenah, Wis. is in his 32nd year as an elementary school teacher and coach. During this time, he has taught and coached in the Suring (82 - 83), Plymouth (83 - 89), and Neenah (90 - present) School Districts. During his career he has coached at the high school level for 30 plus years, with 28 as a head wrestling coach. Dave McCarthy was born in LaCrosse, WI on August 29, 1959 to Bill and Honey McCarthy. He is one of six children. His parents instilled in their children the importance of family, working hard, being responsible, doing your best, and learning to do your part to help your family. McCarthy and his coaching staffs took similar core values and worked to develop and instill these in the youth people they worked with and coached. His wrestling career began in 7th grade at Merrill Middle School under the tutelage of Jim Bruins. During his time at Oshkosh North High School, coached by Lowell Johnson and Bill Akan, McCarthy was a 3 year letterwinner, conference champion, 2 time state qualifier, and state placewinner. McCarthy's college career took him to UW-Stevens Point where he wrestled under John Munson and UW-Whitewater for Coach Willie Myers. In this time he was a conference placewinner and qualifier for the National tournament. Over the course of his career, McCarthy has worked with a host of top-quality, long time assistant coaches and gives them a great deal of credit in the success of the athletes and programs they worked with. Together McCarthy and "these men of influence' notched 388 career dual wins, qualified for Team State (04), coached 76 Individual State Qualifiers, 31 State placewinners, 5 State Runner-Ups, and 5 state champions at Neenah. During his career, McCarthy counts himself blessed to have worked with many great student-athletes and families. McCarthy's coaching motto "Iron Sharpens Iron', succinctly encapsulates his goal of making young people better people through the sport of wrestling. He stated, "Wrestling has allowed me to find out so much about myself while helping others do the same. The struggles, challenges, successes, and celebrations over the years turn into great lessons. Wrestling has blessed us with many opportunities to grow and learn. McCarthy's influence also extends to the regulation of the sport. Over the past decades, he has worked with the WWCA, WIAA, WWF, and USA Wrestling to improve and grow the sport of wrestling at all levels. He has served on the WIAA Wrestling Rules Committee and also is a member of the 7% Committee. McCarthy has been a longtime member of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association (WWCA) Executive Committee. He has been a WWCA District 4 Representative, Public Relations Chairman, President- Elect, and this year became the WWCA's President . McCarthy understands the importance of working to promote wrestling by supporting & connecting media pioneers and existing legislative bodies at the state, national, and international level. Dave lives in Neenah with his wife of 31 years, Sue. He cannot thank her enough for her help, sacrifices, encouragement and support during his coaching career and throughout their lives. They have three children: Pat, Tim and Clare, who have also been an integral part of the coaching journey. The McCarthy family has always valued and recognized the importance of positive involvement in their community and extra- curricular experiences in the lives of their children and the children of the community. All their children, Pat, Tim, and Clare were involved in 3 or more sports each school year, which meant Dave and Sue were also involved in those teams and sports. This provided many opportunities to work with other sports, coaches, staff, administration, families, and community members. During his time in Neenah, Dave has worked hard to improve strength training experiences, equipment, and facilities for students and athletes in Neenah. He joined forces with a group of fellow coaches and community members to organize and raise money for a new state of the art strength training facility at the high school. He also worked with other educators to create positive opportunities for area youth through the NHS Leadership Council, Theda-Clark Backyard Buddies Mentoring Program, the local YMCA, and Boys and Girls Brigade.