New NJC wrestling coach Arsenia Barksdale ready to lead Plainsmen

Prior to Kansas, Barksdale was an assistant at Adams State University, his Alma matter. He served two separate stints there, from 2010-2011, and again from 2013-2015, coaching 5 All-Americans, 2 national runner-ups, and 1 national champion. Between stints, he served as an assistant at Cleveland High School in Rio Ranch, New Mexico for two year, helping the team to two state titles and one National Championship.

How he got into the coaching business was quite the interesting story. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Barksdale was a high school All-American wrestler himself at Kempville High School. He was an undefeated state champion his senior year and finished his prep career with a record of 130-5. After high school was over, however, he said he didn't have any plans for what came next. It took an encounter with Adams State wrestling coach Jason Ramstetter to start him down the path he's on now.

"After my senior year of high school I took a year off from school," said Barksdale. "I never planned on going to college or doing anything but after doing camps with (Coach Ramstetter) he saw that I wasn't doing anything so he thought I should come out and wrestle for him. I'd never been to Alamosa or Colorado, but I thought it was a good deal for me because I wanted to wrestle that much. I went out on a limb, packed all my stuff up and just moved out here."

That leap of faith certainly worked out for him. Barksdale wrestled at ASU from 2006-2004 in the 125 lbs. class. During that time, he was a 4 time Midwest Classic Champion, 3 time Rocky Mountain Regional Champion, won  Rocky Mountain Freshman of the Year, and was a 4 time All-American, placing 3rd as a freshman and senior, 4th as a sophomore, and becoming a 1st place National Champion his junior year. All in all, it was an outstanding collegiate run for him.

Barksdale wasn't done competing after that, however. He went on to have a career as an amateur MMA fighter, going 3-0 with 2 KO's and a TKO before getting into coaching. Now, his journey has led him to Logan County, where he says he's been getting adjusted pretty quickly.

"(The transition to Sterling) has been pretty good," he said. "I'm still trying to get the hang of it since I'm back in a small town but I'm kind of used to it. I lived in Alamosa and Goodland (Kansas) so I've had that small town feel before. I kind of like it in a way, since there's less traffic and all that. The only thing I don't like about it is I like to go out and do a bit of shopping with the family in the bigger cities but the transition is going pretty good."

Tougher than adjusting to small town living is taking over the head position in the middle of a pandemic. COVID-19 has rocked the sports world and forced the NJCAA to push all fall sports for 2020 to the spring semester. Barksdale acknowledged that pandemic coaching has been challenging.

"It's a little difficult," he said. "Normally around this time we would've started preseason tournaments a few weeks ago. Not having any matches or tournaments this semester is kind of hard."

While recognizing that difficulty, Barksdale did say that he's gotten to know the different wrestlers on the team during this transition time. He believes that bonding experience has been great for himself and the team.

"We have a lot of different characters on the team," he said. "No one's the same and everybody's unique in their own way. The majority of the guys that are here were already recruited before I got here. I brought in a few kids myself and we've got kids from all over. We have guys from Louisiana, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Having kids from different areas with their own different personalities I think is a good thing."

It's that unique blend of personality, and the bonding that they've all experienced together that Barksdale says is the biggest strength of the team.

"Everyone is really close," he said. "It's like a family here. We push each other and we let each other know if somebody's messing up. It's more of a family deal here."

Barksdale understands that there will always be challenges, even when there isn't a pandemic going on. He said there's always going to be little things to improve on for the team. However, he also thinks that is a natural part of the process in getting everyone where they want to go in the end.

"Whenever you're training there's always situations where you can push yourself and break down a barrier," he said. "That happens when it comes to doing your sprints or wrestling a full match, getting things done that way. There's always things you can do better when it comes to working out. It's about finding that wall and breaking through it."

Barksdale says it's too early on to make predictions for how the team will do. He does have high hopes, saying that he wants the team to win regionals and send all 10 wrestlers to Nationals. He knows that isn't realistic, but he does believe that he could send at least six wrestlers there and finish in the top 15.

"I honestly think that we have the guys to do that," he says. "It just comes down to the way that we train and keeping everybody healthy."

It'll be a year unlike any other, certainly. There's no telling for sure what everything will look like once play does begin. Barksdale even admitted he doesn't know exactly how everything will go down. However, Barksdale has been a winner everywhere he goes and at everything he does. NJC, too, has had a lot of winners step onto the mat over the years. In a community where winning has become common place in the field of sports, Barksdale should fit right in.

"I hope the wrestling program makes the community proud," he said. "Be on the lookout for us this year."