By Don Ketchum

The wrestling seed has been planted at Desert Edge High in Goodyear. Now it is up to Kyle DeBerry to nurture the program and help it grow into one of the west Valley’s strongest.

If DeBerry’s name seems familiar, it probably should.

His wrestling roots run deep. He was an all-everything wrestler at Tucson Sunnyside, earning Wrestler of the Year honors twice each for the Arizona Daily Star and the Tucson Citizen. His father, Bobby, was the long-time coach at Sunnyside, winning 15 state championships in 17 seasons.

Kyle went on to wrestle at Arizona State, where he had a productive career. He earned a bachelors degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2011 and later this year will earn a second degree, in sociology.

He was torn between the idea of staying in the Valley and returning to Tucson, where his dad is the interim coach at Tucson High. Kyle was looking for a coaching opportunity and it found him, when Desert Edge athletic director Ryan Ridenour called him.

“They were very adamant about what they were looking for in a coach and where they wanted the program to go,’’ Kyle said.

Desert Edge finished 34^th at the Division III state tournament this past winter, and 23^rd the year before. That leaves plenty of room for growth.

DeBerry toured the campus, saw the facilities and met the people.

“They were all nice, helpful and enthusiastic,’’ DeBerry said. “I liked it very much. They appear to have a good support system.’’

DeBerry does not have a teaching job at Desert Edge just yet, but he hopes to have something lined up by the time the 2012-13 school year begins.

He held a question-and-answer session with parents and other interested parties on Monday (March 26).

DeBerry expects to rely on advice from his dad quite a bit.

“My dad is my best friend and my hero. He is so much more than my dad,’’ DeBerry said.

The growing southwest Valley has the potential for good wrestling. In its short existence, Desert Edge seems to have produced quite a few good all-around athletes.

“We want to bring a good, strong foundation,’’ DeBerry said. “Teams need to be disciplined, but they need to learn how to have fun, too. We want to keep things consistent.

“The way I look at it, wrestling is a tool to become a better person. There’s no million-dollar bonus, you don’t go pro. You do it because you love it.’’