Sometimes perseverance in the face of difficult circumstances draws special recognition.

This is what King’s Fork High School head wrestling coach Brett Heberling surmised after his peers recently voted him the inaugural Ironclad Conference Coach of the Year.

“I was a little surprised,” he said at receiving the honor. “Usually when you think of something like that, you think of the team that puts all these kids in the finals.”

Heberling only had five wrestlers on his team by the end of the season, as the squad was heavily limited due to injuries and participants quitting during the year.

Working with a small squad is nothing new to Heberling. He recalled previous years where interest in the sport would grow at King’s Fork and the team’s numbers would swell to more than 15 wrestlers by year’s end. But he became conditioned to the fact that half of them would not return the following year.

“It was always a struggle from year to year to have kids come back,” he said.

Questioning them when they decided not to continue did not yield much information about why they stopped, as they rarely had a clear answer.

But Heberling always maintained a core group of wrestlers, like senior 160-pounder Aaron Hommell and sophomore 120-pounder Andy Hall.

He looked at the Coach of the Year honor as an acknowledgment of his long-term effort with the Bulldogs, weathering the storm these past couple of years, helping his regular wrestlers grow in the midst of that storm and “keeping the core group of guys sticking together.”

He said he felt pretty good about the recognition, but added, “I saw it as more of something for the kids, it was more of an award for them,” plowing ahead with little support in the way of teammates.

In addition to those steadfast wrestlers, he cited his assistant coaches, too, as deserving a share of the honor.

Heberling gave his insight into what it takes to be a good wrestling coach.

“You’ve got to be able to adjust to what the kids do and adjust to what their needs are,” he said. “Not every kid is an all-out, tech fall, pin guy.”

Some have an offensive style, others have a defensive one, and he said coaches need to be able to adapt their instruction accordingly.

Then, they need to ensure they are helping their wrestlers get better every year.

“If you can do that, I think that’s what helps,” he said.

Heberling said his proudest achievement with the team was helping Hommell perform well at the regional championships this year and advance to states.

“It was special getting him to states, my final year and his final year,” the coach said.

Heberling, who is a teacher at King’s Fork Middle School, said this was his last year as coach of the team because he will be looking to pursue other career opportunities within the school system, possibly administration.

“I’m going to try to make some vertical moves in the education world,” he said.

Hommell gave his perspective on his coach receiving the top conference honor.

“I was pretty happy for him,” he said. “I’ve known Coach Heberling for 6 or 7 years now, and it’s about time he got an award for his good coaching.”

He said what makes Heberling a great coach is that he “gets really involved with us.”

“He’s always checking up on me, asking me how I’m doing,” Hommell said. “It’s not like we’re a team, it’s like we’re a family.”

The senior who placed seventh at the state championships this year did not have much room to overestimate Heberling’s importance to his development in the sport.

“He’s taught me everything I know about wrestling,” Hommell said, noting how that mentorship dates back to his seventh grade year. Heberling also coached Hommell’s two older brothers.