Blomgren brothers pin a quarter century of coaching

In the Vashon High School (VHS) wrestling room above the school gym, the team gathers for a cheer under the dimmed lights of postseason practice.

One of six of the girls on the team, junior Hazel Nielsen is a part of one of the largest groups of female wrestlers Vashon has seen. There are more girls competing in the league as a whole, so the competition is stiff.

“It all comes down to one weekend,” Neilsen said ahead of regionals. “It’s a little nerve-wracking, but I’m excited.”

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This year has been anything but ordinary. Normally, wrestlers battle through two qualifying tournaments before reaching state. But changes in the tournament structure mean that the Nisqually League Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 8 was the sole deciding factor.

Vashon grapplers found success: The team qualified ten athletes for the state Mat Classic tournament at regionals. The girls team earned the league regular-season championship plaque, and both teams took home sportsmanship awards.

Regionals determined who went to state, but there’s another deciding factor behind the team’s success: The coaches leading those athletes through the sweat and tears.

For coaches and brothers Anders and Per-Lars Blomgren, this is year 25 — a quarter-century spent coaching Vashon wrestling, shaping not just athletes but “better humans,” as assistant coach Jan Nielsen put it.

The boys’ season began with uncertainty. According to the Blomgrens, this year is one of the most inexperienced boys teams that they’ve coached. Going into the new year, the Blomgrens sat down with their team to talk about commitment and effort.

“We may be young, but, like we’ve been saying, we have to really show up in February, and that’s what we did,” Anders Blomgren said.

Through it all, the Blomgrens have kept their approach steady: work hard, be consistent and build a culture where showing up matters more than winning.

Sophomore Jacob Lawrence embodies that philosophy. After breaking his thumb early last season, he still attended every practice, participating where he could and absorbing the rest from the sidelines.

“We play hard, we work harder, right?” Jacob said. “That’s the philosophy here.”

Aidan Green, a VHS wrestling alumnus, has returned to practices to help out with coaching. Green pointed to Per-Lars Blomgren wrestling Hazel Neilsen at the end of one practice.

“It’s his 25th year, and he’s still going at it with the kids,” Green said. “It’s just impressive.”

The respect the wrestlers have for their coaches goes beyond technique.

“I think they’re just amazing people in general, outside of the wrestling room,” Green said. “It makes me want to listen to them and look up to them even more.”

Anders and Per-Lars Blomgren are Vashon through-and-through.

“We were Rockbusters, Mustangs, we were Pirates,” Anders Blomgren said, recalling their years coming up through the island’s wrestling programs.

Anders Blomgren started coaching the high school team in the 1999-2000 season, and Per-Lars Blomgren joined him the following year. Anders is also the district’s athletic director, while Per Lars runs Vashon Youth Rockbusters, the wrestling club for ages four through 12.

The brothers recognize that their coaching partnership is something of a rarity.

“We try not to take it for granted,” said Per-Lars Blomgren. “We have a lot of friends who coach alone or with people they’re not aligned with, [but] we work really well together. It’s kind of dream-like.”

The Blomgrens’ daily routine speaks to that alignment. Every day, the pair takes a walk around the school campus, setting plans and goals. Together, they’ve cultivated a pipeline of wrestling talent, though not without challenges.

Wrestling is a tough sell — a physically demanding sport where many newcomers drop out early. On top of that, Rockbusters used to be part of a league filled with yelling parents and coaches, creating negative experiences that drove kids away from the sport, Per-Lars Blomgren said.

Five years ago, Per-Lars took over the program and facilitated the creation of a new league with coaches who shared his vision: Make wrestling a place where kids and families want to stay. Per-Lars hopes that younger wrestlers are now more likely to stick with it, building more experienced high school teams in the future.

Their father, Carl Blomgren, coached Rockbusters and wrote about the high school team for The Beachcomber. Now, the brothers continue that tradition of tracking opponents, strategizing and motivating their team through the power of storytelling.

“I told the team, ‘I know three people we’ve beaten in January that we lost to in December,” Anders Blomgren said. “Who are we going to be talking about [after regionals]?’”

The team is training intensely for the Washington State XXXVI Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 21 and 22. Though they certainly like to win, the Blomgrens know the real victory is in the process and community.

“The power of doing hard things together — it’s a beautiful thing,” Anders Blomgren said. “And it really brings them together.”

Mari Kanagy is a contributing journalist to The Beachcomber.