The Fountain Hills High School wrestling team is getting something of a fresh start for the 2018-19 season with a largely young and small team.

Falcons head coach Luke Salzman said he is excited about the new blood in the program.

“It’ll be a growing year for sure,” Salzman said. “It is kind of like we’re starting from ground zero. We only have three returners from last year, but the new guys are really into the sport.”

The FHHS wrestling team is 12 men strong with only one senior upperclassman. The rest of the Flacons are either freshmen or sophomores.

Salzman said that, in some ways, he would rather start from square one with a young group of wrestlers than focus on a group primarily consisting of seasoned veterans.

“As a coach I would rather have younger guys than some new guys that are juniors and seniors who I cannot mold,” Salzman said. “It is exciting to have freshmen in here just learning the sport for the first time.”

Salzman believes that what the new wrestlers learn now will be critical to winning matches later.

“Proper technique is where you start,” Salzman said. “It is so important they learn the basics first, before they get too detailed and all funky. In wrestling, basics win matches.”

The wrestling team’s first match of the season is away at Wickenburg on Saturday, Dec. 1.