USC hires Tarr as wrestling coach
Seven years ago, Eli Tarr of Upper St. Clair enthusiastically raced home from kindergarten. He wanted to wrestle.
Although a champion in the sport, his father was reluctant. He thought his son was too young.
“I was resistant at first,” admitted Dr. Chris Tarr. “Then my wife (Gina) and I decided to let him try.”
Tarr accompanied Eli to his first wrestling practice as a spectator. He left as a volunteer coach.
Since then he has grown the sport at the youth level in Upper St. Clair. This past season alone the Panthers had 99 wrestlers, nine of them female. They qualified three who competed in the state championships.
“Coach Tarr has done a phenomenal job,” said Mark Cedar, who is the president of the USC wrestling boosters club. “He believes in and promotes building one unified program from the seniors on the varsity team all the way down to the youngest members of the youth program.”
The program becomes more integrated as Tarr has been hired earlier this month as head coach of the high school wrestling team.
Tarr has an extensive career as a wrestler and coach.
He was a standout at Washington High School, compiling a 112-19-1 record that included two PIAA runner-up and three state placements. He was a two-time WPIAL champion, Southwest Regional winner and a three-time Burgettstown and Keystone Oaks Tournament winner. He was a two-time section and regional runner-up before winning his titles in 1994, his senior year.
Tarr, who competed for Team Pennsylvania in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, accepted a scholarship to Lock Haven, where he won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Scholar/Athlete Award before transferring to Washington & Jefferson.
Named a team MVP, Tarr ranks on the all-time list at W&J for career takedowns and takedowns in a season. Tarr was inducted into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for his wrestling achievements.
“The benefits of participating in sports are much more than just wins, losses, medals and trophies,” Tarr said. “The true benefits are the lessons learned from the many experiences that we encounter.
“Some of those benefits include the ability to set, pursue and accomplish goals, the ability to manage adversity in a positive manner and the ability to positively interact with a diverse group of people.
“I believe that if, as coaches, we shift our focus from winning and losing to a growth mindset, we can free our athletes to perform without fear and accomplish great feats.”
Off the mats, Tarr has achieved academically and professionally.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from W&J as well as a master’s in psychology from Duquesne University. He earned a doctorate in education from Slippery Rock University, where he is currently the Dissertation Chairperson for doctoral students.
Additionally, he has been employed by UPMC Behavioral Health for 15 years. He also is a licensed ACSM certified Autism and exercise specialist.
“I have spent the past 26 years, my entire professional career, working with individuals with developmental, intellectual, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. These experiences have had a profound impact on my perspective on the role that sports play in our lives,” Tarr explained.
Tarr’s role as wrestling coach is multi-faceted. He has many goals for the program.
Immediately, he wants to help the wrestlers achieve their personal goals.
“I believe that we have wrestlers who have the goal of qualifying for the state tournament,” he said. “Others have the goal to qualify for the WPIAL/Southwest Region Tournament. I want to make sure that I provide ample opportunities and cultivate an environment which allows our wrestlers to achieve their goals.”
Simultaneously, he wants to generate increased interest in wrestling at the junior high and varsity levels.
“We need to increase the roster sizes at both levels,” he said. “Therefore, recruiting and retaining wrestlers in grades 7 thru 12 is crucial to our future success. Our youth program is growing in numbers. We need to take that momentum and carry it over the to older levels.”
Tarr has some of the best recruiters already on his staff. Eli is 11 now and a sixth grade student. Tarr has two other children. Anna, 8, is a third-grade student and Samuel, 5.
“All three participate in our wrestling program,” Tarr said proudly.