Todd Ford is the 2019 Kretchman Coaching Award winner. Ford, who earned his B.S. in 1984 and his M.S. in 1986, competed in NSU wrestling from 1981 to 1984. He was a three-time NAIA National Qualifier; team captain in 1983-84; and assistant coach in 1984-85, with a third place team finish in the NAIA national tournament.
Ford was the 1983 Region 8 Runner UP, 1982 NSIC Third Conference, and 1983 NSIC Runner-up.
Since moving to Arizona in fall 1986, Ford has been involved in developing wrestling programs at new and old schools. He has been able to join the coaches association and help build a great clinic and association over the years. He has also helped Arizona USA Wrestling develop a national and international program that produces many All-Americans each year.
From 1986 to 1988, he was the wrestling coach at Arizona's Maricopa High School – starting a new program from scratch and finding success in year one with crowning one state champion. In year two, he qualified six wrestlers for the state tournament and a second place region finish.
From 1988 to 1992 he was Tempe (Ariz.) High School head wrestling coach, coaching two state champs and eight state placers, with two top 10 finishes.
From 1992 to 1995, he was Mountain Pointe High School head assistant coach, assisting in the development of the new school wrestling program, and developing and coaching a freestyle program and summer wrestling camps.
From 1995 to 2006, he was head wrestling coach at Desert Vista High School. He started and developed a brand new school and wrestling program. Over a 12-year period, he developed a state contending team each year, reaching a state runner-up finish in 2002 and five top 5 finishes in nine years as a varsity program. A total of nine team tournament championships occurred during this period, including three regional titles and three runner-up finishes. Ford coached four individual state champs and another 35 state placers.
Other wrestling affiliations include: Arizona USA Wrestling; Juniors state director (1992-2006); 1998 USA Wrestling Person Of The Year; National teams apparel provider/designer (1992-2014); best uniform awards (1995, 2000, 2012); USA New Zealand cultural exchange (team leader/coach); USA/Arizona cultural exchange coach (Canada exchange); founder, Buffalo Wrestling Club; founder, Thunder Wrestling Club; Arizona USA Wrestling board (1992-2006); Arizona Wrestling Coaches clinic director (1988-2006); Arizona Wrestling Coaches Association president (1990-1994); Arizona wrestling coaches board (1990-2006); AIA wrestling representative and advisor; and wrestling camp clinician (1992-2006) at numerous camps, including NSU, Thunder wrestling camps and Sundevil wrestling camps.
Ford now lives in Chandler, Ariz., with his wife, Lesley. They have three children: Marcie, 38, MacKenzie, 32, and Mason, 23; and two grandchildren: Brooklyn, 5, and Emerson, 3. Ford works as a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
