Peabody's Wuchter named Boys Soccer Coach of the Year

Over the past seven years, Joseph Wuchter has been building the Trenton Peabody boys soccer team to be more competitive against the better teams in West Tennessee.

The Golden Tide has been on the brink of a postseason run the past couple years.

This past season, Peabody went on that postseason run to reach the Class A-AA sectionals. Because of that run, Wuchter is the 2017 All-West Tennessee Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

Question: Was the success this season a result of the work that had been put in over the past couple of years?

Answer: It has definitely been a work in progress. I felt like we were building the past four years, but we kept losing in the same round. At the beginning of every season, we talk about getting past that district semifinal round. We kept losing 2-1, 2-0 to Dyersburg or Lexington or Chester County. We had become a good team, but we needed to break that door down. Our boys were hungry. The seniors focused on it for four years.

Q: What has it taken to build this program to be competitive in West Tennessee?

A: When I first got here, we lost to Dyersburg 11-1. Those kids that were freshman that year beat Dyersburg 4-3 as seniors. It took years of losing. I have been blessed with talent, and many of our kids play together at the junior high. I took guys wanting to commit for four years. Being such a small school and competing against the bigger schools, you have to have guys in every grade level ready to commit. 

Q: Was there a point in the season that you felt this is the team that could make a postseason run?

A: As a coach, you think that you can make a run every year. This year, I felt Day 1 that we could do it. We finally had five seniors that started and had played since they were freshmen or sophomores.

Q: Do you feel this year's group has given the upcoming teams something to work towards?

A: Like in the past, the losses have made this team hungry to try and improve. Now that we have been there and tasted it, we want it even more. We were one game away from the state tournament. The younger guys on this team will be hungry.

Q: How much is having that split to a Class A and Class AA in soccer going to help next year?

A: It is going to make a ton of difference. Playing the bigger schools these past six years has helped us build to where we are. It gives us a fair shot at getting to state, and I feel like not getting to where we were this year or further would be a disappointment. My players in the past have had to play some bigger teams, and for us to get ranked in the Elite Eight with those teams has meant everything. We take pride in being the smallest school that was still alive this year.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.: