Gaddy named wrestling director, Waddell new GHS boys head coach
Wrestling coach Josh Ghobadpoor is heading back to a familiar place.
Ghobadpoor spent eight seasons in the Gilmer High Bobcats’ corner while compiling a 205-45 dual record and leading the program to its 18th and 19th state championships. He stepped down as head coach to accept the same position at Lumpkin County High School, his alma mater.
“Over the last several years we (along with wife Kelly) have started our family. To me, family is first,” Ghobadpoor said. “As we kind of had some struggles with our first pregnancy with our boy Reacher, we understood how important it is to have that family support on a more regular basis. I’m not saying we didn’t have support from this community, but it’s a little different when your family is there.
“Since then, we’ve had another child (Noah). There is only one place I’d ever leave Gilmer for, and that’s to go back home to Lumpkin to have all of our family together. My boys’ grandparents are right there. A move lets my boys be with all their aunts and uncles, cousins and their grandparents. It was more than just a wrestling position.”
Ghobadpoor grew up in Lumpkin and wrestled for LCHS. He reached the state finals all four years and won an individual state title as a junior.
“I can’t say it’s also not about being back at my alma mater and being at a place I have great pride in and very strong roots in. While I’ve been here, I’ve been 100 percent Gilmer. But there’s just something about being back at the place where you started and the place as a community really built me up.”
Even with the reasons mentioned, Ghobadpoor did not come to the decision easily.
“This was extremely difficult. I’ve poured eight years of my life into this program. There have been a lot of magnificent times and some tough times,” he said. “I came here when I was 29 and I’m 37 now. Those are some of the best years I’ll be able to give physically. I’m so proud of that time and of the kids. We have a special type of student athlete in Gilmer County, and I’ve always been proud of what we’ve been able to do for them. This was a home away from home.”
At the state level, GHS won traditional championships under Ghobadpoor in 2022 and 2023. The Bobcats finished inside the top five six times and were second in 2020. In his eight seasons, Ghobadpoor coached eight state champions, 17 finalists, 50 state placers and 81 state qualifiers.
On the state duals side, Gilmer finished as runners-up six straight seasons from 2018-23. One of those second-place finishes came when a volunteer scorekeeper did not keep the correct score during a pivotal bout. Another runner-up trophy was awarded when North Hall used an ineligible wrestler to win a bout in the state finals.
Out of 16 possible region championships, GHS won 14 (seven duals and seven traditional) with Ghobadpoor at the helm.
He was also the girls wrestling head coach for five seasons. Gilmer’s Candelieria Velasquez won a state championship in the inaugural year of girls wrestling. When she had her hand raised in the 95-pound weight class, she became the first ever GHSA girls state champion.
“What a dream come true this has been for me over the last eight years ... being with a program this prolific and with the tradition it has,” Ghobadpoor said. “Taking everything into account, I think my staff and I have done a great job. We kept it up at a high level where it has always been for 20-some-odd years. We won some state titles, had several runner-up placements and 50 state placers.
“I’m so grateful and proud to be a part of this program, let alone lead it. I’m proud of the memories and relationships I’ve built, and those won’t go away. I’m not leaving on any bad terms. It makes it difficult when things are very good and you have to step away from a situation.”
Ghobadpoor also served as director of wrestling and oversaw all operations in the county. Filling that void will be Josh Gaddy. Caleb Waddell — a GHS alum —has been named head coach.
“I’m excited to get to work,” Gaddy said. “We’ve got a lot of good things going on with the boys program and the girls program and at the middle school. In the last couple years, I’ve been involved with different aspects of the program. I’m ready to get in and get to work. We’re all going to put our heads together and get ready to grind and be the best we can be.”
Waddell was a two-time state champion and three-time finalist at Gilmer before receiving a wrestling scholarship to the University of Tennessee — Chattanooga.
“This is a big deal. This is a dream and has always been one of my main goals to take it over one of these days,” Waddell said. “I didn’t know it was going to happen this quickly, but it’s here. I have a lot of room to grow. Coach Ghobad always mentions, ‘you’ve wrestled for 19 of your 23 years.’ That is a lot of experience to some extent — not the coaching part — being around the sport and trying to be a savant of the sport and working hard.”
More information regarding Gaddy and Waddell will be available in a future edition of the Times-Courier.