Edmundson receives unexpected surprise from his wrestlers

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 1, 2018 5:51 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

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This is one memo Bill Edmundson is glad he didn't get Thursday morning.

It certainly turned into a memorable moment.

Edmundson slid his key into the lock and opened the door. Before he could flip the light switch, he was greeted with "surprise!" from the wrestling team.

"What's going on here?" Edmundson said.

The wrestlers laughed.

A few minutes later, the gray-clad grapplers presented Edmundson with an early retirement gift -- a glass plaque with a box to display his state championship rings. He also received a purple bag that had T-shirts for his entire family and a card.

Edmundson appeared speechless.

"Oh my goodness, that was a big surprise," he said.

Melanie Kirby, whose son Chase is on the team, organized the celebration more than a week ago though social media. She designed the T-shirt that said "Rosewood Wrestling" on the front with just a few of Edmundson's career statistics listed on the back.

Approximately 70 T-shirts were purchased by current and former wrestlers, parents and supporters of one of the state's most-successful prep programs. Kirby anticipates placing another order once the T-shirts begin to circulate in public.

Screen Me handled the printing.

"When I walk in and see my whole team dressed alike, that's pretty special," Edmundson said. "I feel like they care about me. That's important."

Edmundson announced his retirement not long after the Eagles claimed their second N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A state dual-team title in the past three years this past winter.

Though the decision pained the coach who started the program from scratch in 1992-93, he knew it was time to pack away his clipboard.

"The last few years have been so fun," said Edmundson, who logged 703 wins and is enshrined in the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Okla.

"I've always been told that people know when it's time to go. I feel like if I didn't go ahead and do it, I wouldn't because there's always another group coming up that you want to stay with."

Rosewood will return three state champions -- Christian Decatur (2018), Tim Decatur (2018) and Jordan Todd (2017). Also back are state runners-up Chris Hill and Nyterrius Williams.

A successor to Edmundson has not been named.

Assistant coach Hal Kilpatrick -- statistician, scout, recruiter -- will guide the program on an interim basis.