"It means something for the kids in the program," Marsh said. "In the 15 years UNH has been in the NCWA, a New England coach has never been selected. These are great kids in this program and they deserve it."
This coming from a guy who has earned his share of honors and awards over more than 50 years of being involved in the sport. After a successful wrestling career at Winnacunnet High School (Class of 1961), he earned a college scholarship to Appalachian State, where his team lost just two meets in his five years (Marsh redshirted a year). He placed second at the 1968 Olympic Trials, and is a former U.S. Wrestling Federation champion. Marsh was inducted into the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1985.
Yep, he's the Hulk Hogan of real wrestling. But wait, there's more (and know that Marsh isn't capable of talking about himself this much — the only way to find all this is to dig).
Marsh has been an NCAA official for more than 40 years and has worked more than 50 regional and national tournaments, though he will only referee high school matches at the moment since he is coaching a college team. He's a compliance officer with the NCWA, too, so you know he's got serious mat cred.
Past coaching jobs include stints at UMass-Lowell and Exeter High School. No, there isn't much Marsh, a North Hampton resident, hasn't accomplished in wrestling.
In all his years on and around the mat, though, his body of work over the past four years at UNH is without out a doubt among his finest. When Marsh took over the club team at State U in Durham four years ago, they had been through two coaches in a short span of time and there were only six young men on the team.
Fast-forward four years to present day, and the differences are stunning. A team of just six has grown to 32, which, according to Marsh, places them among the top three largest teams in the country. UNH has had 28 student-athletes qualify for nationals, five All-Americans and three national champions. The Wildcats finished sixth last year at nationals, and this year finished 20th in a 95-team field.
Marsh's coaching style has much to do with it.
"Coach Marsh has done an awesome job," said senior standout Shaun Toomey, a Hampton resident who graduated from Winnacunnet in 2006, and whose younger brother, Patrick is a freshman member of the UNH squad (Winnacunnet Class of 2009). "His style is so unique. He puts an emphasis on us making our own decisions."
That's by design.
"When I came in here, I told the kids I was going to train them like an Olympic team," Marsh said. "I'm not a yelling, screaming type of person. They know what I expect. This is a highly motivated group of kids. Seventy percent of them have been state champions, so they know how to win."
While the athletic accomplishments are impressive, they mean far less to Marsh than the accomplishments that really count. In his four years at UNH, the program has not had any academically ineligible wrestlers.
"These kids have a cumulative 3.19 grade-point average, so I'm dealing with smart kids," Marsh said proudly. "We're looking at academics first. I let the kids choose the meets we compete in, so they can work their schedules around exams and projects."
It should be noted that UNH wrestling is a club team and receives no financial support from the university. They face many varsity programs, though, competing against the likes of UMass-Amherst, UConn, Yale, Dartmouth, Harvard €» you get the picture.
Marsh is probably nearing the end of his tenure with the Wildcats. How many more seasons that means is anyone's guess, but he is beginning to set the stage for the future of the program.
"I will be 66 soon, so depending on the assistant coaches I get, who knows?" Marsh said with a smile. "I've got two good ones coming in, though."
Marsh hopes to bring in a couple of his top wrestlers, seniors Matt Foley and Toomey, next year as assistants. Foley, of Kennebunk, Maine, and Toomey would both seem to fit the bill perfectly. Both are four-time collegiate national qualifiers, and both are the type of people Marsh has tried to bring into the program.
"They're good kids, and they're solid citizens," he said.
He feels close to, and tries to take care of, all of his wrestlers.
"They all have my cell phone number and home phone number and I tell them if they are ever in a place they feel uncomfortable, I'm there in 20 minutes," Marsh said. "I'll take you back to your dorm or apartment, no questions asked."
That kindness hasn't gone unnoticed.
"Henry's not only a coach, he's a mentor," Toomey said. "A lot of us ask him for career advice. He's just a super-nice guy."
Regardless of how much longer he leads the UNH wrestling team, Marsh has already left an indelible mark on the program. In the meantime, he'll await the results of the national coach of the year vote, hoping the team pulls out another big win.
Mike Sullivan is a Herald columnist. He can be reached at sullywrites@comcast.net.