“Wrestling is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Alicia Sherod, a Highland senior wrestler, said.
Aldo Gutierrez is the coach of football, track, and wrestling at Highland, and the values of hard work and motivation he instills in his students is a testament to his own story.
Gutierrez was born in Mexico and immigrated with his parents when he was seven. Moving to Fillmore, Utah with a population of 2,000 people, he felt divided linguistically.
“It was a tough transition for me as student. I didn’t know what people were saying about me. I didn’t know what people were saying at all,” Gutierrez said.
But that’s where he found his love for sports. With encouragement from his dad, Gutierrez stared playing soccer at an early age while still in Mexico. After moving to Fillmore, Gutierrez had more options. He started playing football and basketball with his friends, continued soccer (competing at a club level), began competing in track events, and had his first taste of wrestling.
After high school graduation, Gutierrez continued his athletic journey. Participating in city league sports programs, playing at rec centers at every opportunity, and transitioning his passion to his pupils when he began coaching, Gutierrez found a career where he can “love what I do.”
“I think I found where I belong in the teaching world,” Gutierrez said. “You have to find a specific school culture that you belong to…. I feel like I belong here at Highland”.
Gutierrez practically lives at Highland. As a teacher and a coach of multiple sports, he’s here earlier and later then most teachers and students.
“We wake up here, we sleep here, and we wake up here. It’s nonstop,” Gutierrez said. “You get tired but it’s okay. I’m doing what I’m meant to do.”
Gutierrez also described the changes in Highland sports over his last eight years and the excitement he feels for his wrestlers this winter with the new region change. There had been a dip in competitiveness at Highland, but he’s seen that rise along with student engagement in sports.
“It’s just an awesome sight to see because I know how hard all my students work. How much sacrifice they put into it,” Gutierrez said.
With the region change, competitive spirit growing at Highland, and enrollment numbers increasing in the past few years, Gutierrez thinks the best is yet to come for Highland athletics.
“I think we’re going to be in a great position to be successful again,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez has seen many of his wrestlers place at state during his time as a coach and believes this year will be filled with more individual success. The most important part of coaching for him is to have wrestlers who are willing to show up and work. Wrestling is demanding, but Gutierrez emphasizes the importance of resilience.
“I just want you to enjoy the process, enjoy what we’re trying to help teach you,” Gutierrez said, highlighting his fundamentals as a coach. “You get to an advanced level of any sport, you still got things to learn.”
While Highland’s enrollment was smaller than many of the schools the team’s competed against, Gutierrez believes his wrestlers will make a splash at state as long as he helps his kids maintain a tenacious spirit where they’re encouraged to show up.
“Wrestling is… the most demanding sport and I think about it every single day,” Sherod said. “I learn so much about discipline and doing hard things.”
Despite the difficulty of the sport, Sherod knows Gutierrez’s encouraging mentality is one of the biggest reasons why she loves it.
“He’s so motivating and supportive…he has a way of making everyone feel special,” Sherod said. “[Gutierrez] wouldn’t let me leave without trying. Every day, he’d make me actually put in the work before I could leave his class which really helped me.”
The motivation that Gutierrez’s given her has changed Sherod’s mental and physical strength since her freshmen year when she began wrestling.
Even though she’s one of the most skilled wrestlers on the team, Sherod stressed that Gutierrez spends more time with beginners helping them stay motivated and hone their skills.
“There’s no favoritism. He’s going to help who needs to be helped,” Sherod said, adding that he really gets to know his athletes as well. “He does this thing where he’ll find out something personal about you and he brings it up every time he sees you”.
Sherod said it makes each person on the team feel like they have a greater connection with Gutierrez then a first name.
“He makes us feel like individuals.” Sherod said. “I don’t have any other coaches that take the time to know stuff and remember things about my personal life.”
The nicknames, personal facts, and his recognition of individuality all convey Gutierrez’s deep devotion to his students.
Despite lacking something like a father for several years, “[Gutierrez] kind of stepped in. Like a dad basically,” Sherod said. “I look up to him… He’s always there.”
And always here, at Highland, as well.
