Troy Douglas has spent plenty of time around girls’ wrestling.
For the past 11 years, he’s been head girls wrestling coach at El Paso Eastwood and for the past two years, he’s been the man leading the charge in back-to-back Class 6A championships.
For now, though, Douglas is stepping away from that role as the Lady Troopers coach.
Douglas confirmed he stepped down from the role to spend more time with his daughters.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but one that I had been thinking about for a few years now,” he said. “It’s been an honor to be a part of it all. The past couple of years have been amazing, back-to-back State titles is pretty cool, but really more than that, the best part is the process of building a bond with the kids and watching them grow as they work through the ups and downs of chasing their goals.”
He is walking away with a team that is still loaded and with the returning pieces, it is hard not to picture the Lady Troopers being in the hunt in 2027.
Hailey Delgado has won two state titles and is undefeated in high school. Alessandra Toscano has been third in her first two years at the state.
Freshman Jaylee DeSantos, sophomore Nayeli Ortiz and junior Isabella Moreno are underclassmen who were at state this year for the Lady Troopers.
Seniors Daniela Hernandez — 3rd this year — and Amirah Castillo Sarabia were the other qualifiers for Eastwood.
Douglas, who is an English and ESL teacher, said he will still coach freshman football next year but will give up the extra duties with wrestling.
He guided the Lady Troopers to 4 state titles — 2020, 2023, 2025 and 2026. At the 2023-24 state finals, he was honored as the NFHS Texas High School Wrestling Coach of the Year.
Douglas won the Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association Class 6A Girls Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
“I’m proud of what the program has done during this time, from winning our first girls wrestling team title in 2020 to the most recent one this past season,” Douglas said. “I’ll miss it, but grateful for the memories. I hope the kids I coached will also look back and enjoy the experience they had being an Eastwood wrestler.”
