When Cody Barnes was deciding what his senior-year community project should be, he didn’t have to think about it very long. He knew quickly that he wanted to help kids in the Parks and Recreation youth Wolfpack Wrestling program.

Barnes has established a solid reputation throughout Southeast as a gifted high school wrestler, including a second-place finish in his weight class at the state tournament in December. He said everything started for him with the peewee wrestling program in Sitka, where his family lived before moving to Wrangell, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“I feel like it’s giving back to the younger generation and helping them prepare,” he said. “It was like that for me. Peewee wrestling is what got me started and I learned a lot.”

The Wolfpack Wrestling program is open to children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

During practices, he closely watches and evaluates — often stepping in and getting on his knees to square off with the young wrestlers and demonstrate and drill the moves they are learning. He said it goes beyond lessons learned on the mat, though.

“I think wrestling teaches a person to develop discipline,” said Barnes, who proved his discipline by losing 32 pounds in two weeks prior to the start of the most recent wrestling season.

“It’s obviously a very physical sport, but I tell everyone the biggest challenge is mental. Your toughest opponent is usually you.”

He greatly enjoys connecting with the young kids he coaches and has been told numerous times that he would make a good coach.

“That’s something I think about sometimes,” he said. “That could be something I might do in the future.”

For now, Barnes is still trying to determine his next move. While he is considering whether or not to wrestle in college, he is also considering a gap year between high school and university.

“I just want to make sure that the decision I make is what’s best for me,” he said.

That is another lesson he compares to wrestling: training as a team and learning as a team, but competing as an individual.

“If you win, it’s because you won. You did what needed to be done. It’s the same thing if you lose,” he said.

He plans to extend his coaching duties in March and April when he plans to travel to the Lower 48 to coach his sister, sophomore Kourtney Barnes, as she competes in other tournaments.

“It’s really cool watching the little kids improve and to see their progress,” he said. “Especially at the end of the year, when you compare to how they started. It feels good. And it leaves an impression on them.”