It took desire, determination and dedication for Tim Wash to become a state wrestling champion in high school. Wash still refers to them as the “three Ds, “believing they apply to players and coaches in any sport or endeavor.

More than 40 years after reaching the top of the podium for Fort Johnson High School on James Island, a successful coaching career built on those three nouns has Wash set to go into the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame July 21 in Greenville. Wash stepped away from coaching wrestling in 2022 and finished with more than 500 career victories and multiple state championships.

He is still a teacher at Cane Bay High School and a defensive assistant for the football team.

“I’m blessed and grateful to be included with the other men and women who have received this honor,” Wash said. “It’s truly a tribute to all the athletes I’ve had the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.”

Wash was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2023 with 514 duals victories.

Already an accomplished football player in high school who earned all-state honors on the gridiron in the fall of 1979, Wash recalls his early days on the mat in high school. When he started out, he didn’t give himself a high grade and said much better grapplers surrounded him.

“We had a really good wrestling team,” Wash said. “I might have been the worst wrestler on the team. We could have won 70-6, and I might have been the one who gave up the six points, but I stuck with it. If you stick with something and don’t give up, you’ve got a chance. The ones who do that are the ones who will succeed. You may not be the best at something when you start, but you can be.”

Wash eventually placed third at 167 pounds as a junior and ascended to the top spot at 188 pounds as a senior in 1980. Fort Johnson also captured the team state title.

“I definitely attribute (winning state) to the ‘three Ds,'” Wash said. “It’s a simple concept, but saying it and doing it are two different things.”

Wash went on to start four years in football at Newberry College, becoming a team captain as a senior before trading in his helmet and pads for a whistle and clipboard. His first job out of college was as a football assistant at James Island High School for five years. Wash took over the school’s wrestling program in 1989, earning one of his 18 region coach of the year nods.

Wash left for Lugoff-Elgin in 1990 and stayed there for 10 years, leading six wrestling teams to state finals and winning three straight. Following the first championship in 1997, Wash was chosen as the state’s coach of the year.

Wash’s journey took him to Rock Hill High School from 2000-06, where he captured five region wrestling coach of the year awards and guided two teams to state finals appearances. Also, Wash was an assistant on two Bearcats football staffs that won state titles in 2002 and 2004.

In 2007, Wash returned home to the Lowcountry and was hired to coach football for Dr. Jerry Brown and wrestling at Berkeley High School. In 2009, the Stags won a state championship on the gridiron.

Wash guided the Cane Bay wrestling program from 2011-22 and won 172 matches. He was also selected three times in his career to coach in the North-South Wrestling All-Star event.

Wash was selected as a South assistant for The Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl this past football season.

Next school year will be his 40th coaching as a member of the SCACA.

“Receiving an award like this makes me feel like I’m doing something right,” Wash said. “I’ve been lucky to have the kids who came up under me. I’ve said this before: without the kids to coach, there is no coach’s hall of fame. It’s a tribute to them.”