Shoes squeak sharply against the mat with each movement. In the background, teammates clap as two wrestlers circle, hands extended, aiming for control of the match. Adrenaline and anticipation hang in the air as the best of the best from each service go for the gold at the Armed Forces Wrestling Championship.
Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Lathwood, Portland, Maine MEPS senior enlisted advisor, is just outside of the circle, close enough to coach. His eyes track every detail and his voice cuts in, guiding what his wrestler might not see.
Lathwood was hand selected to coach the 2026 All-Air Force Wrestling Team. First, he went to a two-week camp, training and selecting the best competitors from the Air Force. Then he coached his team through two days of tough competition at the championship against the other military branches. It’s a role he grew into over a lifetime.
“I wrestled ever since I was in fifth grade,” said Lathwood. “It just became a way of life. Everything was pretty much directed towards getting to be a better wrestler. We actually had a wrestling mat in our living room.”
That early immersion taught him how to think and stay composed in the intense and often theatrical atmosphere of wrestling. Years later, that same intensity would resurface when his son was naturally drawn to the sport at age six. Lathwood began his coaching career then, carefully molding junior wrestlers to perform their best takedowns, throws and pins.
It turned out to be a natural fit for Lathwood. More than a decade later, he’s still coaching. The practices, tournaments and long hours strengthening others on the mat taught him that coaching wasn’t about perfecting moves, it was about shaping people. Coaching wasn’t a step back for him, it was a shift in purpose.
That purpose made him the perfect candidate to train, select and coach the best competitors at the 2026 Armed Forces Championship. His lifelong skills on and off the mat led to his team taking first place.
“The most memorable moment was the Air Force Women’s Freestyle winning the gold,” he said. “It came down to one match. She just wrestled so tough, she would not let anything take her.”
As a coach, his focus was on helping his athletes steady themselves and visualizing success. He often passes the same guidance to personnel and even applicants at Portland MEPS.
“Most of your matches are won way before they have even begun,” he said. “Control the chaos and do what you know. Be who you’ve been training to be, not somebody else.”
When the noise of the field house is replaced by moments of reflection, Lathwood says it isn’t about the gold medals but everything that happened around it.
“It’s just great getting to know so many great people,” he said. “You see those who are preparing to wrestle each other in the next minute still be friendly with each other, giving high fives and handshakes.”