In 2007, when North Cobb Christian announced that it wanted to join the Georgia High School Association and create a football team, there was always a sense behind the scenes that there was more to come.

A few years later, football became a varsity sport at North Cobb Christian, setting in motion the beginnings of a wrestling program.

"We started wrestling because it's a sport that's big in our area," upper school principal Megan Strange said. "It's a traditional sport at a lot of the schools in our area, and people are interested in it.

"We started it with the creation of football, and it was a nice fit for some of the football players to get involved in after the fall season was over and before track and field or baseball."

With the plan in place, Keith Masters, a graduate from Wheeler High School and two-time state champion in 1984 and '85, got the school to approve an evening program for students in grades 4-8 for the 2009-10 season.

Last year, programs were created for grades 2-11, including middle school and junior varsity teams, and a varsity team was added this season, as was a youth program known as the "Soaring Eagles." Grades 1-12 now have the opportunity to participate in wrestling.

"Our desire for our wrestling program is like all of our other sports, which is to use athletics as a vehicle to impact our students' lives in a positive way," Strange said. "We believe wrestling can be just as successful as our other programs.

"And, in getting it off the ground, our parents have really helped drive the wrestling program with their dedication, their funding and their commitment."

One parent, Leah Watson, appears to have done even more.

An administrative assistant for the academic dean and mother of three boys who attend and wrestle for North Cobb Christian - 12-year-old Mark, 11-year-old Jake and 8-year-old Nate - Watson's dedication and commitment went far beyond the norm for the typical parent.

The GHSA requires a varsity coach to be employed by the school, so when it came time for a head coach to be selected for the North Cobb Christian wrestling team, they didn't have to look far.

"GHSA rules say the head coach needs to be employed by the school," Watson said, "and I have three boys in the sport - and my husband, Drew, is big into wrestling - so I took the job when (the administration) asked me.

"There wasn't anybody else at the school that could do it. It just made sense for me to take the position."

With her added title and responsibilities, the 41-year-old Watson became North Cobb Christian's first varsity wrestling coach last April, leading into the program's first season.

"Leah and Drew have athletic backgrounds, and she's very organized, so it made sense for us to put her in the head coach role," Strange said. "It's not that we were trying to find a female coach, but she has the vision to get the program where we want it to be."

A 1988 Wheeler graduate who earned 12 varsity letters - four in softball, three in basketball, three in track and field and two as a cheerleader - Watson graduated from Georgia Tech in 1992 with a degree in management and worked as a certified public accountant at Ernst and Young and Lockheed Martin before leaving the profession in 1999.

Watson and her husband, who graduated from Sprayberry in 1987 and was a state runner-up during his time as a Yellow Jacket wrestler, work with Masters and his brother, Kevin, to keep the Eagles' wrestling programs going.

Drew Watson and the Masters brothers all serve as community coaches.

"When wrestling first started (at North Cobb Christian), Mark was the only son we had involved in the program," Leah Watson said. "As it expanded, my other sons got involved. So, Drew and I felt that if we wanted to have an opportunity for our boys, and the other parents' children, to participate further, we needed a varsity team.

"By starting it now, by the time our boys got to the upper school, the team would already be in place and ready to go."

Of course, Watson wasn't just handed the head-coaching duties. She successfully tested to become USA Wrestling-certified at the bronze level, and she completed the GHSA-mandated tests for rules and wrestling assessment.

As Keith Masters handles the teaching of mat wrestling and techniques during practice, Watson focuses on strength and conditioning. She does, however, know some techniques and, during matches, she is the person referees speak to if there are any issues.

"I condition with the team and execute moves with my kids and show them some techniques," Watson said, "but I don't wrestle with them. I'm in on every practice with Keith and learning what he knows. During matches, sometimes, I'll have to defer to him for things, but it's working out well.

"It takes a lot to start a varsity program. There are a lot of logistics that I have to figure out involving singlets and shoes and scheduling. I've had to do a lot of stuff. I've worked very hard to know what I know and I've gotten familiar with everything over time."

North Cobb Christian has 13 wrestlers on its varsity roster, though only two seniors and two juniors. In all, there are roughly 65 kids associated with all of the levels of North Cobb Christian's wrestling program.

"Most of the kids already knew me, and they knew my face," Watson said of how the wrestlers reacted to having a woman as their wrestling coach. "The reaction from parents has been (indifferent). Seeing me as the coach isn't a far stretch for them because my three boys wrestle and my husband is a former wrestler. They understand why I was chosen."

Watson understands why she took the job as well.

"I didn't know anything about wrestling in high school," she said, "but having seen it with my boys and the other wrestlers, I see what it can do for the kids - how it teaches them to learn from mistakes, to represent the school and Christ and to be gracious losers. It's an individual sport. Anybody can win, but not everybody can handle losing."

There haven't been many major hurdles for the Eagles' varsity program to overcome. Even so, any mistakes they've made as a first-year team will soon become a thing of the past.

"We're making mistakes, but people are recognizing this and helping us along the way," Watson said. "We have to start somewhere to grow the program. I've done everything I can the right way to get this program built up."