"During my time with Lewis as my wrestling coach, my stamina, technique, and performance on the mat reached a peak. He cultivated an atmosphere of team comradery and personal motivation, which continues to affect me in positive ways today." -Ben

"Coach Mendez, thank you for helping me with my takedown finishing, counters, and top work. It has REALLY helped me in my transition to college wrestling. I would also thank you for your help at districts. Your spladle counter helped me win my first college match! I would like to extend my best wishes in your success in coaching, because I have no doubt that anyone you teach will learn ALOT from you. Thanks so much!" -Jimmie

"There are few who can match the dedication and passion Lewis has for what he loves. He teaches people from the heart and truly cares about their success. My experience with Lewis has been simple: intense, productive, and memorable." -Mo

"I would like to recommend Lewis as a world class wrestling coach. The year he taught me was my third season of wrestling, at which point, I was familiar with the basics of the sport, but still had yet to really excel in the sport. Coach Mendez provided just what I needed to bridge the gap between mediocre wrestling and really inspired wrestling...He has a deep familiarity with the technical side of wrestling, such as executing moves, quick on your feet decision making, gauging your opponent, and understanding tactics. Moreover though, he was a persistant teacher and would instruct us until we clearly understood what he was teaching. In addition to helping with the technical aspects of wrestling, Coach Mendez shined by putting us in touch with our inner drives to be really excellent wrestlers. Beyond teaching moves, he taught me motivation, which is perhaps even more important than the technicalities.

I remember specifically one time that while having us do sprints, Coach Mendez called to me, “Who wants it more? You or Carlos?” This is an example of how Coach Mendez coached each student personally. Endurance was one of my shortcomings, which Coach Mendez recognized, but helped me overcome. Carlos was a rival wrestler in my weight class who I had faced before and who had clearly outwrestled me. While doing those sprints, though, when Coach Mendez called to me, I gathered my will to excel and pushed myself even harder. In this instance, among many others, he used one of my personal motivations to help me to see that determination surmounts the seeming physical limitations I placed on myself. Even though I never actually faced Carlos later on, by Coach Mendez drawing out my drive to excel, I am confident that I would have wrestled ten times harder against him. The kind of response that this situation drew from me, however simple it seems, could only be made possible by a coach with an intimate knowledge of his students and a deep desire to push them to excellence." -Chris