JOLIET – Ryan Cumbee says that he definitely is in for the long haul.

And for those who are familiar with what type of competitor he was on the mat and has been in the coach’s chair, his vow to make Joliet Catholic Academy’s wrestling program into one that the school will be proud of must be taken seriously.

As a four-day camp ended Thursday, you could already sense that there was change in the air. As many as 50 athletes showed up for one of the days, and a mat that hadn’t been used in several years had to be rolled out to accommodate the wrestlers.

Today between 6 and 9 p.m. the Hilltoppers wrestling program will host a fundraiser to purchase new gear and singlets. It will be held in the second-floor multi-purpose room overlooking the gym, which also shares time as the wrestling room.

To say that this is quite a project would seem to be an understatement. JCA has had only one state placewinner in the past 20 years, and only seven Hilltoppers wrestlers have ever won a medal at the IHSA finals.

But Cumbee, a three-time medal winner and 1999 state champion at Providence Catholic who then went on to compete at Northwestern University, believes that he’s up to the task.

He’s already had quite a bit of coaching experience under his belt, having served as an assistant for nine years under his high school coach, Keith Healy. Then from 2012-15, he worked along with another ex-Celtic, Donny Reynolds, to lead Marmion Academy to three straight state appearances, which included second- and third-place trophies.

He’ll join longtime head coach Cory McLaughlin and become the Hilltoppers’ associate head coach this season. Cumbee wants to immediately upgrade JCA’s schedule so that it will start seeing some of the state’s top teams on a regular basis.

“I’m looking forward to building on the tradition that JCA has athletically and academically,” Cumbee said. “I believe that we’re doing the right things and that we’re getting things moving in the right direction so that we can make an impact instantly. But it’s going to be a challenge and a lot of hard work, but I’m excited about that. I have a 2-year-old boy and can’t wait for him to become a Hilltopper and part of a great tradition at that time.

“I like championships and winning, but I know that this is a building process, and I’m willing to be patient and take the proper steps in the right direction. I see a lot of parallels between Joliet Catholic and Marmion. The one common denominator between both schools are the quality kids and parents who are willing to support the program. Marmion may have been a little more wrestling-centric than here, but I just have to change that, and that’s the fun part.”

Having seen the benefits of a good relationship between top-notch wrestling and football while competing and coaching at Providence, Cumbee wants to see the same thing at JCA.

“It’s expensive to go to a private school, so since you’re not pulling in as many athletes, you have to share the talent among teams,” Cumbee said. “But it’s not just sharing talent, it can be a perfect marriage between football and wrestling since there’s a lot of fundamentals that are taught in wrestling that work with football, and vice versa.

“When a team wins on the football field, they have the same expectations coming into the wrestling room. (Football) Coach (Jake) Jaworski and I are very close already and we know what it’s going to take to work with one another to utilize each other’s athletes as much as possible.”

Having been in many successful settings as an athlete and coach, Cumbee feels that he’s picked up things from many fine coaches and is still learning. They’ve included Marty and Billy Nowak with the Little Celtics; Scott Richardson and Keith Healy at Providence; Tim Cysewski, Jack Griffin, John Kading and Rob Eiter at Northwestern; Donny Reynolds at Marmion; and Ben Gerdes, whom he worked with at Celtic Elite the last two years.

Cumbee already is encouraged about what can be accomplished at JCA due to the positive response he’s gotten from the Hilltoppers community since his hiring.

“The support that I’ve already received from the alumni welcoming me to the Joliet Catholic family tells me everything that I need to know,” Cumbee said. “This is not a temporary stop for me, I think this will be my last stop in my coaching career, and I hope to make it last for a long time. And that’s going to be due to the support of the alumni, parents and the faculty.

“This area is rich in wrestling talent and there’s no reason why there can’t be multiple public and private schools that are successful in the sport of wrestling. I have no doubt in my mind that Joliet Catholic is going to be an attractive destination for talented wrestlers in this area.”

I watched Cumbee compete at Providence and saw him on the bench for many years, both with the Celtics and then at Marmion. If someone can transform the wrestling program at JCA into a successful one, it’s him.