The social media cesspool reared its ugly head in the days following Derek Cote’s first Maine Class A individual wrestling state championship.
Keyboard warriors — as Cote described them — called the then-Noble High School freshman’s significant visual impairment that constitutes legal blindness fake. They accused him of possessing an unfair advantage with the slight modification to the initial start of his matches, even though his opponents lined up the same way.
Cote, now a freshman on the University of Southern Maine wrestling team, believes everyone deals with adversity, and vision is his, but also embraces the idea that his story can uplift others.
“I view it as something I live with,” said the 19-year-old. “I’ve definitely been doubted a decent amount throughout my career, but it’s nothing I’ve ever let bother me or define who I am. I just came to the realization that it doesn’t really matter what others think of you. If they’re not major parts of your life, it doesn’t really matter what their opinion is.”
What defines Derek Cote are the three traits he believes all wrestlers hone in the sport: character, discipline and toughness.
His visual impairments are called nystagmus, which are involuntary, repetitive eye movements, and achromatopsia, which limits the ability to see color. The impairments reduce depth perception and make Cote more sensitive to light.
Cote wears red-tinted contacts to help with light sensitivity and takes some classes, such as math, online because he can’t see what professors write on a whiteboard.
In high school wrestling and now college, he and his opponents start with hand-to-hand contact rather than the traditional stance. During matches, officials bring them back together should they fully separate.
“I’ve never seen him make an excuse or feel sorry for himself because of his vision,” USM coach Mike Morin said. “He’s got a really good attitude.”
The Lebanon native started wrestling at age 4. Cote dabbled in football in elementary school and ran cross-country and track in middle school. Starting in high school, he wrestled year-round with his Noble team and with the Smitty’s Wrestling Barn club program in Kingston, New Hampshire.
Now USM’s regular starter in the 165-pound weight class, Cote won his collegiate wrestling debut but is far from satisfied with an overall record below .500., 3-5 as of January 19. He wants to earn a spot in the regional championships next month.
Unlike when he wrestled with high schoolers as a middle schooler, Cote had no advance look at the talented college opponents with their next-level movement and athleticism.
“I need to figure out the feel of things,” Cote said. “In a lot of my matches, I’ve been with guys for most of it, but there’re a few positions that I haven’t been able to capitalize on and it’s cost me.”
Morin, who called Cote “a pleasure to work with” and mature for his age, said the overall record is nothing to worry about. Morin believes Cote has a “bright future” and embraces the program’s process-oriented philosophy.
“He definitely takes ownership of things, has accountability, and I’m just really impressed with that,” Morin said. “He’s a guy that has a bright future.”
