In the middle of the packed and noisy Aiea High School gym Saturday, a coach was doing what he was hired to do — coach.

In the middle of the maelstrom of competitors, fans, coaches, officials and photographers, Waianae’s Mike Gonsalves had just watched one of his wrestlers on the mat and got up real close to the boy so the communication could flow.

"The reason you weren’t in control is because you didn’t use your hands," Gonsalves told the boy, whose head was down so his ears could pick up the message.

Later, Gonsalves expounded on what sounds simple, but might not be easy to do in the heat of the moment: "If you don’t control your opponent with your hands, he will be controlling you."

Lesson learned, hopefully. And, really, Gonsalves’ message applies to all of the many wrestlers statewide who have been working daily, getting ready for the brunt of the season. Preseason meets are already underway.

One thing that has coaches buzzing is that numbers are up at many programs, with an influx of students going out for wrestling this year.

Keeping them around and showing them the beauty of the discipline and the sweat it takes to be a wrestler is another thing altogether. Aiea coach Rick Williams mentioned that because of the sheer rigor of the practices and the lure of the beach, many squads’ rosters, in general, get depleted each year before the season is over.

After Gonsalves’ mini-lesson, he moved on to watch another of his wrestlers, Jacob Naosusuga, go into battle with Leilehua’s Liam Corbett.

"Corbett is maybe the top wrestler in the state at 152 pounds," Gonsalves said. "I expect those two to be battling all year."

Corbett is coming off a fourth-place finish in the 145-pound class at a national tournament in Fargo, N.D., this summer.

"He has a true love for the sport," said his father, Kevin Corbett, a Leilehua assistant who is also a state head coach for nationals. "He’s always watching college or Olympic matches on YouTube, trying to learn more all the time."

Speaking of top wrestlers, any list would be incomplete without Kamehameha’s Teshya Alo, who is overwhelmingly considered the top girl in the state. She is a two-time state champion at 130 pounds and she has won a world championship.

"She could go into five different weight classes and win them all," said Kamehameha assistant coach Chris West.

Beware, wrestling fans, there is another Alo about to burst on the scene — Teshya’s sister Taniya is a freshman wrestling for ‘Iolani. She’ll be somewhere in the 120-pound range.

"She has the ability to be a state finalist," West said. "How can you not get good when your training partner is a world champ and you wrestle against her every day? I’m not sure if she is as skilled as Teshya or not, but I do now that she is more tenacious."

Kamehameha’s Donavyn Futa returns for another try at a state title after winning at 113 pounds a year ago.

The Warriors are going for their second straight girls state team championship under coach Bill Venenciano.

Boman Tokioka, the defending 195-pound state champion, returns for the Kamehameha boys under new head coach Keola Silva.

West noted that Kamehameha will be competing for the ILH boys title and that Punahou, under second-year coach Yoshi Honda (who led the ‘Iolani boys and girls teams to a state title apiece last decade) will likely be right up there.

"And Saint Louis has a new coach, Al Chee, who replaces Al Torres," West added. "Both have led teams to state titles in the past. Chee is an aggressive coach who does whatever it takes to win, so they will be a team to watch, too."

Speaking of aggressiveness, West, like Gonsalves, tries to impart as many strategies and techniques as possible that may help wrestlers find success.

"I will never guarantee to a kid that he’ll win his match," West said. "But if you are not the most aggressive wrestler in your match, you will definitely be hearing from us (coaches). I’ll never hold lack of talent against you. That’s genetics, mostly, and you can only develop in that way to what your potential is. But attitude, hustle, aggressiveness, those are things you can control and they will help you win matches."

For wrestlers across the state … another lesson learned, hopefully.

Pac-Five senior Cole Chandler has a chance to make his mark at 145 pounds after getting injured at states a year ago. Chandler is a two-time judo state champion.

The Wolfpack’s Taylor Miyao (102) and Shelby Say (107) are defending ILH champs.

"There’s a good chance Kamehameha and Punahou will be at the top in both boys and girls," Pac-Five coach Aaron Sekulich said. "And the ‘Iolani boys have been making a lot of progress."

Mid-Pacific’s Joshua Terao, who won four state wrestling titles (at 110, 125, 130 and 132), has graduated, so wrestlers in his class can breathe a sigh of relief.

Punahou’s Cameron Kato is a defending ILH and state champion at 106 pounds.

In the OIA, Pearl City will be defending its boys state championship. Blake Cooper, the three-time state titlist, graduated, but he has two brothers — Baylen and Makoa (both in the 130-pound range) — making waves for the Chargers wrestlers under coach Mike Lee.

Baylen Cooper pinned all three of his opponents at the Aiea meet Saturday.

Tristan Ludiazo (220) and Kalissa Pundyke (101) are two Campbell wrestlers going for state-title repeats.

"Ludiazo is a phenomenal athlete who will be looking to play football or wrestle in college," new Sabers boys coach Lucas Misaki said. "And Kalissa is one of those who are not only winning on the mat but is getting straight A’s in school, and when she’s done practice, she goes home and works out some more."

Misaki, who has been an assistant at Aiea and Kamehameha for the past 11 years, is looking forward to his new challenge.

"They have a great program and system here at Campbell, so I definitely don’t want to screw it up," he said.

Misaki said the Sabers’ Angela Peralta (145), the sister of two-time state champ Brian Peralta of Punahou, is "pound for pound one of the stronger girls wrestlers in the state."

According to Misaki and Corbett, some of the top OIA contending teams will be Moanalua, Mililani, Pearl City, Kapolei and Waianae.

Pearl City’s Asia Evans (123) is looking to break through after placing third and second at states in the past two years.

Mililani’s Zack Diamond (138) and Kaiser’s Chance Ikei (113), a defending state champ, are among the others to watch in the OIA.

Diamond, a junior who placed second at states twice, got through a tough bracket to win at Kailua two weekends ago.

His long-term goal is to finally win the big one, but he’s also supporting his brother and teammate, senior Isaac Diamond (132).

"This is his year," Zack said.

Kahuku sisters Jocelyn (defending OIA champ) and Sabrina Alo are also on the state wrestling radar. Both went undefeated at Aiea (184 to 206 class) before Jocelyn, a sophomore, forfeited the title match to Sabrina, who is a junior.

The Maui Invitational is coming up this weekend, and that’s where the Oahu wrestlers will get a close-up look at Lahainaluna’s strong contingent, which is led by two-time girls state champs Carly Jaramillo (140) and Lalelei Mataafa (220) and two-time MIL boys champ Connor Mowat (285).

There is at least one more lesson to be learned, however, thanks to Waianae’s Gonsalves.

"Don’t count your chickens before they hatch," he said. "And that’s something I’ll never do (again)."

Gonsalves was referring to his daughter, Malie, a senior who dominated her weight class through much of last season and lost to Kapolei’s Stacia Al-Mahoe in the 101 state semifinals.

"It’s still hard to swallow," he said.