The Warren Hills Boys Wrestling team has taken a lot of preparation to get ready for this year’s season. With a lot of brand new wrestlers on the roster, the team has had to take a lot of adjustment gearing up into this season. This is a big change from previous years where the roster was filled with experienced athletes who had experience wrestling together for years. Head Coach K.C. Wanamaker knew just what to do to get the team chemistry flowing months in advance.
“We wrestled about one thousand individual matches this offseason and some guys have attended many high level camps and clinics,” said Wanamaker.
“It is an exciting year for our program, as we have a mix of very experienced wrestlers and others who are brand new to the lineup.”
As the season has progressed so far, the team has identified several strengths. Their strength lies in their versatility within the lineup, especially in the low to mid weights. There are backup wrestlers on the team who could easily be on varsity on other teams, which allows there to be a competitive and improving environment.
However, the team struggles with fewer numbers of athletes and less experience in the upper weight classes. To counteract this, the team is continuing to work and learn how to address this. With every new season, the coaches have an idea of how they would like to approach new skills and techniques they would like to see their players strive towards. “We adjusted our schedule to be gradual at the beginning. This way we could focus the first month on training hard (lifting, running, drilling) and stay fresh for late in the season,” said Wanamaker. “We also chose as a team not to drop weight classes until later in the season, that way we could focus on performing better as individuals rather than managing weight; that’s worked really well so far.”
Balancing schoolwork in itself in season can be really tough, but a lot of the boys on the team have figured out how to manage both and even make the Warren Hills Honor Roll for the first marking period “I balance school and wrestling by putting school first,” said junior Captain Andrew (Augie) Szamreta. “I work hard to do all of my school work on time so that I can work hard in the wrestling room as well.”
The anticipation before a match can be extremely stressful, especially because all eyes are on you and your opponent. Thinking about your strategy, your opponent’s moves, and wanting to perform your best are all leading thoughts before a match. “I just like to relax myself and try to think of absolutely nothing,” said senior Captain Charles (Charlie) Piccione.
“I know it will get me more nervous if I think about my match so I just don’t listen to music or talk to anybody. I just sit there waiting.”
The boys’ commitment both on and off the mat is truly inspiring. They embody the true meaning of a team, as well as a brotherhood.