CA Wrestling: Not a Casual Sport

Evan Burley
Sports Editor

Wrestling is arguably one of the most demanding sports ever. Athletes are constantly making weight by depriving themselves from certain foods and trying to meet the requirement by the end of the week. Throughout the season, competitors must stick to strict diets in order to compete at their desired weight class. The athletes must be within three pounds of their class; and also must meet certain water requirements to ensure that they are properly dieting. In order to lose weight the athletes must be willing to sweat it off; and aiding in this process, the coaches turn up the intensity.

The workouts add to the difficulty of the sport. Stitt agrees that “[most] lose around four pounds of water weight every practice” during the first week of the sport. And as the season progresses, “[they] can lose about three to four pounds in a week.” However, Stitt comments, “that weight loss per week will decrease as the season goes on because [they] will lose most [their] body fat and come to a weight [they] will stay around.” Although it seems crazy to lose this much weight, all wrestlers vary on how much they lose.

Not only is the actual sport very demanding, memorizing moves and always being on guard, but exercises and conditioning drills done in order lose weight are extremely difficult; however, the coaching is always there for the athletes. Senior David Zanghi agrees “that they're there anytime you need them for help in wrestling or in life.” Having supportive coaches helps keep the athletes in check and motivated. Senior Skyler Miller also believes that the coaching staff, headed by Eric Mullen, is great; remarking that “they are friendly, determined, close to their student-athletes, and push [them] to get ready for sectionals.”

The sport also carries some dangers with it. For instance, “cauliflower” ears can occur if an athlete has his ears constantly pushing and jarring up against the mat; causing lumps to form on the ear that takes the form of cauliflower. Fortunately, this mishap is easily countered with ear pads. Also, with a contact sport such as this, many athletes can hurt joints in their bodies because of the constant torque and bending. The mat must also be cleaned daily in order to kill germs caused by the perspiration of multiple athletes working so hard.

Both Miller and Zanghi agree that “making weight” is the hardest part about wrestling. Dieting with proper foods in order to maintain weight also adds to the difficulty. Zanghi admits that he has a very strict diet that includes “a salad two to three times a day and very small portion sizes” and “lots of colors.” Miller has a similar diet that entails simply “water, fruits, vegetables, and other healthy low calorie meals.” Eating habits like these exemplify the dedication that these athletes comprise.

Many fans may be curious as to how points are scored in this sport. Athletes can earn points with takedowns, reversals, escapes, and back points. Takedowns, such as a “jack-double or sweep single leg” earn a wrestler two points, a reversal from the mat gets them two points, and an escape earns an athlete one point. Back points occur when a wrestler holds his opponent down on the mat on his back for two to four seconds, getting him two points, and five or more seconds gets the wrestler three points.

There is no doubt that this sport takes serious dedication and a superb work ethic. Constantly pushing your body to maintain a certain weight coupled with intense practices and conditioning show the hard working student-athletes for who they are. However, it is all worth to them as Miller states that the best part of the sport is “getting your hand raised at the end of a match [and] seeing the hard work all pay off.”

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