As the earliest form of combat sport, wrestling has always been seen as an individual sport. One must rely on oneself to strategically take steps to create a takedown, enough angle to get in a tilt, or even enough strength to get the pin.
However, while only one wrestler fights on the mat, you can hear the coach’s and teammates’ screams of joy a mile away. They collectively show how an overall team can support one of the wrestler’s goals.
Despite this fact, teamwork wouldn’t flow easily without the wrestler’s experiences in grueling training, being able to overcome adversity, and the coach’s input of a sense of team spirit.
For our Osos boy wrestlers to show their moves on the mat at tournaments or duals, we need to understand the grueling training they have to undergo together.
Practice for the team consists of a two hour practice with light drilling in the beginning, increasing in drilling speed throughout practice, to the last 15 minutes of practice being live. Live is a drill where several pairs are on the mat wrestling against each other as if they are in a real match.
Throughout all of the practice, there isn’t a second where the boys don’t have smiles of joy and push for one another to improve. Varsity Wrestler Junior Russell Johl said, “From an outsider’s perspective, wrestling may seem to be a difficult sport to participate in. But once you step on the mat, you find a family that allows you to have fun and support one another, while still learning and working on new techniques.”
Our boy wrestlers have overcome adversity together throughout this winter sport, through having to cut weight and having to sit out due to injuries.
Over time, a sense of connection was developed as the boys helped each other through difficult times, fostering a deep connection.
Their support for one another is vital in building a team where they accept one another and have fun no matter what.
A team isn’t a team without a coach, and in every team, the coach builds an environment that the athletes will accommodate.
From the coach’s encouraging words, you can see our boy’s themselves motivating one another and the family aspect of wrestling shines through.
Head Coach Jeff Brehmeyer says, “ I’ve always appreciated how sports are a great preparation for life. Wrestling prepares you for the highs and lows of life—how to persevere through challenges, how to support a teammate in their triumph even after a disappointing loss. There is no better test of your work and effort than to put yourself out on the mat and be tested in front of your friends and family. That takes grit!”
Not only have the boy’s team infused with the mindset of the coach’s emphasis on sportsmanship, respect, and grit, in having a successful team, but also the encouragement from the boys themselves. And their support doesn’t go unnoticed from Varsity Wrestler Senior Vincent Rusler. He explained that with the coach’s mentorship and the team support he can, “have a sense of purpose that [he] couldn’t find anywhere else, and without wrestling [he] would be spending more time idling and directionless.”