As winter sports begin, the KHS wrestling team is heating things up. From weight classes to intense workouts, and strategic planning the team is hoping to have a great season, but there are many things they need to do to prepare for such great success.
Going into the wrestling season each teammate needs to not only engage their mind but their body as well. Diets are the key component to success when it comes to wrestling. Sophomore Nicky Rizzo recommends this diet created by Maryland Public Secondary Schools to his fellow athletes as he tries to make a new weight class this season.
Diets can not be the only way to make your ideal weight class for the season, working out and keeping your body in shape is just as important. There are several workouts that wrestlers can follow to stay fit. Head Coach, Anthony Colabella says, “Most of the conditioning revolves around running and live wrestling. To get into a good wrestling condition, you need to wrestle. We do running and sprint work to build up some endurance, but we do a lot of live wrestling to prepare for that in-match feel and to really build the proper conditioning.”
Although this may seem easy, keeping your diet and exercise in check can serve as a challenge for many of the athletes on the team as well. Going into his first high school season freshman David Alexander gives his advice, “Don’t be too harsh on yourself, try to be better every day, take care of your body, and make sure you’re giving yourself the proper environment to stay strong throughout the season.” Staying positive as a wrestler will help you achieve your goals and have great success.
Another component head coach Colabella mentioned that is vital to being ready for the wrestling season is staying hydrated. He mentions, “Hydration is also an element that is mandated by the state to ensure safety in all of the athletes when they are losing weight. It makes it a lot easier to track where and when a wrestler can move to a lower weight class.” Since water makes up such a large percentage of your body, this can be a main part of a wrestler losing pounds to make the weight class they have been striving for.
Even with all the stress of proper exercise and weight loss, there are many things that the wrestlers look forward to. Sophomore Tim Nitkinas is looking forward to spending lots of time with his teammates and growing with them throughout the season. “Spending time with the team each day at practice can build such a strong bond and continues to grow my love for the sport more and more.” Many of the KHS wrestling athletes spend lots of hours practicing together and that has created many close friendships off of the mat.
