Pushing the Limits-SJHS Wrestling Team

Submitted by jennifer.dunn on

 “Wrestlers fight. Wrestling is a certain type of fighting, in which you don’t punch or kick. It’s called grappling. You use all the muscles in your body to overpower and dominate your opponent,” Coach Ward, the coach for the SJHS wrestling team, said. 

The team practices everyday after school in the school cafeteria. They condition their bodies to make them stronger. They work on technique, drilling the best way to knock people off their feet, turn them on their backs, and pin them there, according to Coach Ward.  “It’s challenging physically, mentally, and emotionally. I love the sport of wrestling because it’s hard, and it makes you stronger in every way,” he said.        Since the team got off to a late start this year, they practice hard to make up for lost time. They are practicing for each match on Wednesdays, also for the District tournament on January 22nd. After that, the season is finished. They had a match on January 15th, against Diamond Fork. The team is steadily improving at each match, due to many first year wrestlers and competing against other teams with a lot of experience.         “The team has a wrestler at each weight class, the competitor will wrestle all by himself, and each win gives the team points, and the team with the most points win.” Coach Ward said.

Jackson Chambers, a wrestler on the team, said, “Wrestling is fun, even if you lose.”

“It’s not really about winning or losing for me. I believe that the only way you can really lose is if you cheat. If you don’t work hard, mess around, cheat, and don’t respect yourself and your opponent, you lose. If you do your best, then you win. It’s the same way in life,” Coach Ward said.

Attributions
Sarah Larson, SJHS Staff Writer