At 6:15 my alarm goes off and I get out of my bed and head to the bathroom to weigh myself. I see the scale flash 121.6 lbs. I breathe a deep sigh because I realize I am close to my ending weight. I usually lose about two pounds per practice so this will get me under my weight class of 120 lbs. If I had been five pounds over, I would have to eat less but drink the same amount of water. I would also have to put on more layers of clothes during practice. Since the practice room is very hot, more layers would make me sweat more and lose more weight. Maintaining weight is a key aspect of the sport of wrestling.
I’ve been wrestling since I was in 3rd grade in Emerson. I like the sport of wrestling because it strengthens my mental toughness. Mental toughness is also a big part of wrestling because when I feel hungry and dehydrated, I have to push through and keep working. It is a very humbling sport because no matter how big or strong a wrestler is, anybody can still get put on their back. There is no better feeling in the world than winning a match. But besides these upsides, there can be some cons of wrestling.
One of the toughest things about wrestling is cutting weight. Wrestlers are divided up into different weight classes. For high school wrestlers, typically weight classes are 106 >113, 113> 120, 120>126>132, and so on. In wrestling, weight cutting is trying to lose a large amount of weight in a short time period to lose weight for their next match. As much as nobody wants to do it, they do it to go to the weight they will be the best at. Cutting weight dehydrates the body and causes hunger in the process.
Wrestlers cut weight through heat and cardio. In the wrestling room (Auxiliary Gym), the heat is beaming in the room and many of my teammates are feeling dehydrated and hungry. People who have to cut weight have layers of clothes on but people who are on point for their weight class have a T-shirt and shorts on. People have to make their weight for the weight class before the match starts. Weigh-ins are before the match and everybody wants to just make weight so they don’t have to cut extra weight. Within two-and-a-half hours of practice, people tend to lose two pounds at least per practice.
I have to push through and keep working. It is a very humbling sport because no matter how big or strong a wrestler is, anybody can still get put on their back. There is no better feeling in the world than winning a match. But besides these upsides, there can be some cons of wrestling.
During practices, we work on techniques and takedowns from each position: top, bottom, and neutral. Neutral is everything standing including takedowns and defense to takedowns. A takedown is two points. The top position is when wrestlers practice their turns to get back points. Back points are vital to winning, giving winning giving a maximum of three back points and a minimum of two points for getting their opponent partially on their back. Wrestlers also have a better chance of pinning their opponent. The bottom position is all escape moves and prevents the top man from getting a pin. Escapes earn one point for an escape and two if wrestlers reverse their opponent.
After practice is over, the stress is gone and I can finally put some food in my system and take a nice, refreshing shower. The cold water feels good as my skin overheats from my layers of clothes. I go downstairs and finish my homework. Then, I hit my comfortable bed and it is one of the best activities of my day. Tomorrow repeats the grueling activities of the previous day.
