Necessary Changes Take Place
Getting Ready For Eighth Grade States
Eighth grade was a year where we had some significant changes in the off season. It was also a big year of change for our family in many ways. One of those changes was that we moved from North Royalton to Brunswick.
To say that Nicky's wrestling didn't factor into our decision would be a lie. We wanted to put Nicky into a school system that had a solid wrestling program for him to take part in. We were torn between Brecksville and Brunswick.
In the end, and for many other reasons, we decided that Brunswick would be the best fit for Nick. This was not an easy decision as we had a long standing relationship with the Brecksville people...and they had built their program up to be a public school powerhouse under the guidance of head coach Todd Haverdill.
In the end, and for many other reasons, we decided that Brunswick would be the best fit for Nick. This was not an easy decision as we had a long standing relationship with the Brecksville people...and they had built their program up to be a public school powerhouse under the guidance of head coach Todd Haverdill.
One reason that played a big role was that Mike Heil recently moved to Brunswick and was going to be an assistant coach at Brunswick High School. His son Josh was going to be attending Brunswick High, going a different route than his older brother Dean did who was attending St. Edwards. Josh was a tough, hard working kid, and I knew that Nick and him would make great drill partners.
While Mike & Josh were the main draw at that time, I was also getting to know...and be impressed by...long time head coach Mike Koshar. Mike struck me as a straight forward fella. Intelligent and easy to speak to, I could tell he was excited about the resurgance of his wrestling program because of the talent that was already there, and soon to be arriving.
Coach Koshar invited Nicky to wrestle with the high school team at a couple of the Summer duals hosted by area colleges. So Nick wrestled the 113 120 weight classes at the Kent State Duals and the Mount Union Duals. Nick had a 3 month break after States so he was fresh and ready to go. He would be able to get a lot of matches in between these two tournaments and they would be against high school kids.
Here's a picture of Nicky posing with Coach Koshar and the high school team after the Kent State Duals. He's in the second row with no shirt on. The one who looks like a seventh grader! Josh Heil was in that row also. He was only in eighth grade. In the top row, second from the left with no shirt on is Tyler Hughes. Three future Brunswick State Placers.
Coach Koshar invited Nicky to wrestle with the high school team at a couple of the Summer duals hosted by area colleges. So Nick wrestled the 113 120 weight classes at the Kent State Duals and the Mount Union Duals. Nick had a 3 month break after States so he was fresh and ready to go. He would be able to get a lot of matches in between these two tournaments and they would be against high school kids.
Here's a picture of Nicky posing with Coach Koshar and the high school team after the Kent State Duals. He's in the second row with no shirt on. The one who looks like a seventh grader! Josh Heil was in that row also. He was only in eighth grade. In the top row, second from the left with no shirt on is Tyler Hughes. Three future Brunswick State Placers.
I remember thinking to myself that if Nicky won 50 percent of his matches I would be happy. After all, these are high school kids! Wow did I seriously underestimate him. At the Kent State Duals he went undefeated...pinning 10 of his 14 opponents, and majoring 3 by scores of 9-0, 12-0, and 18-4! The last wrestler he decisioned 6-2.
The very next weekend, on 6-29-12 and 6-30-12 he went undefeated at the Mount Union Duals, winning three matches by fall, another by tech fall 15-0, and winning three by decisions. The decision scores were 4-0, 10-4, and 3-1. From what I was told...I did not attend the Mount Union Duals...the opponent he beat 3-1 was a state qualifier.
To be honest even I was kind of shocked. I knew where he stood among his own age group, but to see that he could run through 21 straight high school opponents, pinning 13 of them no less, was pleasantly surprising. I knew that it absolutely had to help his confidence.
So he wrestled in those duals and then the following weekend I entered him in the Lutheran West Open, which he won by pinning his next 5 opponents. That was another change. Definitely more Summer wrestling than ever before. and of course we were still going down to Tom Roehlig's camps and keeping that going. Here's a few pictures of Nick with Ivan McClay and learning leg riding from 2 time State Champion, Massillon Perry's David Bavery.
Another change was that I began introducing barbell strength training to Nick. Up until this point I had Nicky doing bodyweight training only...progressive calisthenics, playground workouts at the school that was behind our house in N. Royalton, plank workouts, and bodyweight complexes that I got from Tom Roehlig.
Other than weighted pullups and partner carries in the practice room, there was no lifting weights. You could tell that he was plenty muscular from that type of training...in addition to all the strength he had built up from the sport of wrestling since he was seven yrs. old...but it was time to begin building strength through well structured and well supervised weight training. Here's what Nicky looked like before he began lifting in eighth grade.
It was time to develop some serious horse power in his legs, hips, back, (the posterior chain) and upper body pressing structure. I knew that if we started right now he would be in excellent shape by the time he began high school. We would not be abandoning bodyweight exercises completely, but instead would take a hybrid approach. I was actually pretty excited to tap into my own weight lifting days and pass on more of what I know to my son.
Our next post will tell how Nick ran into a preseason buzz saw at the Super 32 that he would have to overcome in order to become an Ohio Junior High State Champion, and how he fared in some pretty prestigious jr. high tournaments. Stay tuned and, until the next installment, take care.
The very next weekend, on 6-29-12 and 6-30-12 he went undefeated at the Mount Union Duals, winning three matches by fall, another by tech fall 15-0, and winning three by decisions. The decision scores were 4-0, 10-4, and 3-1. From what I was told...I did not attend the Mount Union Duals...the opponent he beat 3-1 was a state qualifier.
To be honest even I was kind of shocked. I knew where he stood among his own age group, but to see that he could run through 21 straight high school opponents, pinning 13 of them no less, was pleasantly surprising. I knew that it absolutely had to help his confidence.
So he wrestled in those duals and then the following weekend I entered him in the Lutheran West Open, which he won by pinning his next 5 opponents. That was another change. Definitely more Summer wrestling than ever before. and of course we were still going down to Tom Roehlig's camps and keeping that going. Here's a few pictures of Nick with Ivan McClay and learning leg riding from 2 time State Champion, Massillon Perry's David Bavery.
Another change was that I began introducing barbell strength training to Nick. Up until this point I had Nicky doing bodyweight training only...progressive calisthenics, playground workouts at the school that was behind our house in N. Royalton, plank workouts, and bodyweight complexes that I got from Tom Roehlig.
Other than weighted pullups and partner carries in the practice room, there was no lifting weights. You could tell that he was plenty muscular from that type of training...in addition to all the strength he had built up from the sport of wrestling since he was seven yrs. old...but it was time to begin building strength through well structured and well supervised weight training. Here's what Nicky looked like before he began lifting in eighth grade.
It was time to develop some serious horse power in his legs, hips, back, (the posterior chain) and upper body pressing structure. I knew that if we started right now he would be in excellent shape by the time he began high school. We would not be abandoning bodyweight exercises completely, but instead would take a hybrid approach. I was actually pretty excited to tap into my own weight lifting days and pass on more of what I know to my son.
Our next post will tell how Nick ran into a preseason buzz saw at the Super 32 that he would have to overcome in order to become an Ohio Junior High State Champion, and how he fared in some pretty prestigious jr. high tournaments. Stay tuned and, until the next installment, take care.
