Wrestling insider: Success of talented Vandals squad starts in practice
VANDALIA – The ability to become a winner starts in practice.
And while that is true for all sports, it takes on extra meaning in wrestling, an individualized sport where athletes can get better just by practicing against others with more talent.
With a roster filled with numerous wrestlers who are potential state-qualifiers, Vandalia’s practices are expected to be hard-fought every day of the season, and that’s just the way coach Jason Clay likes it.
“We have to learn to be mentally tougher in all situations, and that’s from the top to the bottom of the lineup,” Clay said. “When you’re getting pounded on in practice, you can’t just take it.
“You have to battle back,” he said. “When a guy gets physical with you, how are you going to react?
“That’s where you win and lose,” Clay said. “You have to go out and wrestle well in matches, but practice is where you are made.”
Five returning state qualifiers will be in Vandalia’s practice room this season – including senior C.J. Runkel, who missed all of last season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
He qualified for state as a freshman, and will be joined this season by former state qualifiers in seniors Tyler Dagen and Seth Purcell, junior Dalton Blankenship and sophomore Chaston Womack.
And while Runkel’s absence in the varsity lineup made a difference in some close matches last season, Clay said the worst part of his injury was not having him there to practice against wrestlers in his weight range, including Dagen and Blankenship.
“People don’t realize that when you are missing a guy or two, you can fill in the holes in matches, but it kills your practice room,” Clay said. “How much better would some of our guys be by wrestling a guy in practice who is that good?”
This season, all will find out.
Pin talk
Another benefit to Vandalia’s practices will be the number of pins recorded by returning wrestlers.
Of the 183 pins that the Vandals had last season, all but 37 belonged to wrestlers returning to the team this season. Blankenship, Dagen and Womack led the team with 24 pins each.
Worth six points in matches, those falls can make or break a team’s chances of winning, and the more times the upperclassmen can pin those with less experience during practice, the faster the younger athletes will grasp defensive strategies.
“The easiest way to avoid getting pinned is to not go to your back; it just makes sense,” Clay said. “The more experience you have, the fewer times you go to your back, and the fewer times you go to your back, the fewer times you’ll get pinned.
“It comes down to a lot of personal pride,” he said. “You have to fight in the practice room and not be willing to go to your back.”
And when Clay sees wrestlers getting pinned too often, he will pull them aside and help them learn how to stay in control, even against the toughest opponents.
“You see things that happen in practice or matches, and then you talk about it afterwards,” Clay said. “There are some very good teachable moments.
“Then, you put them in adverse situations (in practice), so when it happens in a match, they are prepared for it.”
Season-opener
The Vandals still have a little while before opening the season.
A junior varsity quadrangular will be held at home on Monday, Dec. 2, and the first varsity match will be at Belleville West – a strong Class 3A team – on Dec. 3.
The first home match of the season is on Thursday, Dec. 12, against Hillsboro.
