For some, wrestling is a comical sport. The uniforms that the competitors are required to wear combined with the moves used to successfully pin down the opponent, are nothing less than hilarious. But for some, wrestling is a serious sport. It takes a lot of time, practice, and dedication to be successful.

“Wrestling has a way of taking care of the people who don’t want to work hard: they don’t make it. Laziness has never really been a problem in our room, but I do want to see guys push themselves out of their comfort zones to get better,” voiced Coach Mallory.

This is not a sport where members “sit on the bench’ the whole time and watch their teammates do the work.  Everyone is involved. If you do not put in effort and are lazy, then you do not have the dedication to do this sport.

“Dedication, to me, means having a commitment to your craft no matter what it is. You have to have a reason for giving 100 percent to your sport and you have to work harder than anyone else on the team,” stated Junior Aaron Smith.

Coach Mallory wants to see all of his wrestlers working hard; especially the new guys. He expects them to have the drive to do well and qualify for state. Even if they don’t qualify he knows that they gave it their all, and that’s all that they can do.

“I think our guys are excited for the season to begin. We’ll spend the next couple of weeks getting into shape before preseason tournaments start. We’ll adjust our training based on the results and begin our slow build toward February,” delivered Coach Mallory.

If you think you have what it takes to be on the wrestling team visit Coach Mallory in room B-107, or email him at mallory_r@hcde.org.