Suffield High School has had a wrestling team for many years, yet wrestling is a sport that is not particularly well known.
Head Coach Chris Potter, a Suffield resident, has 15 years of coaching experience and has led the Wildcats for 8 seasons. Roger Moran, the assistant coach, has more than 25 years of experience in youth and high school wrestling. Both are truly dedicated to the sport and are leaders in teaching sportsmanship and respect, very necessary qualities in wrestling.
“This team works extremely hard and all of the wrestlers are improving with each match,” Potter said. “I am so proud to coach this group of kids and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be a tough team to beat as we enter the latter part of the season.”
The team is currently 3-1 in the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC). Senior captains Joe Gleason and John Kopec lead the team, along with seniors Hector Leon and Geoff Kaplan. Daniel Adams, Kevin Bentz, Dan D'Ostuni, Taylor Davenport, Ryan Hunihan, Sean Kucia and Ismael Serrano are the juniors on the team. Sophomores Tristen Cauley and Dillion Lisk, along with freshmen Kyle Taylor, Nate Muska, Matt Guilmette and Paul Grimard, round out the team.
Wrestling is a team sport, as the roster above attests, but it revolves around competition between individuals.
Each meet between teams involves 14 individual bouts. Bouts take place in one of 14 different weight classes, from 103 pounds to 285 pounds. Wrestlers score points in each individual bout, which are added together for the team’s total score.
The object of the individual bout is to put your opponent on his back—a pin. A pin, or fall, occurs when a wrestler holds an opponent on their back with any part of both shoulders or both shoulder blades in contact with the mat for two seconds. After a pin, the match is over. The wrestler who made the pin wins the match and six points are awarded to that wrestler’s team.
During a match, points are awarded based on displays of control demonstrated by one wrestler over another. If a match ends without a pin, the winner is the wrestler who has scored the most points.
Wrestling is a contact sport where athletes face opponents of equal size completely on their own. Winning or losing is a matter of individual strength, speed, intelligence and courage.
Wrestling makes special demands of its athletes with regard to discipline and character. Wrestlers must be poised during their bouts and disciplined during the week to maintain their designated weights. They must constantly practice hard to improve their skills.
Win or lose, wrestlers come away with elevated self-confidence and a greater strength of character.
The bouts are broken into three two-minute periods. They take place on a mat within a 40-foot circle. Each wrestler is on their own in front of their coaches, team, parents and fans. It's lonely out there, with nowhere to hide, all the time knowing that one mistake likely means match is over.
As parents will attest, it's no picnic for them to watch their wrestler being pounded into a mat or turned onto their back, fighting a pin attempt. Two minutes may not seem long until you're watching a wrestler fight to save the team points or to get to the next period to win the match. This is a sport where a lot can happen in 10 seconds. Besides the direct physical force of wrestling, bumps, bruises, bloody noses and mat burn are all commonplace.
Watching the parents in the stands is almost as exciting as the match. They scream encouragement to the wrestlers on the mat, enjoy the wins and feel the heartbreak of the losses. The mothers especially feel every bruise and bump along the way. You’ll see mothers close their eyes or look away when things aren't going well, their hearts racing the entire time. Watch the face of a mom as her child is on the mat and you don't need to know the score.
Head Coach Chris Potter, a Suffield resident, has 15 years of coaching experience and has led the Wildcats for 8 seasons. Roger Moran, the assistant coach, has more than 25 years of experience in youth and high school wrestling. Both are truly dedicated to the sport and are leaders in teaching sportsmanship and respect, very necessary qualities in wrestling.
“This team works extremely hard and all of the wrestlers are improving with each match,” Potter said. “I am so proud to coach this group of kids and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be a tough team to beat as we enter the latter part of the season.”
The team is currently 3-1 in the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC). Senior captains Joe Gleason and John Kopec lead the team, along with seniors Hector Leon and Geoff Kaplan. Daniel Adams, Kevin Bentz, Dan D'Ostuni, Taylor Davenport, Ryan Hunihan, Sean Kucia and Ismael Serrano are the juniors on the team. Sophomores Tristen Cauley and Dillion Lisk, along with freshmen Kyle Taylor, Nate Muska, Matt Guilmette and Paul Grimard, round out the team.
Wrestling is a team sport, as the roster above attests, but it revolves around competition between individuals.
Each meet between teams involves 14 individual bouts. Bouts take place in one of 14 different weight classes, from 103 pounds to 285 pounds. Wrestlers score points in each individual bout, which are added together for the team’s total score.
The object of the individual bout is to put your opponent on his back—a pin. A pin, or fall, occurs when a wrestler holds an opponent on their back with any part of both shoulders or both shoulder blades in contact with the mat for two seconds. After a pin, the match is over. The wrestler who made the pin wins the match and six points are awarded to that wrestler’s team.
During a match, points are awarded based on displays of control demonstrated by one wrestler over another. If a match ends without a pin, the winner is the wrestler who has scored the most points.
Wrestling is a contact sport where athletes face opponents of equal size completely on their own. Winning or losing is a matter of individual strength, speed, intelligence and courage.
Wrestling makes special demands of its athletes with regard to discipline and character. Wrestlers must be poised during their bouts and disciplined during the week to maintain their designated weights. They must constantly practice hard to improve their skills.
Win or lose, wrestlers come away with elevated self-confidence and a greater strength of character.
The bouts are broken into three two-minute periods. They take place on a mat within a 40-foot circle. Each wrestler is on their own in front of their coaches, team, parents and fans. It's lonely out there, with nowhere to hide, all the time knowing that one mistake likely means match is over.
As parents will attest, it's no picnic for them to watch their wrestler being pounded into a mat or turned onto their back, fighting a pin attempt. Two minutes may not seem long until you're watching a wrestler fight to save the team points or to get to the next period to win the match. This is a sport where a lot can happen in 10 seconds. Besides the direct physical force of wrestling, bumps, bruises, bloody noses and mat burn are all commonplace.
Watching the parents in the stands is almost as exciting as the match. They scream encouragement to the wrestlers on the mat, enjoy the wins and feel the heartbreak of the losses. The mothers especially feel every bruise and bump along the way. You’ll see mothers close their eyes or look away when things aren't going well, their hearts racing the entire time. Watch the face of a mom as her child is on the mat and you don't need to know the score.
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