I gotta admit, I was skeptic on how we would look numbers wise when we first started. I knew that my Bears would come up and represent, what I didn't know; is what kind of turnout we would have when I initiated our summer practices.

I was put into total shock to see that we had pretty decent numbers last Thursday for the wrestling practice. These are all kids who have wrestled before, allowing my coaching staff and I to teach on the fly while generating an amazing workout for those involved. I was most impressed by Cameron, who took the year off last season before my arrival. He is now bigger, and looks much faster that before (when I coached against him). We ended up with 7 high school wrestlers showing up to work. All of which are going to develop their skills enough to ensure that I can count on them for pins/wins during the season. I've always said that I will be willing to take 3-4 kids to battle, so long as those 3-4 are the kids who are putting in the time and work to get better. I got that mentality from one of my favorite coaches that I had the honor to get to know throughout my life. Love ya Fili!

The workout was intense, and not one of the kids there were willing to back down from anyone, coaches included. The wrestling was full of technique, and packed even more with aggression (which I love). We ended the night with some blood, staples, and two wicked cuts......yes; the staples were for one of those cuts (way to go Cody and Nick!).

Yesterday we had our first lifting session. I've been very excited about starting this as it is obviously much needed for these kids to put them in the best possible position to win, and again, I was shocked with the number that came out to lift. There were plenty of familiar faces, and a few new faces. This whole week we are doing a max lifting test to provide me with data to develop a workout for each and every kid. There was definitely some potential in the room, many strong kids, with a strong desire to win. The best lifting came from Jared, who is probably the most "Beast" looking wrestler we have right now. Jared is about 6'1-4ish, 185lbs, and pure muscle. He is a true specimen for anyone who wants to see what hard work does to you. Jared's biggest lift came from the Bar Lunges (not the most exciting lift, I know) where he at first didn't feel that he was going to hit a weight too high. He needed that "pat" on the back to realize that he is a monstrously sized athlete, and can hit a weight higher that anyone else in the room. Jared did just that. After watching him manhandle the bar stacked full of heavy weights, I watched him lunge forward a total of ten times! This kids shot is going to be unreal! Can't wait to see his strength training pay off on the mat next season!

We have lifting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:00PM-4:00PM, and wrestling practice on Thursday from 5:00PM-7:00PM

I hope to see the numbers continue to impress me, and to truly see this team develop!
Coach Colvin