As the Selma High Wrestling team progresses throughout their season, they learn new skills with each other and maintain what they have already built up to this point.
With a 2-0 record, they hope to come out of the season positively with a league title.
“We just got done with harder competition so we’re just starting to wind down right now,” says Coach Mendoza. “We’re also preparing wrestlers for the state tournament right now.”
From the coaches to the players, they all partake in afterschool practices in a variety of aspects. With different levels of experience amongst the team, they work to maintain their routine so that they all work together in learning, maintaining and improving.
“There’s lot of new kids on the team this year,” said junior Mariana Hernandez.
“So it’s been a lot trying to help them learn and always help each other out.”
The team members have an enthusiastic attitude when it comes to practice, as a result of this everyone gets along really well and work together a lot.
The coaches are very supportive towards the team and motivate them to want to keep on improving. This vital point within the team alongside the enthusiasm of the team encourages everyone to keep striving for more when they are on the team.
Alongside coaching in the aspect of wrestling, Coach Mendoza also hopes that the team gains life skill from the responsibility of the sport.
In order to do this, the coaches value consistency from all the wrestlers.
“Accountability is something important, and as they’re young they might not know better,” said Coach Mendoza.
“But we do our best to teach them on that and to get to practice on time.”
The team has grown and improved many of their skills up until this moment, so their upstanding record as of now is no surprise. They’ve worked hard through rigorous training and practices, to reach where they have gotten to.
“As of right now I really hope to keep on improving and get better,” said junior Damian Alvarez.
Even when it gets hard trying to balance life and schoolwork with wrestling, he continues to make time in order to be able to reach his goal.
It is evident that the team values improvement as they not only express it but also work towards it.