JUPITER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, DECEMBER 2023 – Sports are important for students to participate in during high school. Some sports are easy, while others will stick with you for the rest of your life.
Wrestling is not always given the credit it deserves. Sports like football and basketball are great, but wrestling builds lifelong skills such as fighting or self defense, as well as teaching healthy eating habits and overall discipline. I spoke to Vaughn Villaverde and Anthony Sisca, both long time veterans of the wrestling team. Vaughn and Anthony helped me to get a better look inside Varsity Wrestling and how it impacts their lives.
Vaughn Villaverde has been on the team for two years now, after being encouraged to join the team by a friend. He is a senior as well as team captain this year and wrestles in the 106-pound weight class. When asked what makes a successful wrestler, Vaughn answered, “You’re definitely going to need technique, and you can’t be afraid to lose.” Vaughn says that Varsity Wrestling has greatly increased his strength and overall athletic ability. He explained to me that sportsmanship is a big part of wrestling, with competitors shaking hands before and after every match, as well as shaking hands with their opponent’s coach. Vaughn says that it is important to know your weight and how to raise and lower it in a safe manner, as well as communicating with teammates to coordinate who will compete at what weight class. Vaughn says that off-season tournaments and conditioning are both crucial to success in wrestling.
Anthony Sisca explained that this is his third year on the wrestling team. He became involved in wrestling because all his family are wrestlers, and his father encouraged him to wrestle as a way of getting better at football. Sisca explains that one of the most important qualities of a varsity wrestler is being mentally tough, because there are several challenges with wrestling like maintaining a diet, and being able to come back after a loss. He believes that being conditioned both mentally and physically is vital to success as a varsity wrestler. Anthony says he always prays before the tournament, and before his match, he listens to music and tries to get himself mad. According to Sisca, “Varsity Wrestling has given me a really good mindset and really good friends.” Anthony pointed out that the first year of wrestling is rough, and you will most likely lose all of your matches, but it is important to be persistent and come to practice every day ready to put the work in and get better.
I encourage students to join wrestling, because it is an amazing way to stay in shape for other sports and build new skills that will last their entire lives. The JCS Wrestling team has grown substantially this year, with almost 20 athletes involved, with half of the team being first time wrestlers. Coach Warren, the head coach, believes the team has a lot of potential this year and that they are beginning to turn heads at tournaments. As the season goes on, we look forward to seeing all the work that the wrestling team puts in come to fruition.
