Tough practices act as inspiration

Downstairs in Assembly Hall where the IU wrestling team practices, quotes fill the red and white walls. Meant for inspiration and motivation, one of them reads, "Unless You Have Prepared Yourself and Deserve to Emerge Victorious, Do Not Expect to Win or Be Disappointed When You Lose." Another quote on the wall spells out, "Work Develops Champions." They are especially relevant to this team, which battles through physically grinding practices and voluntary workouts to maintain their weight and endurance. \n"The weight factor and the nutrition factor combined make wrestling tougher in my opinion than anything else," redshirt freshman Max Dean said. "This is very physical. Next to boxing, this is probably the most physical sport out there."\nThe team practices for around two hours during the week. Involved in their routine is constant battling with other wrestlers in grappling and non-stop movement in a physical manner. Bloody noses and injured bodies are a common sight. \nIU coach Duane Goldman is biased about his love for the sport in relation to other sports. A former NCAA champion, Goldman knows how demanding the action can be.\n"I think wrestling is the ultimate sport," he said. "Strength, conditioning and technique are important factors. You are standing across from an opponent who is trying to take you out. For a lot of wrestlers, they have no qualms about hurting you or breaking your arm. Luckily, you have the officials out there. It's a physically demanding sport."\nThis type of competition is not for everyone. The hard practices, extra workouts on your own and long hours put in to be ready for matches take a certain type of individual, Goldman said. \nSenior Andrew Wolf agrees with this sentiment. \n"With most sports, you can go home and eat and watch TV and get away from it," he said. "With wrestling, you have to watch your diets. Time management is key with being enrolled in classes and early workouts. It is mentally as well as physically demanding on you."\nBesides practice, the team has to keep up on its workouts in order to meet weight requirements for the matches. The grapplers are weighed before each match and must meet their division in order to compete. This calls for voluntary workouts, weightlifting and watching what they eat so they don't nudge a pound or two over the requirement.\n"We come in at nights a lot after practice after eating dinner and get a good workout in," Dean said. "Two or three guys come in and try to lose three or four pounds."\nBut Wolf said it is each wrestler's responsibility to keep his weight down.\n"That could be coming in at night or multiple other things you can do," he said. "A simple equation is eat less and work out more."\nThis type of work ethic is prevalent among the IU wrestling team. Many of the wrestlers stay after practice to jog around their small practice gym or grapple with teammates. Competing in the ultra-competitive Big Ten makes this a necessity. \nGoldman appreciates his team's effort and hopes the hard work translates in matches.\n"All the athletes here at IU are great athletes and mentally tough," he said. "But wrestling does take a certain type of individual, just like any sport does. I enjoy our wrestlers. They are down-to-earth and hard-working. There's not a lot of glory for the work they put in and the hell they go through."\n-- Contact staff writer Colin Burns at coaburns@indiana.edu.