Choosing a sport or activity to get involved in during high school can be a challenge. Trying to balance sports and your academic studies can be a challenge. Since wrestling is often considered the hardest sport in high school, people often wonder if they have what it takes to join the high school wrestling team.
You should take wrestling in high school. It is a challenging sport that requires discipline, fitness, and patience. Overall, wrestling is an effective way to teach discipline and promote fitness and teamwork in a high school setting.
This article will discuss the experience of taking wrestling in high school. Yes, high school wrestling ( folkstyle wrestling ) is very difficult and challenging but the rewards and character it helps you develop are well worth the hard work and sacrifices you will make.
Why You Should Wrestle in High School
You should take wrestling in high school because it will help you develop discipline, stay fit, and build responsibility. Wrestling can also provide opportunities for higher education.
Let’s consider some of the pros and cons of taking wrestling in high school.
Pros of Wrestling in High School
First, let’s talk about the pros of wrestling at a high school level.
Wrestling Improves Overall Physical Fitness
Wrestling helps you get and stay in good shape. If you’ve wanted some motivation to hit the gym, then wrestling will definitely help. Wrestling keeps you in great shape, but sticking to cardio alone isn’t enough. To be good at wrestling, you’ll need to build your strength and flexibility as well.
Wrestling Teaches Important Life Skills
Beyond just physical benefits, wrestling can also help you in other areas of life. For example, wrestling will help you build personal responsibility and accountability. No one will force you to improve or win matches—you have to do it on your own. Responsibility and accountability are vital qualities for kids and adolescents to learn about as they grow and move towards adulthood.
Teamwork Is a Vital Part of Wrestling
While it may seem like a one-on-one competition, wrestling is actually a team sport. If you have a bad match, it affects you and your teammates. So, wrestling can help build healthy camaraderie and teamwork with others.
Wrestling Provides Educational and Financial Opportunities
Finally, one of the biggest benefits of wrestling in high school is that it can help with higher education. If you work hard, wrestling in high school can help you get a scholarship to college. This will help pay for college if you choose to seek higher education. So, wrestling can help you build healthy traits now, but it can also help you secure a better future.
Cons of Wrestling in High School
Although there are many benefits to wrestling in high school, there are also disadvantages that accompany the sport.
Injuries Are Common in Wrestling
The first significant con with wrestling (and almost any sport) is potential injuries. Wrestling is very competitive, and there is always a chance of injury. It is important to train to help prevent these potential injuries, but even the best-trained wrestlers can get hurt.
So, if getting injured is a major concern of yours, wrestling may not be the right choice for you. For more on this topic check out my article is folkstyle wrestling dangerous.
Weight Modification Is Often Encouraged in Wrestling
While we are talking about the physical toll of wrestling, I should note that there are plenty of physical demands in the sport.
Staying in shape is not the only concern with wrestling. Rather, wrestling focuses heavily on weight. Adding or cutting weight can affect the weight class that you wrestle in. So, the main idea of wrestling is to try to stay the same weight throughout your entire experience in the sport.
This expectation can put a lot of pressure on a high school student. It may mean that you don’t get to enjoy the same food as your friends. You will need to be aware of your food intake and ensure you get enough nutrients to counter the calories lost when competing.
Wrestling May Distract From Academics
Finally, the amount of time and energy that you put into wrestling can affect your studies. Before deciding to become a wrestler, it is important to consider that your grades may suffer as a result of the sport.
It takes a lot of time and effort to be good at wrestling. So, you need to be able to effectively manage your time training and still remember to focus on school work.
Isn’t High School Wrestling Too Hard?
While wrestling is not easy to master, it is not too hard for anyone to try. Like any other challenging sport, there are challenges with wrestling. Still, nothing about the sport makes it too difficult for high school students.
In sports, there is always a risk of injury. This study done on high school wrestlers showed that about half of the wrestlers they observed experienced an injury at some point in their high school wrestling career. The majority of those injuries occurred in practice rather than in a match.
Injury is always a concern with sports, but should that fear stop you from doing something you might really enjoy? That’s up to you. However, it is up to you to decide if the hard work and potential injuries should deter you from wrestling in high school. As discussed above, there are many benefits to wrestling in high school but like all sports, there is a risk of injury.
While wrestling is a challenging sport, nothing about it is too difficult or impossible for high school students, as long as they take the time to train properly. So, before you decide to sign up for wrestling, make sure you consider the time and dedication you will need to put into the sport to be good at it.
Is High School Wrestling Dangerous?
High school wrestling does pose a risk of injury but this in not exclusive to wrestling. All sports pose a risk of injury. Aside from injury, there is also a risk of malnourishment and mistreatment of your body. So, wrestling is only dangerous if you aren’t carefully taking care of yourself.
As discussed above, there will always be a risk of injury with sports. However, injuries aren’t the only thing that can make wrestling dangerous. There is a lot of pressure in wrestling to get to a weight and maintain that weight class throughout your wrestling career. In the past, this has caused serious health issues for wrestlers.
Drastic Weight Cutting
Some wrestlers have even died from malnutrition and dehydration. This is the result of drastic weight cutting through dehydration tactics and other unhealthy forms of dropping weight for a match. Thankfully, the expectation of wrestlers to take care of themselves has grown exponentially over the years. Your coach should focus on your overall health instead of using unhealthy tactics to maintain or lose weight.
Most incidents that led to high school wrestlers dying in the past didn’t have to do with matches or proper techniques. Rather, most wrestlers tragically lost their lives due to malnutrition and dehydration. So, wrestling itself is not what is most dangerous but some of the drastic measures wrestlers take to drop weight.
Unhealthy tactics like not eating enough or not drinking enough fluids can make wrestling very dangerous. However, wrestling is really only dangerous if you are failing to focus on your health. The pressure to lose or keep the same weight can be heavy. With this in mind, you should always make sure you lose weight in a healthy way.
In short, the sport does pose a risk of injury, but it can become very dangerous if you don’t take proper care of your physical health. Ensure you eat right and stay hydrated throughout your wrestling career to maintain your health. Doing drastic weight cuts is not worth the risk.
Is It Too Late To Start Wrestling in High School?
It is not too late to start wrestling in high school. It can take about one to three years to get really good at wrestling, but noticeable improvement can happen sooner with dedication and proper coaching.
The amount of time that it takes to get good at wrestling can depend on many different factors. One to three years may sound like a long time, but that time frame doesn’t fit every wrestler. So, let’s talk about some things that may help you learn and get better at wrestling faster.
First, the amount of dedication you have to the sport will make a big difference in how long it takes to get really good at it. If you are willing to put in a lot of work and train hard, then you will get better faster.
During your training, focus on mastering techniques as you go. One of the best ways to become a good wrestler quickly is to consistently practice and master simple wrestling techniques. You need dedication and drive to become a great wrestler, and that dedication can ensure that you will improve at the sport quickly.
Your coach or trainer will make a big difference as well. A good trainer will be able to teach you the ins and outs of wrestling in a timely manner. However, a great trainer will be able to help you learn and grow in your skills. They will play a significant part in how long it takes you to get good at wrestling.
No matter how long it takes you to become a good wrestler, it is never too late to get started. If you are interested in trying a sport like wrestling, don’t wait to try it while wondering if it is too late or if you will be good at it. If you are truly interested in wrestling, try it now. The sooner you start training, the faster you can become a talented wrestler.
Final Thoughts
Wrestling is a great option for high school students who want to get in shape. There are plenty of other benefits to the sport as well. From teamwork to future academic opportunities, high school wrestling can teach you important lessons and set you up for future success.
So, if you are considering becoming a wrestler, make sure you weigh the pros and cons first. It’s never too late to try it out, but always ensure that you are taking care of your body and keeping up with proper nutrition.