On Tuesday night, the RM varsity wrestling team suffered a tough 80-0 loss in front of a rowdy away crowd against the undefeated Churchill Bulldogs, dropping to a 1-2 record overall.
Coming off an exhausting two day weekend tournament, twelve out of fourteen of the varsity members were unable to wrestle and team morale was at an uncharacteristic low. “The fact that a lot of our best guys weren’t able to wrestle against Churchill, a really tough team, combined with the amount of work over the past few days really affected the group,” remarked Coach James.
With each successive match loss, the crowd got louder and the Rockets got quieter. By the last couple fights, it was clear that the Rockets were at a loss for words. “Technique-wise a lot of us messed up because I feel like our hearts just weren’t quite into it. We were tired, our mindset wasn’t quite right,” admitted junior Chairing Sherpa. “Today wasn’t a great showing for the team.”
As the final bell rang out, the Rockets remained scoreless, unable to get a single match win under their belt. “We didn’t have super high expectations. But, we still didn’t fight our best, we weren’t able to perform to the level that we expect from ourselves,” expressed sophomore Steve Pagara. Tired and disappointed, the team filed out of the gym awaiting Coach James’ verdict.
Rather than criticizing them for every mistake, Coach James sought to improve the team morale and point his wrestlers in the right direction. “I just told them that each player needs to bring their personal best for the team,” he stated. “We can only fight as strong as our weakest link, so we need to go out there with a mentality of success, personal success.”
Heading out of the huddle, the team seemed revitalized by his words of encouragement, feeling optimistic for the rest of the season. “I expect everyone to go to regionals and really just try their best. Today was an off day for us, but I know that we’ll bounce back strong,” promised Pagara.
Coach James also remained confident in his team’s ability despite their rough start: “My expectation is that they’ll continually improve and give their best effort both on the mat and in all other facets of their life as well. When they go out there and fight their personal best, their technique, their endurance, everything will build upon that foundation.”
“Even if we’re going against a really hard opponent, we need to put more heart into what we’re doing. You need stay super strong both physically and mentally,” finished Pagara.
Heading into their fourth game of the season, the Rockets plan to redeem themselves after the break against the faltering 1-4 Bengals.
Featured photo by Orrin Ni.
