A new post came out about the Navy S.E.A.L.S. and the men they were searching for to fight alongside them, and they seemed to take a liking to college wrestlers. This is due to the training and work that college wrestling puts you through. It's almost identical. I met up with the assistant coach Russ Hughes here at Bloomsburg, one of the sports most accomplished wrestlers, placing 3rd at NCAA Nationals during his time in collegiate wrestling, and he agrees 100%. The training these young men go through is almost inhuman, and he would know because he's been through it himself. Getting up at 5AM every single day of the school year to lift and run hills shapes these men to be like no other. Coach Hughes went on to explain the typical week day for a wrestler, and that includes waking up at 5AM, throwing on your running shoes and meeting up at north campus for a run. After the run, they will head over to the weight room for a lift with the strength coach. Then they will wrestle for a little on the mats, shower up, and arrive at their 8AM class. Right after the wrestlers are done with classes, they will return to the wrestling room for a 2 hour grind practice of full, live wrestling. The room is small, with a very low ceiling. The sweat on the mat shines with the sun peeking through the window on the bright red mats. Once practice lets out, they will have to meet again an hour later individually to work on technique with one of the coaches. But the coaches aren't just all about wrestling. They care about how their wrestlers are doing in their classes. So after wrestling concludes for the day, all the wrestlers meet in a small classroom and have a mandatory 2 hour study hall so they can catch up on everything with their busy schedules. The season is a grueling full school year, starting early September and finishing up in mid April, making this the longest season in sports.
Left: Russ Hughes, Assistant Coach
Right: Bloomsburg Wrestling Room
The grueling sport is physical, but it can just as tough, if not tougher mentally. They say the wrestler that wins wants to win the most going into the match, and that's all mentality. The wrestlers here at Bloomsburg know the sport is hard, and it's very hard on their bodies and also their minds. Going through classes everyday after being drained of all their energy can be a tough task. Hughes tries to teach his wrestlers strong mentality and it's importance. He asked the wrestlers, "What do you think of when you hear the word Husky"? He went around the room asking everyone, and for the majority, it was "Bloomsburg" and "dog". Hughes then went on to explain that he thinks of a sled dog, using the Iditarod as an example. The Iditarod is a 1000-mile race using huskies to pull a sled through harsh, winter conditions with someone on it and all their supplies. They never complain, never argue, and never stop. If one dog were to stop and fall over, it would effect the pack. Coach Hughes says it's the same thing with wrestling, to never stop and keep going with the team.
Furthering my conversation with Coach Hughes, he talked about how this upcoming year is only the second year with the new head coach Marcus Gordon and that their goal consists of shaping their men into national champions. They aren't holding anything back with wrestling being the schools only division 1 program and he says this school deserves a top-tier team within he upcoming years.
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