Winter is right around the corner, so the wrestling bees are off and grappling with their practices. BBHHS continues to improve their good form this season after a run of quality seasons, including a state championship back in 2015. Also, with a finalist and six placers at last year’s state tournament.
However, to keep this form, the Bees will have to keep focused and work hard in a tough division one in Ohio. This isn’t as easy of a task, as some might think, due to the amount of fall sport athletes on the team. “It’s interesting because we have so many fall sports athletes. The biggest roster we’ve ever had. But the kids who have gone to off-season training, the mood amongst them is really great,” says wrestling coach, Todd Haverdill.
Even with a lot of the team dormant for training, the Bees are still training 3-5 days a week. Usually, to get this motivation, wrestlers would turn to their senior captains, but the culture is different amongst the wrestlers with no captains. Instead, all the wrestlers come together to lead.
“I Feel like there really aren’t any leaders. How hard you work is how people are defined as leaders in the room,” says senior wrestler, Harrison Haffner.
This attitude amongst the wrestlers helps with their intense training. “We’re going to hold each other accountable and compete with each other,” says Cayden Plauhar, senior wrestler for the Bees. This style of training helps the team be as prepared as possible for the upcoming season.
The Bees’ success in recent years has established this culture of improving and winning. Furthermore, the expectations amongst the wrestlers remedy this fact with them stating their goals are high, but most importantly, they want to have fun along the way.
Haverdill adds to this stating, “Over the time of coaching I learned not to put barriers on a team. I think the expectation is to just keep getting better.” This agrees with the idea of not putting specific goals on a team, but to work hard, have fun, and by the end of the year, they will be making things interesting.
The wrestlers are excited for some specific events and the fans look forward to them as well. Haffner has his eyes on the prize when saying, “I wouldn’t say opponents stick out to me honestly, but tournament’s definitely do, and that’s true for me this year.”
To add to that, Plauhar says, “[I am] very excited for the match on the stage against Perry.”
This upcoming season has all the makings to be an exciting one. Certainly the wrestlers and coach agree, but this will all be put to the test after their intense offseason training. On December 6 and 7, it all begins against Walsh Jesuit High School. The team is eager to showcase their true potential and ready to challenge themselves.
