Sports at West Albany High School are typically practiced in the afternoon. The volleyball team in the gym, the football team on the field, and soccer even later on the field. That being said, most sports hold practices during their respective season.
During the off-season, sports like wrestling offer optional practices at the beginning of the day for athletes who want to wake up earlier and get practice in. While not many students take up this offer, there are a few students who participate in order to help better themselves and their skills.
Among those students is Junior Mason Ramseyer, who started wrestling around the beginning of high school after a friend convinced him, and now attends the open mats. “I knew I needed to get better [and] the regular practices weren’t catching me up to [anybody’s skills],” Ramseyer said. Assistant wrestling coach Daryl Watkins recruited Ramseyer for the optional open mats in the morning before school. The open mats provide an opportunity for students to get some extra practice and conditioning in before the school day. “In regular practice, you do a lot of moves and go through them quickly, but at morning practice, you focus on [perfecting] one, and it definitely helps,” Ramseyer said.
Ramseyer knows that participating in open mats has helped improve his skills, and he enjoys seeing that change. “I go to see myself get better, ” Ramseyer said. “But I know there’s also a part of [not wanting] to disappoint my coaches, I don’t want to seem lazy. I want to put in as much effort as I can.”
Along with not wanting to disappoint his coaches comes pressure to succeed, which can make it challenging. “[Having a strong passion] definitely makes it easier during practices, to get up in the morning and show up,” Ramseyer said. “But it’s harder during the match, everybody that you care for watching [you], it’s a little pressure.” He overall realizes that this pressure can also be a good thing. “They definitely drive you [to] try your best,” Ramseyer said.
“If you’re messing up on any basics or fundamentals, you should definitely show up [to open mats],” Ramseyer said. Open mats are slowed down compared to normal in-season practices and are much more personal. The practices are fewer in number, which allows athletes time to practice specific moves they’re having problems with. “If you want to improve anything, even in the slightest, it really opens up new doors.”
Open mats offer an experience different from regular wrestling practice. It allows wrestlers to have more one-on-one coaching so they can help improve their skills as an individual. This is especially important as more and more people have been signing up for wrestling every year. Most seasons start with many more players in the first practices, leaving some wrestlers feeling left behind.
Open mats are an opportunity for those who feel they need more practice, but they aren’t just for people new to the sport. Varsity wrestlers also find open mats useful.
“Since there aren’t as many people in there with us, it gives the coaches time to focus on what they can teach wrestlers [individually] to do”. Junior Cordae Harris said.
But like most things, it isn’t all positive. Since open mats are in the morning, they can have the side effect of exhausting the students before the day even starts. Wrestling takes a lot out of students, and practicing before school can impact their academics.
“It depends on the person. For me, since I’m not a morning person, it does make me feel sleepy here throughout the day,” Harris said. “But if you’re a morning person, then you’d probably feel fine.”
So while the impact it has on wrestlers can vary, the results remain fairly consistent.
Harris believes he has improved while attending morning open mats. While the open mats aren’t required, wrestlers are encouraged to attend to improve their own ability. Even when they can help students with wrestling, it’s important to gauge whether or not it’s worth it. They can make huge impacts on your life and wellbeing, physically or mentally, positively or negatively.
