Already, Jim Stoudenmire is ahead of where he was last year at this time.
A year ago, Stoudenmire was not able to work with his Apalachee High School wrestlers since he was not hired until late. This summer, however, the returning Mat Wildcats have already been preparing for the upcoming 2009-2010 season.
“We practiced three days a week during June,” the second-year AHS coach said. “Nothing was mandatory. Some days we had three or four kids and other we had eight to 10.”
The Wildcats also traveled to Clarke Central High School in Athens to work one night a week.
“They got a lot out of that,” Stoudenmire said. “Several schools were there and it gave our wrestlers some good competition. It was nothing that was very structured. It was just good to get on the mat and work. The main thing is we got some mat time in. We were able to butt heads with someone we may see later in the season.”
While the AHS coach would have liked to have a higher turnout at summer workouts, he realizes family vacations and committments to other sports played a role.
“Still, we saw some progress and got some benefits from it,” the coach said. “We had a couple of newcomers who came to see what it was all about.”
Some wrestlers attended Greco Roman and Freestyle camps this summer and while those brands of wrestling differ from high school competition, Stoundemire said the experience will still be beneficial.
The coach said he’s not sure how much summer work has been done by the wrestlers in the past, but it is a tradition he wants to establish.
“Several of our wrestlers are involved in football and baseball,” he said. “They might have football workouts the same time as wrestling but I told them to go to football since that season is closest. You just get in as much work as you can.”
