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Learning process will take time |
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Thursday, 13 December 2007 |
By TERRY NAU
Sports editor
WOONSOCKET â€" Glenn Castiglia got a good first look at his latest Woonsocket High School varsity wrestling squad on Wednesday night. The veteran coach’s suspicions from preseason workouts were confirmed.
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Most of his wrestlers either pinned their opponents or got pinned. That’s a sign of aggressive wrestling, both good and bad. Among the 14 bouts wrestled in Wednesday’s 45-30 loss to Narragansett, 11 finished with the referee slapping his hand to the mat. In all, six of Castiglia’s wrestlers were pinned, four of them in the first period.
“I thought we wrestled with enthusiasm,” Castiglia said after the match ended. “But we’re young. We only have three seniors in our lineup (Kyle Nordby, Tim Hidalgo, Tommy Silva). Eric Chapa at 189 is a senior but he just came out for wrestling last year and missed most of the season with an injury.”
Many of the lightweights are freshmen. Sophomore Tyler Brien at 112 is the “veteran” of this corps, which could end up as the strength of the squad. Woonsocket won five straight matches from 112 through 135 pounds against Narragansett, pulling the Villa Novans from an early 27-0 deficit to a shortlived 30-27 lead.
That kind of run, and the enthusiasm Castiglia saw from his entire team as the squad roared back into the match, is what leads the coach to believe he has a team that will respond to the teaching of fundamentals that must be implemented over the next two months.
“We’ve just got to keep the kids focused,” the coach said. “Myself and assistant coach Matt Morrow have to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get better.”
More than any other sport, perhaps, wrestlers can improve their skills by accumulating knowledge in practice and actual competition. In other states, where youngsters learn fundamentals of the sport at a much younger age, kids come into high school with a strong foundation.
That’s not the case in Rhode Island, which has few established youth wrestling programs. Castiglia, who coached in the New Jersey area before moving to Rhode Island, appreciates how much work goes on in wrestling rooms around the Ocean State, as coaches spend more time laying that foundation for inexperienced kids who just need more time to learn about balance, technique and not taking risks on the mat that can expose themselves to major mistakes.
“I’m encouraged by what I saw (in the opening match),” the coach said. “The kids didn’t give up. That’s important.”
Woonsocket, which finished 7-10 last season, had its scheduled match on Thursday night at Ponaganset postponed by the snowstorm. The Villa Novans return to action next Tuesday when they visit Barrington. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 December 2007 )
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