Starting high school as a freshman\u00a0may be\u00a0hard, but for the few freshmen that made the varsity wrestling team, balancing day-to-day activities just got harder. Between the\u00a0six hours of class time, the\u00a0two hour practices, and the meets that vary in length, it puts a lot on their plate. But, to freshman Connor Moe, that\u2019s just one negative effect wrestling has on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s challenging because you have all the upper-classman who don\u2019t wanna be beat by freshman, so they go extra\u00a0hard,\u201d\u00a0Moe said.<\/p>\n
The upper-classman don\u2019t take it easy on freshman, especially when they\u2019re facing other students who go to other schools.<\/p>\n
Being a freshman on a varsity sport also has a hard social responsibility. It\u2019s hard to connect with the seniors or juniors\u00a0that freshmen\u00a0have never met before.\u00a0Junior wrestler Austin Reim thinks that\u2019s not a problem for some of the underclassmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey act just like one of us,\u201d\u00a0Reim said.<\/p>\n
For the most part, all of the students get along, but some always like to poke fun at one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome treat us well, but others harass us,\u201d\u00a0Moe said.<\/p>\n
The main part about having underclassmen on varsity isn\u2019t just for their talent, but also to have them learn from the best and practice against the best from around the Saginaw Valley League. The job for upperclassmen is to teach the younger\u00a0wrestlers the advanced moves that they have learned throughout their years of wrestling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey come to us if they need help for learning a new move, technique, and how a tournament works,\u201d\u00a0Reim said.<\/p>\n
Moe said some upperclassmen have helped him a lot, but one stood out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say Austin Reim because he pushes me the most, but all of them help me out in some way,\u201d\u00a0Moe said.<\/p>\n