May 20, 2012

Wrestling PE for strength and skill

Tell all LCC students — Wrestling PE is the way to gain strength and self-defense skills.

Every student has a choice for PE class next year — and Wrestling PE is a great option, for boys and for girls. You don’t have to be on the wrestling team to be in Wrestling PE.  But you might want to be when you hang out with the defending Avocado League West and CIF Division II Champions!

It’s run like a martial arts class: You’ll get strength training, learn how to take down an opponent, and develop the kind of self-discipline that will help you reach you goals, no matter what they are.

Registration is open until March 19. SIGN UP FOR WRESTLING PE, and tell your friends. Remember, you don’t have to be on the team, and you’ll get a great workout while you gain skills that will serve you for life.

Questions? Talk to Coach Buth.

Maverick Wrestlers Capture CIF Title

A rebuilding year? Not for the ‘young’ La Costa Canyon Mavericks, who won the 2012 San Diego CIF Division II wrestling championships in a dominating performance Feb. 19 at Westview High.

Seniors T.J. Grisafe (132), Paul Head (182) and Cody Williams (195) and junior Derrick Dotter (220) led the way by winning individual titles for the Mavericks, who sent six wrestlers into championship matches. It was the team’s second Division II title in the past three seasons and third overall.

Junior Connor Anderson (172) and sophomore Ian Baker (154) took second place; seniors Adam Zeigler (287) and Seth Becker (128) took third; and sophomores Phoenix Prefontaine (162) and Max Zimet (115) placed fifth. They are all scheduled to compete in the county Masters Tournament Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25 at Otay Ranch High School, while Kyle Tincup (120), who took seventh, and Drew Karson (140), eighth, are alternates.

The Masters Tournament will determine who gets the opportunity to move on to the State CIF Tournament in Bakersfield.

“The entire team worked really hard all season,” said Coach Dwayne Buth. “Every one of our wrestlers has a lot of heart, and they never quit. LCC can be very proud of them.”

For more details on the Masters Tournament, and to show your support, follow the Mavericks wrestling team on their Facebook page here. And you can catch up on the positive media coverage on LCC by checking out these links:

San Diego Union-Tribune’s coverage of the Mavericks Division II wrestling championship

KUSI on Mavericks capturing the Division II CIF Championship

North County Times on junior Derrick Dotter’s amazing rebound from knee injuries

San Diego Union-Tribune on senior stand-out T.J. Grisafe

KUSI on Avocado League West Championship win over Carlsbad

North County Times on Avocado League West Championship win over Carlsbad

Way to go Mavs!

Mavericks Capture Third in La Costa Classic

The La Costa Canyon Wrestling Team hosted the La Costa Canyon Classic “Jimmy

The Mavericks took third in the La Costa Classic.

Hamada Memorial,” a two-day tournament in memory of the local wrestling legend, Dec. 9 and 10. Thirty-eight teams from California, Nevada and Colorado attended. La Costa Canyon finished the tournament in third place, outranking all teams from San Diego County. First and second place went to Green Valley High School from Henderson, Nev., and Servite High School from Los Angeles.

La Costa Canyon senior T.J. Grisafe beat Nevada’s state champion for first place at 138 lbs. Paul Head, senior, also earned gold by defeating Servite’s 182-pounder. Ian Baker and Cody Williams took second place at 160 pounds and 220 pounds, respectively. Adam Ziegler placed third 285 pounds.

Six additional La Costa Canyon wrestlers placed in the top eight, including:
–Max Wittmack (106) seventh
–Tsune Ramirez (113), sixth
–Max Zimet (120) eighth
–Kyle Tincup (126) sixth
–David Shuman (126) eighth
–Connor Anderson (171) eighth
–Miles Curcic (195) fifth

Come check out the excitement and support our boys at the next home dual meet happening on Jan. 12 against Oceanside in the LCC gym.

Looking for Maverick Mat Rats?

All boys and girls ages 5-11 are invited to join this program, teaching basic wrestling skills and fundamentals, teamwork and sportsmanship.  More info here.

 

 

La Costa Classic to Host 37 Teams

The excitement of elite-level high school wrestling is coming to La Costa Canyon High School Dec. 9 and 10, 2011.

The La Costa Classic, known previously as the “Hamada Memorial” has attracted strong wrestling teams from all over the West, including:
•    Green Valley, Nevada, currently the top-ranked team in the state
•    Boulder City, Nevada
•    Cherokee Trail, Colorado
•    Servite, a perennial powerhouse from Orange County
•    Ramona, who placed second the San Diego CIF last year
•    Vista, always a top team in the San Diego region

“We are proud to host a tournament of this caliber,” said Dwayne Buth, La Costa Canyon High Wrestling Coach. “This might be the toughest tournament in San Diego this year, and it’s a great opportunity for individuals and teams to make a name for themselves. If you want to see some of the best high school wrestling in Southern California, come on out to LCC Friday and Saturday.”

Don’t Miss the Pancake Breakfast

Wrestling starts at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday at 9:30 a.m., with the championship round expected around 5 p.m. A pancake breakfast is scheduled for Saturday morning, and other great food will be available all day.

The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game

Summer’s just around the corner. For wrestlers, even the off-season is a time of workouts and staying in shape. But there will be free time too, opportunities to kick back with friends, go to the beach or the movies, and just chill. And if you like losing yourself in a good book, summer is the ideal time for that.

Here’s a book that might appeal to you: “The Fighter’s Mind,” by Sam Sheridan. The author’s well-received first book, “A Fighter’s Heart,” was about his adventures in muay Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. For “The Figher’s Mind” Sheridan met with and interviewed MMA fighters, coaches and others who have excelled in various martial arts.

Sheridan must be a good interviewer because he gets his subjects to say some pretty insightful and amazing things. The first guy he went to visit was legendary wrestler Dan Gable, whom Sheridan met on a freezing day in Iowa, where Gable also won a long string of national championships as coach for the University of Iowa.

[Read more...]

Five questions with T.J. Grisafe

Junior T.J. Grisafe is representing the Mavericks in the California State Championships following his victory at 132 pounds over Poway’s Justin Chua in the San Diego Section Masters Championships last Saturday.

We caught up with T.J. before he took off for the state meet at Fresno to ask him a few questions about his routine and what motivates him.

Maverick wrestler T.J. Grisafe pinning an opponent at the Master's Championships.

LCC Wrestling: What’s your favorite thing to eat after you weigh in and before your first match?

TJ: Dar-Blu Gades and Clif Bars. Maybe the occasional Sar-Le bage with some goobs. (It’s in code…the wrestlers will get it.)

LCC Wrestling: Do you have a favorite pin combination?

TJ: To see my opponent break when I crank them with legs

LCC Wrestling: You’re a cross country and track runner too. How has running has helped your performance as a wrestler?

TJ: As Coach Buth would say, it helps to put a lot in your tank. Because of my endurance, I can out-hustle and out-work my opponent.

LCC Wrestling: Wrestling well requires a lot of things — solid technique, good stamina, fierce determination. Do you have a particular strength, and if so, how did you develop it?

TJ: No one can keep me down. Speed and mental frame of mind help a lot on bottom. If you can stand up and not get taken down, and ride someone on top, you wont lose.

LCC Wrestling: What inspires you to wrestle?

TJ: The feeling of getting your hand raised is the main thing that drives me toward the top. Nothing is better than knowing you have defeated the opponent. That success is a feeling that nothing else can compare to.

Congrats to T.J. on a spectacular season, and good luck at State!

Six Mavs advance to Masters

Junior T.J. Grisafe led the way with his second-place finish at 135 pounds as the La Costa Canyon Mavericks made a strong showing in the CIF San Diego Division II Section Championships at Scripps Ranch High School Saturday.

Sophomore Connor Anderson took third at 173 pounds; freshman Drew Karson captured fourth at 125 pounds; junior Seth Becker placed fifth at 130 pounds; and heavyweight Adam Zeigler, a junior, took fifth. Senior Dylan Shapiro is an alternate at 140 pounds.

“We’re a young team, and I’m proud of what our guys brought to the CIF tournament,” said Head Coach Dwayne Buth. “Our entire squad battled hard all year. There was no quit in our wrestlers. We made our mark, and we have a strong foundation to build upon.”

Grisafe is now a two-time CIF finalist. Karson is only the third freshman in LCC history (along with Ryan Williams and Tim Randall) to place in the top four at the CIF tournament.

“Our season is not over yet,” said Buth. “These six wrestlers have earned the right to compete in the San Diego Section Masters Championships this weekend. Each is well-prepared and, confident and capable, and they are peaking at the right time. Go Mavs!”

T.J. Grisafe, 2nd Place

Connor Anderson, 3rd Place

Drew Karson, 4th Place

Seth Becker, 5th Place

Adam Zeigler, 5th Place

Giving yourself your best chance to win

“The one piece of advice I have for you is this: Give yourself every possible chance to win.”
- Willis Reed

Willis Reed is an NBA Hall of Famer who won two championships with the New York Knicks.

For a basketball player, giving yourself every chance to win means keeping the game close so that you and your team have a shot at the end. Play defense, sink your foul shots, get the ball to the tall guy, blah, blah, blah.

What about for a wrestler?

To the average person watching, you have a 50/50 chance of winning any given match. And it’s true. At the end, the ref is going to raise your hand or his.

So how do you increase the odds in your favor – really give yourself “every possible chance to win?”

I want your input in the comments, but here are a few ideas to get it rolling:

  • Listen to your coaches. Listen during the match, when they’re yelling specific tactical instructions. Listen during practice, when they’re teaching you those moves. You have an amazing coaching staff. Don’t waste your access to all that knowledge.
  • Fuel yourself well. You don’t have to cut whole food groups from your diet. But you don’t want to make a habit of sugary snacks and salt-laden meals. It catches up with you.
  • Believe. Way more than any team sport, wrestling requires not just the belief, but the conviction that you, on your own, are going to prevail. Without that certainty, what are your odds?
  • Keep it light. You have a goal. It might be to win or place in league, CIF or even state, or maybe just to have a winning record. You also have a lot of pride, or you wouldn’t be wrestling. You’re probably harder on yourself than anyone else is. You’re going to lose sometimes. It’s not the end of the world. Find ways to enjoy the day-by-day journey to your goal, whatever that is, and you’ll insure that you don’t burn out along the way.

So, what do you think? Can you actually tip the odds in your favor – from 50/50 to 80/20, or even 90/10?

And what’s your best advice? Share it in the comments!

Get LCCWrestling.com updates by e-mail

Enter your email address in the form below to receive e-mail updates of content from this site.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner