By Katherine Rodriguez
This previous summer, to kick off the 2014-2015 school year, the Passaic School District held numerous sports programs during the summer. One of the most successful summer sports was wrestling. There were a great number of participants as well as coaches. Coach Smith has seen the results of having a summer wrestling program as he said those who worked hard are improving at a much faster rate than before.
Another beneficial result of the summer program was the addition of a middle school wrestling team. This is a great way to recruit athletes early, get them interested, and get them a head start developing their talent, before they reach PHS.
This season, a number of veteran students have returned and have been helping the coaches develop the team. Senior captains Ever Perez and Miguel Ramirez have been on the wrestling team since they were freshmen and know the true meaning of dedication. They have stuck it out for four years and have improved tremendously since their first match.
It is easy to say that success does not happen overnight. Coach Smith’s advice to any wrestlers is to not get frustrated easily. If a wrestler decides to stick with the sport both on and off season, results will show. Wrestling involves a 110 percent commitment at practice and at home. There are simply no secrets to these athletes’ success. Ask any one of the players and they will tell you the secret is just hard work and dedication.
The work has paid great dividends. The wrestling team had great success this season. Early on the team took third in the Mustang Invitational. Going into counties the team had focused more toward individual success. Wanger Figuereo and Devon Morrisey earned Honorable Mention. The team had almost every weight class in the NJISAA Districts and placed sixth overall as a team.
This is only the beginning of PHS wrestling success, Coach Smith believes that there is a great group of juniors on the rise for next year. These juniors include Wagner Figuereo, Devon Morrisey, Pascual Rosario and Dominik Velez.
Jacqueline Hernandez is also a junior and she is the first female wrestler to have competitively wrestled at PHS. Hernandez shows other female students, not to be afraid to try a sport that is male dominant. Hernandez is humble, continuously mentioning how her team mates, “treated me no different than any other student”. She added that joining the team has made her “become confident, strong, and more positive.”
Hernandez’s most memorable moment was her first match. She said, “I was like, what did I get myself into?” She was scared but did not let nerves get the best of her and then she was just excited. She said, of her first match, “The guys on my team cheered me on and even though I lost my first match, I took something with me. I took pride to go out there and wrestle and every time I went to practice I learned and looked forward practicing harder”. In addition to her teammates cheering her on, her coaches were just as important in her first year of wrestling. “When the season first started, I was this weak girl. I lacked the strength and techniques, but I didn’t quit. My coaches were tough but very inspirational. They trained with us every day and helped us out. They would get down right to business and they were straight forward. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it; Coach Smith, Coach Contaldi, and Coach Gouse made us stronger”. Hernandez is a prime example of what hard work and dedication no matter what gender you are.
Many question of whether to continue to wrestle next year and Hernandez always says, “I’m thankful for the season but my journey with this sport has just started”. With the seniors and a strong group of underclassmen, Coach Smith is sure to help put Passaic on the map again and represent Passaic in the best light possible.
