
Lawrence’s Lawrence’s Colton Carter, left, and Plymouth’s Joshua Nossaman wrestle during the Noble Invitational. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
High school wrestling is a demanding sport that tests competitors’ endurance and mental makeup throughout a six-minute match.
On the mat, a wrestler’s goal is simple enough: Physically dominate your opponent.
But there’s another element to the sport that is invisible to the naked eye.
“Eighty to 90% (of wrestling) is mental,” Mattanawcook Academy coach Matt Lindsay said. “It’s akin to chess. You’ve got to think two to three moves ahead. If I act this way and move this way, how are they going to react and counteract to that. It’s just like chess. You’ve got to be thinking two to three moves ahead. It’s a constant thought process of, ‘All right, how do I move to get into a better position? How do I control their hips to get them under control?’ We tell our kids, ‘If you see a move, it’s probably too late. You need to hit a move as (an opponent’s move) is appearing.’ That’s why you’re always moving on your setups and your reactions and wrestling through every position. It’s a battle for six minutes, and you’re always thinking ahead.”
While wrestlers push their bodies on the mats, they’re also constantly prepping and studying. They’re studying moves to use on opponents. They’re studying opponents at meets and tournaments, looking for a weakness to expose in a future match.
Perfecting a style
There are an abundance wrestling moves, from takedowns (single-leg, double-leg, ankle pick) to pins (half nelson, chicken wing, cradles). There’s moves to take your opponent down when you are on top, and how to escape when you are on bottom. There are moves, and variations of moves, in nearly every position a body can be on a wrestling mat.
Wrestlers also use different styles. Some stay on the offensive, constantly attacking, trying for takedowns and securing as many points as fast as possible. There are also defensive wrestlers who wait for their opponent to make a move or a mistake.
Learning moves and developing one’s preferred style comes from countless hours in a wrestling room, often beginning at a young age.
“Strategy is Day 1 stuff,” said Wells senior Eli Potter, who wrestles at 215 pounds. “I started when I was 4 years old. The first thing they teach you, in the Wells wrestling room at least, is a single-leg takedown, working stuff (while standing).
“Strategy is a huge part of this game. People really think (wrestling) is all about strength and muscling people around. Strength plays a good role in it, but I’d say 70-80 percent (of the sport is mental). You’ve got to know what you’re doing and you’ve got to take the time to actually practice the moves you want to hit.”
Camden Hills senior Landon Pease, who competes at 150 pounds, agreed.
“It took me a really long time (to develop my style), I’ve wrestled since third grade,” he said. “I’d say my style finally clicked my sophomore year, when I won states. Freshman year was tough. I just didn’t know if I wanted to be a defensive or offensive (wrestler). I finally found out that my offense is my defense, if I just keep attacking. Wrestle smart, don’t give up any points (while being aggressive).”
Finding a style is usually a collaboration between wrestlers and coaches.
“Every kid has a different personality and a different wrestling style as well,” Lindsay said. “You’ve got to understand their style, what they’re good at, and what they need to do to improve. It’s a constant second-guessing of, ‘Did this (move) work? Did it not work? How do we adjust it?'”

Mount View’s Grant Garnett, front, and Mt. Ararat/Brunswick’s Evan Kowalski grapple in a 126-pound match during a Jan. 8 meet in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“Thankfully, the internet has helped us stay up to date with what’s going on (with moves and styles). That’s always my worry as a coach, is if I get left behind, how do I keep improving myself, so I can improve (the wrestlers). It’s a year-long process.”
Keeping their eyes on the goal of placing at a state or New England tournament, wrestlers use the regular season as a science lab of sorts to test new moves.
“We usually have duals on Wednesdays, and Coach (Joe) Eon and Coach (Lucas) Labbe will have us try some of the new moves we learned in practice over those days,” said Massabesic sophomore Evan Boulard, who wrestles at 132 pounds. “I use a lot of my matches in the tournament to try new things that I might use in the postseason that might work well for me.”
Different bodies, different styles
Body type can also play a role in developing a style. Traditionally, lightweights are quick and agile, making them more apt to use leg takedowns on opponents.
“Speed has to be a huge part of your game, especially with the lightweights,” said Mt. Ararat/Brunswick sophomore Evan Kowalsky, who wrestles at 120 pounds. “They know how to scrap, they know how to move around. You really need to be quick on your feet, have quick hands and light feet. There’s (a motto) I go by, ‘Your feet need to be twice as quick as your hands, and your hands need to be twice as quick as your feet.'”
In the past, heavyweight wrestlers relied purely on strength to overtake an opponent. Today, heavyweights are showing more athleticism.
“It’s crazy. The other day I saw (a heavyweight) putting in a leg (takedown), and I’ve never seen that before,” Kowalsky said. “It’s cool how well-rounded the 285s, the 215s and the 190s are. Instead of just throwing kids around and hoping for the best, they’re really working technique. I’m really impressed with that.”
“A lot of kids see someone and go, ‘I’ve got to wrestle like that,'” Noble coach Kevin Gray said. “The beauty of this sport is, we’ve seen every body type be successful. Putting yourself in a position of what you’re good at, and what your body type is good for, is great in wrestling.
“For us, we don’t do a blanket statement of, ‘This is how everybody wrestles.’ We see where guys are at, how they interact in matches and see what they’re best at and raise that level first.”
Eon, who led Massabesic to the program’s fifth Class A title last season, tries to break up practices to fit different wrestling styles.
“You don’t want to just teach leg (takedowns) because you have a few tall guys who are good with legs,” Eon said. “You need to learn how to adapt to that and change your practices. It helps having different coaches in the (wrestling) room, being able to break up into groups and teach different styles. It’s more or less finding what their strengths are and working off of that. A lot of my wrestlers have been doing it for a while. I’m not trying to change what they do, I’m trying to build on what they already know, add a little bit more technique, maybe get them a little better than what they already know.”
Constant scouting
Wrestlers are constantly scouting potential opponents. At tournaments, if a wrestler isn’t at work on the mat, they’re at work in the stands, watching other matches, looking for an edge.
“When I’m at a meet, I’m just staying relaxed. I’m watching a lot of the matches in front of me, watching opponents I have next,” said Lawrence senior Colton Carter. “Learning their strategies, looking to be able to counter that.”
Added Pease: “Getting ready for states or big matches, getting ready for the first round, there’s a lot of research. You can look (online), watch their matches, know who they are. You need to learn how they wrestle and, not change your style, but adapt to their style. You need to know what they’re going to do and how to defend it, know how to attack from it.

Mount View’s Shane Goguen pins Mt. Ararat/Brunswick’s Danika Lavasseur to win a 113-pound match during a Jan. 8 meet in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“You can watch their feet, how they’re circling, if they’re crossing their feet (while moving around). If they’re crossing their legs on one side, you can push them on that one side and they’re going to be off balance. There’s an opening right there.”
Wrestlers say they are also their own worst critics.
“I need to work a lot on moving on my feet, that’s one of the strategies I’m trying to work on a lot (right now), I’m not getting there,” Kowalsky said.
Added Gardiner senior Kyle Doody: “I think everyone knows I like to do upper-body (moves). I don’t necessarily like to shoot legs, which is why I’m not very good at it, which is why I’m working on it.”
Putting so much work into strategy can sometimes lead to overthinking, an effect coaches commonly have to drill into their wrestlers.
“I’ve had matches like that growing up, or even now, I have matches where you just overthink when you wrestle, and you end up losing it,” Carter said. “The mental aspect of wrestling plays a crucial role, it’s really crazy to think about. If you overthink a move, you get stuck. You’ve just got to wrestle your own match.”
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