The Wrestler’s Arc

It’s late November 2023 and Andrik is preparing for practice. Little did he know his mistake would be in his stretching. He and his opponent are tussling; Andrik tries to attempt a move, but his opponent is heavier, so when he fell backwards, his back twisted at an angle too hard, so when the other person landed, he felt a searing pain like a hot rod was being pushed into his vertebrae; this led him to develop a bulging herniated disc, and it affected the way he walked and sat for months. He was only 20 when he had to give up wrestling as an assistant coach. He didn’t know then if he’d ever be able to get back on the mat. Now his back is mostly healed, and it looks promising that he’d be able to if and when he wanted. 

Early wrestling 

Andrik, 22, raised in Chicago, started off as a teen wrestler, who said practice was his favorite part because he was able to see the difference between the end of last season and the beginning of the new season because of all the hard work he put in between. Competition in the practice room is something that he misses: “We would be hurting and killing each other, then immediately after be cool about it because it’s a sport and we need partners to get better, which include teammates.” 

As a kid he was always into action, being a comic book nerd and a DBZ fan, so growing up he would be captivated seeing his landlord’s kid practicing in his uniform, as well as his wrestling pictures hung inside his house’s entrance walls; he imagined what it would be like to be a part of something that cool. At 138 lbs when he first started his freshman year, he was considered a light to middle weight and not too tall for his weight class. Being on the shorter side, he was always underestimated, but that helped with his wrestling technique because he had a low duck, single leg, reattack playstyle; it played to his advantage as they assumed he would be knocked over easily. 

Record-breaking achievements

Three certificates hang from his wall glistening in the light; they signify his last school year wrestling and are extra valuable due to the fact that wrestlers got individual certificates if they were at the top of a category, like escapes and reversals. They were the most awards he’s gotten in one ceremony, 1 for completing the season and two distinct awards for most wins and takedowns on the team. He holds them dear to his heart, as they remind him of the sacrifices and effort it took to get there. A value he learned while wrestling was if you really want something, you have to go above and beyond because it wasn’t always guaranteed that if you worked so hard, you’re going to win. “It’s considered the bare minimum in wrestling to put in the extra work.” 

When Andrik lost his captain spot, which he so desperately awaited his junior year to get, it made him feel humiliated. It played a part in his training as he prepared for his upcoming season. After all the work he put in previously showed him it wasn’t enough, he knew he had to do more. As the final season began, he was untouchable to those wrestling since youth and even the 285 lb weights unless they put in all their weight, so if the only way they could beat him was to sit on him, then it's considered a win in his book. 

A featured wrestling tale

On the first day of practice back as a senior, a new coach heard around that Andrik had been practicing elsewhere during the covid time. He was in a wrestling club that wasn’t associated with high school wrestling; Andrik was put up against the aspiring senior season captain so the coach could see what he was capable of.

“Every time I slammed them to the ground, I would just push his head down, look at the head coach, let him go, and repeat every single time because if he was going to use me as an example of why we shouldn’t do wrestling clubs, then I was going to prove him tremendously wrong. And that's how I established I was worthy of being captain, not because I beat up the “so-called” captain but because of the techniques that I was using.”

Halfway through the season the coach wanted to make Andrik the captain, but he declined mid-speech; if they took it away last season when he was trying his hardest, then they don’t deserve him now at his best, along with the dawning predicament of being a senior graduating soon and leaving for college. 

By the start of the season, Andrik had learned a whole new arsenal of moves, like a sidebar tilt, baseball slide fireman's carry, a single leg from an ankle pick, and a sweep single. Any time he got to execute those attacks, it was almost a guaranteed takedown because he would wrestle with people in Oak Forest, Illinois, and they are known for their state championships, state qualifiers, etc. While in the club he was paired with its varsity captain: “It was because of that guy; he would just go at it, and he’s been wrestling since he was 6, so I would observe his techniques and watch the way he would move. I was like, ‘If I want to be better, I have to do what he does and more.’”

—Akira S.