The atmosphere throughout tournament week is filled with anticipation and excitement as the Kalani High School wrestling team prepares for their weekly tournament. To wrestlers, it’s not just about the fight on the mat, but the preparation.

Wrestling is a mentally strong sport that requires a mentality of rock and steel and not just a body made of it.

“I realized that visualizing the matches before they happened ended up boosting my confidence and preparing me for the insane battle my mind will go through in the match,” Colton Yamato (11) says. “When my matches kicked off, I ended up using moves I imagined in my head.”

Visualization is a mental strategy that helps wrestlers settle nerves and lower anxiety when thinking about the competition. However, Kalani wrestler Devin Grune (11) prioritizes practice.

“I mean visualizing does make it a little more bearable when I’m super stressed about a match, but I think when I try super hard in practice or lifting weights, I end up better in both areas,” Grune states. “I think it’s definitely because when I try hard it makes me believe in myself more as well as conditioning my body.”

It’s safe to say that at this point, mental and physical preparation go hand-in-hand when preparing for a tournament.

“Since I’m a first-year wrestler I didn’t understand any preparation techniques before tournaments,” Evan Nojiri (11) confesses. “When we were practicing earlier in the week and drilling takedowns, I was way too lazy than I should have and when I got home right after, I wouldn’t think two thoughts about the upcoming tournament and I would just go on my phone instead.”

So while wrestling is a competitive and technical sport, wrestling is also a test of an athlete’s ability to prepare for the war ahead. In this way, tournaments are more than just competition, but a day where weeks of mental and physical stress combine to create something special for everyone.