Turning up the HEAT: Tournaments, camps keep teams in shape

Arnold coach Jeff Skipper underscored the need for high school wrestlers to take full advantage of summer training opportunities.

“Last year, we had four guys make it to state and they all wrestled all summer,” Skipper said. “It used to be you could have a chance if you didn’t work all summer. Now it’s almost like it’s at a pro level.

“Honestly, if you want to be competitive, successful in the winter and fall, you’ve got to practice all summer. A lot of teams don’t and lot of teams are not that good. For me, it’s the most important thing. You get a kid in peak condition and then he’s dormant for five or six months? After our season was over we were back on the mat the next week. The successful programs, that’s how they do it.”

Skipper oversees two clubs run during the summer that feed Arnold’s program. Back in Black mostly is for younger wrestlers, elementary school and middle school ages, even though there are no school-sponsored programs at those age levels.

Skipper said that David Cozad is the director of Back in Black and Rich McClanahan helps run the program. Skipper estimated a core of about 10-20 kids practice  Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m.

The Tropical Thunder club basically is the Marlins high school squad, with 12-14 wrestlers meeting Monday and Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. Both groups travel to participate in tournaments, another key experience during summer training.

Mosley coach Ryan Dufrain runs the PC Elite club at Mosley, with practices on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Those groups actually are more year-round than just summer shoulder seasons for the sport.

PC Elite participated in a tournament last weekend and summer camps augment that experience. Skipper said that Clarion University Coach Keith Moore, the uncle of former Arnold state placer Nick Moore, recently conducted a camp at Arnold and brought six of his college wrestlers along.

“We use the summer, one, to stay in shape,” Skipper said. “And it’s new moves, new techniques to perfect over the summer. If you get beat in the summer trying something new it’s not a big deal. It’s not like you want to try a new move the week before state.”

Skipper said that he’s fortunate to have Marcello Pallomo help with Tropical Thunder, as he also has summer duties as a Marlin assistant football coach. Coaches donate their time during the summer, he said.

He said that the program holds fundraisers to help defray travel costs in the summer, and that parents help out with transportation and other expenses. Participants in the recent camp at Arnold paid $200 to attend, Skipper said.

“It’s one thing to lay off for a week, but if you haven’t done what you need to do over the summer chances aren’t very good for you against the people who have,” Skipper said.

He said the club has competed in two tournaments in Tallahassee and is looking for events in Central Florida this summer.

Common practice

Soccer teams are bolstered by strong local youth programs, diluting the need for school-related practice during the summer months. Some coaches prefer to have a group that basically will comprise their squad in the upcoming season play as a team in various age-group divisions.

“The more they play together the better they perform as a team,” Bay boys coach Ron Houpt said. “We have some that play year-round.

“We play as a club team, as do most of the high schools. Mosley sends theirs to Bay United. Rutherford and Arnold have done that for a couple years. Most of the coaches are the high school coaches.”

Otherwise, summers offer time for community-related camps that can pay dividends in future seasons.

“We’ve had a core group of four or five kids come back every summer,” Houpt said. “They started when they were six and we moved up with them.”

Bay girls coach Blythe Carpenter said she tried to implement a summer training program for Tornadoes’ players, but had a difficult time getting a consistent response.

Her athletes also gain added experience with club teams, that she tries to enhance with attending summer camps.

“A lot of my girls participate in Bay United select teams over the summer,” she said. “We do run a camp in June for the community that the girls help out with, and we’ll attend the camp in Tallahassee in July.”

Cost for that team camp is $400 per player, she said.

“All the other stuff takes place once we return to school,” Carpenter said. “We start with preseason conditioning during September two or three times a week, a lot of running, which pretty much is getting ready for tryouts.”