With the holiday essence in the air, the big Thanksgiving feast is coming up, and the Spartan wrestlers are having a hard time with the holidays. Any wrestler has to maintain a certain weight to wrestle in their duals, which makes feasting a little challenging.
Junior Liam Keen, in the 135-pound weight class, explains the difference between being a wrestler on Thanksgiving and not being a wrestler. With most wrestlers being off-weight and having to cut this holiday season, it shows the dedication they carry to the team.
“I used to pig out, now I have to be conservative [since I cut] of what I eat, but I’ve been doing it for so long it doesn’t really affect me anymore,” Keen said.
Without being able to eat whatever the players want, with anyone who doesn’t relate around, it can affect how the players actually eat. They come into the celebration thinking they might only eat some things rather than others or not eat anything at all. In reality, the wrestlers might eat way more than intended because their peers are pressuring them to eat more.
With the weight regulations, the team has to be careful on watching what they eat. Junior Trevor Miller explains he has to pick and choose what he eats to minimize the risk of becoming above the weight needed. This allows him to celebrate the holiday but still stay committed to his sport and team.
“I eat healthier foods, like salads and proteins instead of high-concentration fats and processed foods, then I train more so I can make up for the food I eat,” Miller said.
When saving themself from unhealthy foods and only eating macros such as protein, carbs and fat, they are allowing themselves to still eat when in celebration. Yet senior Matt Hopkins doesn’t have the problem of worrying about what he’s eating, due to the fact he wrestles heavyweight.
“I don’t typically bulk or cut since I’m right on the cusp… It doesn’t affect [how I celebrate] so I go as crazy as any other Thanksgiving,” Hopkins said.
Those who can eat whatever to have some allowance in what they can eat, like Hopkins, have it a little easier but those who aren’t as eligible depends how dedicated to the team you are and how much you are willing to commit.
“Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices for the bigger picture; it all depends on how much you want to dedicate to the team,” Miller said.
