Cody Hummer’s “Life as a High School Wrestler” Journal

Editor’s Note: Cody Hummer, a junior from Savannah (Mo.) High School is spending the season sharing his thoughts about being a high school wrestler. The 2010 Missouri state champion recently talked with WIN editor Mike Finn about his current high school season, which focused more on the dual meet season for Savannah High School; shortly after the 119-pounder finished fourth at the KCI Tournament in Kansas City before Christmas.

WIN: In starting a new year, you really get into your high school schedule, where you wrestle many double and triple duals on one night. Do you like that format or would you rather focus on just one wrestler per night?

CODY: I enjoy getting as many matches as possible in one night. Having Tri and Quad matches, you get some time to see your competition before you wrestle them. So the advantage goes to the wrestler who can break down the match and know what he needs to do in a short amount of time. Personally, I enjoy this.

WIN: Between Jan. 1 and the start of post-season competition on Feb. 11, your high school team will compete in 19 duals (on eight dates) and three tournaments (on three dates). Do you like competing that often or would you rather spend more time training and competing perhaps once a month (over a three-day period) as you may do in freestyle?

CODY: The way the freestyle season goes is my favorite style. I work basically all summer and it comes down to a couple of key tournaments. At the same time, I like competing quite a bit because it’s what you train so hard for. Over the course of the year, it is fun to get the mix of one season that is full of matches and the other “season” that is all train and smaller amounts of competition. Although I like the freestyle season more, training and wrestling during the high school season is more important in my opinion because that’s how the college season works.

WIN: In the midst of the high school regular season, you also competed in the highly competitive KCI tournament. How hard is it to change gears for an event like that? Does your fourth-place finish affect how you compete the rest of your junior season?

CODY: We all go through tournaments that we are not satisfied. I have questioned what I did right and what I did wrong. I have to look at how I cut weight, how I trained, was I ready mentally and my conditioning. The largest problem I have is 90 percent of my matches through the year are not as strong asn I get a little sloppy with my technique. When I run into the 5-to-10 percent of the matches that are tougher, I have to remember that I need to focus more on the technique aspect. The high school season all over the country is set up this way. When I wrestle for the club team through the year, we wrestle at the best tournaments so I have to be on top of my game for every one of those matches.

WIN: In dual competitions, the starting weight is usually determined by a draw. Does it matter to you where your weight is picked? Has there been any times where your weight was picked last and your outcome determined the team dual? If so, did you feel more pressure or did you enjoy the pressure.

CODY: I enjoy the pressure of being first in the dual because I understand that the outcome of my match will set the pace and energy for the rest of the matches. On the other side, wrestling last is also a fun challenge because if it is close, I know I will do whatever it takes to get the “W” for the team.

WIN: Have you ever wrestled any different knowing your outcome also affects the team score?

CODY: I’m going to say no because I normally wrestle every match with the same attitude to score my points and put them away, being in all of my comfortable and strongest positions.

WIN: How do you try to dominate an opponent who may “stall” to prevent finding himself on his back if he opens up?

CODY: The top position from my younger brother, Seth, is very different from mine. He is more forceful and has more pressure. He can really hurt a person from the top position. I remember a couple years ago, Seth was dominating his opponent on top in a tournament in southern Missouri. After the match, his opponent could not move his shoulder very well for the rest of the tournament. I love learning from others and what they are good, especially from my brothers.

WIN: In early December, you recorded your 100^th career high school victory. How much does that number mean to you? Have you thought about how many victories you could have before your high school career is over?

CODY: It is nice to have the 100^th win. It’s another step throughout my high school career. I give all the credit to my great coaching throughout the year. I want to have over 200 wins before my senior year is over; God willing and good health.

WIN: Talk about your current training. How much strength training do you do right now? Or is it simply technique that you focus on?

CODY: My strength training really occurred after Fargo. Now my strength training is more focused on maintaining. Altogether, working on my recent mistakes and technique is my main focus right now.

WIN: Regarding moves, do you find yourself testing new moves this time of the year or would you rather focus on polishing your favorite moves?

CODY: I absolutely love going on Flowrestling and seeing techniques from the best technicians in the country. It is my favorite thing to do; to find something new and implement it into my comfortable positions. I try not to learn a lot of new technique this far through the season, because I understand I need to focus on my strong and comfortable positions.

WIN: What goals did you set for your New Year’s resolution?

CODY: I am on the back side of the ladder now that I am a junior in high school. Every thing I do is preparing me to wrestle in college. With that in mind, my New Year’s resolution for 2011 is to be on the mat every day. So far, so good.