Suhani Datta | The Chronicle
Dropping temperatures, shorter days and falling leaves mark the transition from summer to winter. For some Mason High School (MHS) athletes, the changing seasons also signal a shift from one sport to another.
Junior Cole Hugenberg is one of these athletes, transitioning from the football field to the wrestling mat. Hugenberg plays linebacker for the MHS Varsity football team. When football season ends, Hugenberg switches gears to wrestle for the MHS Varsity wrestling team, having to polish new skills for the winter season.
“I take [between] a week to a week and a half off [after football season],” Hugenberg said. “The biggest physical change is that football is just one explosive play [about] every six seconds, but you have to be able to do that for the whole match [in wrestling].”
Along with prioritizing rest and recovery, Hugenberg said he has learned to adapt to the different demands of a team and an individual sport. While Hugenberg understands what it takes to switch smoothly, he said the change brings forward new challenges and the need to shift his mindset.
“[In] football, you always have a teammate who has your back when you make a mistake,” Hugenberg said. “[Once], I missed a tackle, and one of my teammates came and made it right behind me, [so] he made up for my mistake. But in wrestling, you need to have trust in yourself, even after mistakes, because you’re out there alone.”
Hugenberg said he focuses on maintaining his weight when wrestling season begins rather than cutting weight to fit into a particular weight class. As a result, he is often one of the smaller competitors in his class. However, Hugenberg said this does not discourage him and instead motivates him to prove himself.
“It’s almost like I have the opportunity to [prove myself],” Hugenberg said. “Especially if they’re [expected] to beat me, I get an opportunity to shock everyone and beat someone that’s supposed to be better than me.”
Although football and wrestling require different types of athleticism, Hugenberg said the skills he develops in each sport complement the other. Football emphasizes explosive movements, while wrestling requires sustained effort and body control.
“Football [trains me] in explosiveness,” Hugenberg said. “Wrestling helps a lot with body awareness and endurance. That body awareness helps [me] not get injured and know what [I’m] doing on the field.”
During this transition, the wrestling department works to accommodate athletes coming straight from the fall season. MHS wrestling head coach Nicholas Maffey said that the program uses a tapering method to ease athletes into a new sport.
“The first week is usually just some conditioning: tempering their bodies, taking shots, low-resistance stuff,” Maffey said. “And then that second week, we phase them back in, as opposed to actual competition on the mat.”
Maffey said wrestlers also have access to a four-day lifting split designed by MHS strength coach Trenton Smart, with some athletes attending formal classes, such as Strength Training, during the school day while others train independently.
“We try to get all our [wrestlers] in the strength conditioning class, but it can’t fit into everyone’s schedule,” Maffey said. “So right now, we’re lifting twice a week to try to maintain [muscle] rather than build it.”
Maffey said he encourages athletes to participate in multiple sports. He said that, rather than being an extra burden on a student’s shoulders, being a multi-sport athlete helps avoid burnout.
“I go to all the Friday night football games just to show them that I’m happy to watch them compete at different levels,” Maffey said. “I think [being a multi-sport athlete] is really important, [because] if you’re only focused on the same thing [the whole year], that can definitely burn you out.”
Sophomore Brooklyn Meinberg faces a similar transition between fall and winter sports. As an outside hitter on the MHS Varsity volleyball team, she joins the junior Varsity basketball team after volleyball season. With volleyball postseason play recently concluding, Meinberg said the schedule leaves her with little time to rest before basketball.
“[During the volleyball postseason,] I have [about] a week off, and then we’ll play until we lose,” Meinberg said. “Basketball has already started, so I kind of miss out on that.”
Meinberg said that she has to make extra efforts to catch up with the rest of her basketball team. She said that basketball training is also a pivot from her volleyball practices because the two sports demand different physical skills.
Having played Varsity volleyball since her freshman year, Meinberg said her commitment to the sport has led her to consider whether continuing basketball is worthwhile. However, she said she discovered that playing multiple sports has made her a better athlete overall.
“I’ve definitely thought about quitting basketball,” Meinberg said. “When I made Varsity for volleyball as a freshman, I really fell in love with it, and I know that I want to do it in college. But I decided to keep [going] with it because it’s helping my cardio stay up for volleyball, [especially during] long sets.”
Beyond the physical benefits, Meinberg said she enjoys both sports because of her relationships with teammates and coaches. Now in her second year as a volleyball and basketball player, she said that she feels like a valuable part of both communities.
“I love all my teammates and both my coaches,” Meinberg said. “I go from one big group to another, and everyone’s just very welcoming. [The basketball team] welcomes me too, even though I miss a little bit [of practice].”
For Hugenberg, the decision to continue playing football and wrestling comes down to more than the benefits each sport provides. He said his enjoyment of both sports makes specializing in just one an unlikely choice.
“Maybe if I quit one, I’d be a lot better [at the other],” Hugenberg said. “But I don’t feel like I would ever quit either just to focus on one. I love playing football so much, I wouldn’t quit it just to focus on wrestling.”
