Junior Joe Bradley has two seasons of wrestling under his belt and for his third season he is expected to dominate on the matt and perhaps make a run to qualify for state.
Yet being a good wrestler comes with time and hard work. Bradley spent the fall playing football, which kept him in great shape for the winter season, and he reviewed wrestling moves in his head so that they would be “second nature” to him.
“It takes a lot to be a good wrestler,” Bradley said.  “It is a very demanding sport. You need to commit to coming to practice every day and working, practicing your moves all the time making sure you can do them correctly in a match. You have to be more attentive to what you eat more so than other sports because you have to make a certain weight class.”
According to head coach Doug Verby, Bradley possesses many of these qualities making him a standout wrestler on the team.
“He has a great work ethic [and] ability to lead without talking a lot,” Verby said. “He basically just comes and works hard everyday. He’s getting over an injury with his knee, but he is able to come in just drill, work hard, never complain, and everyone just follows his lead. He leaves it all on the matt when he wrestles.”
Bradley’s number one goal this season is to place in the semi-finals at districts, qualifying for the state meet.
Thus far Bradley is performing well, but he discussed a few of his weaknesses including his struggle with thinking quickly during fast paced matches, some poor execution, and hesitation. However, Bradley also listed many of his strengths as a wrestler, including his quickness and strength.
“My biggest strength is actually my technique,” Bradley said. “Though it doesn’t stand out much as opposed to my strength or speed it is actually pretty good.”
Verby recognizes Bradley’s strengths and his improvements since last season. He hopes that Bradley will win a few tournaments before districts and then qualify for state.
“I’d love to see him qualify for state depending on how the weight classes match up,” Verby said. “He could definitely get to a point where he’s wrestling tough.”
In fact, Bradley’s favorite part of wrestling is the tournaments.
“My favorite thing about wrestling actually is the tournaments,” Bradley said. “I get a lot of wrestling done in one day and I learn a lot from the people I wrestle in tournaments such as a new pinning move or a setup to a takedown that I might be able to use in my next match. But even while I get a lot of learning out of a loss, it’s always nice to do well and place in the top three and get a medal in the end of it all.”
Bradley’s work ethic and commitment to the sport may earn him a spot at the State meet this year. He offered some advice for other student athletes looking to be successful.
“Stay committed and push yourselves and your teammates,” Bradley said “Even though wrestling is kind of an individual sport, we still have a team and if your not working neither is your partner.” 