September 16, 2009

Hello Wrestlers and Parents,

Let me start by welcoming all our return Wrestlers and their parents back to another season of Wrestling and all it encompasses. This will be my seventh year at Westlake I’m seeing an incredible growth in our program this year. We have a new group of incoming Wrestlers this year most of which are freshman. From a coaching perspective this is excellent; they seem to all be strong and excited about Wrestling. With commitment and good old fashion hard work I’m sure their Wrestling experience will be a positive one.

I’d like to also welcome the new Wrestler’s parents to our program. I say our program because of the unprecedented help I receive from the parents, athletes and coaches. I encourage parents that want to be part of our success to get involved as soon as possible with our Booster Club. We hold monthly Booster meetings. This is by far the best way to get hands on into the meat and potatoes of Westlake Wrestling and the parents that support our team. This year there are positions that need to be filled. I look forward to meeting new parents at our next Booster meeting. I credit a huge amount of our success and growth to our Booster parents. The Booster Club is always in need of moms and dads to get involved to insure the future of this great sport at Westlake. Let me thank all that are presently involved for all you do.

There are a few things I would like all our Wrestlers to get involved in pre season

1. Make sure your academics are in order so you don’t have to stress over poor grades. The lowest grade point average to participate is a 2.0 however I don’t encourage mediocrity so strive to be the best student you can. Wrestlers per capita hold a higher grade point average than any other high school sport.

2. Make sure you are eating and hydrating properly every day so your body is getting the things it needs to function at its maximum performance.

3. Get your cardio work outs in while away from school. You can start by laying out a one to three mile course starting from your front door. Run for a minimum of 30 minutes at each work out try to increase the distance you run in that time frame. It can be fun and challenging at the same time. Your goal is to run a six minute mile.

4. Weight train as much as possible. Use light weights and do lots of reps to increase speed and agility.

5. Get to bed as early as possible. Your body will need to recover with the training we will be doing. Eating and resting are very important in any training program. I know it may be hard to make time for training and homework. I believe that your successes will require sacrifice, which in the end makes it that much sweeter.

6. Hygiene is imperative. You are responsible to keep your body clean and your hair and nails cut. We want to prevent any skin infections on our mats so shower after every Wrestling session. There will be Infection Prevention information in your Wrestling packets handed out at parent night.

7. Attend off season wrestling practice and freestyle tournaments.

We will be having parent night this year on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7:00pm in the Wrestling room / Mezzanine. The parent meeting is mandatory for all Wrestlers and parents that want to participate in the up coming season. At the meeting you and your Wrestler will:

1. Meet the coaching staff

2. Get fitted and order uniforms

3. Pay Wrestling and uniform fees

4. Learn participation expectation

5. Discuss fundraising activities

6. Explore volunteer opportunities

Westlake Wrestling’s website is www.WestlakeHighWrestling.com and will be updated as new information is made available.

Lastly, every Tuesday and Thursday at Westlake there is off season Wrestling from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. It’s an excellent way to improve your technique and get ready for the up coming season. All athletes that are not in a fall sport are expected to attend. We will be holding these practices up to the start of our Wrestling season which starts on Friday, November 13th. Wrestling try outs will be held from November 16th through the 20th. Always remember you will get out of this sport and out of life, exactly what you put into it. Champions train when no one is looking

On behalf of my coaching staff and myself let me thank you for your participation in Westlake Wrestling, let’s have a great season. “Work Hard, Be Smart, Show Respect, Go Westlake!”

Sincerely

Head Coach John Cuccia

Cucciaidn@aol.com

805.241.3641 (h)

805.443.5108 (c)