After waking up at 5:15 AM Saturday morning and getting prepared for the day, Colin Jocek goes to the high school for the day’s wrestling meet. Jocek and his teammates load themselves onto the buses and leave for their meet. After all the matches are done for the day, they get on the buses and head back to the school, ready to do it all over the next week.

Jocek is a freshman wrestler at Revere High School. Jocek is nearing the end of his eighth season. Jocek, along with several other classmates, has been wrestling since elementary school. Jocek is not the only one in his family to have wrestled. His godfather and uncle both have been wrestlers themselves.

Jocek, inspired to join by his friends who also wrestled, began wrestling at a young age.

“I started wrestling in first grade. I wasn’t good at other sports and most of my friends were wrestling at the time, so I thought I should join up. I hadn’t considered my future with wrestling back then,” Jocek said. 

During the season, Jocek has to make some changes to his schedule to stay on top of his day-to-day.

“I wake up, get to school, sometimes I can eat if I have enough time before an event. Then we have a two-hour practice after school. We have meets each week; the practices usually are stepped up in intensity to prepare for those. Then rinse and repeat. A big part is having to focus on your weight a lot because of how important weight classes are for the team and yourself,” Jocek said.

Jocek has stayed with wrestling since then and has recently finished his eighth season this year.

“Some of the things that keep me in wrestling are the sport’s physicality. Wrestling is different from a lot of other sports, in terms of how you behave outside of the sport and during practices. It takes a lot of responsibility to succeed in the sport, and coaches always hold you accountable. A lot of my friends are wrestlers which helps me stick with the sport when it gets rough,” Jocek said.

One of Jocek’s teammates, Aidan Jones shared his experience wrestling with Jocek.

“Colin’s a good friend of mine, and we’ve known each other for almost a decade now. He’s my wrestling partner, and we’re always competing and trying to get better,” Jones said.

Jocek has made many fond memories of wrestling just this year alone.

“I had my first varsity win as a freshman. The first varsity event this year was the two-day Independence tournament, which was really big for team bonding. Sometimes during practice, we play dodgeball or battle ball. Battle ball is where someone has the ball and each person can only take two steps,” Jocek said

Jocek shared some advice on how to stick to a sport or activity when things get hard.

“First, stop and think. How much does that sport affect your life? What would you do differently, and finally is it worth it to give up? You have to remember why you’re doing it in the first place,” Jocek said.

Jocek as a student-athlete has to manage his free time wisely to succeed in wrestling and school.

“School comes first. If I have a subject I’m struggling in, I focus on that and make sure to keep my grades up. Simple organizing and making a schedule helps with schoolwork. I try to finish as much work in study hall as possible. Any free time before or after practice is [devoted to] homework so I can focus on wrestling more and relax later,” Jocek said.

There are several qualities in successful wrestlers that Jocek has recognized over the years.

“Effort, going as hard as you can from the start of practice to the end is a big one. Effort will always outshine skill in wrestling. You’ve got to turn on the switch as soon as you walk onto the mat. Mentally you have to want to win and want to learn, mistakes are in the past, learn from them, and don’t focus on them. They keep progressing, and they put in work outside of the season. Then of course these people also keep their grades acceptable, most of them at least,” Jocek said.

Throughout the years, Jocek’s thoughts about the sport changed as did the importance of the sport to him.

“Wrestling in youth was totally different from now. There was much less responsibility on and off the mat. In middle school, things changed, we had new coaches and different practices. We got more responsibilities put on us to practice harder, cut weight and the competition got harder as well. Now in high school, it’s similar: different coaches, four years of wrestlers practicing together, and aiming for varsity positions as well,” Jocek said.

Former teammate John Samartano, a Freshman at Walsh, talked about wrestling and Jocek.

“Colin is a practical wrestler. He is very determined to succeed in wrestling, and he always focuses hard outside of the season just as much during the season,” Samartano said.

In high school, if someone wants to succeed in meets they have to succeed in practice. Varsity spots on a team are chosen before a meet by sparring at practice.

“Varsity positions aren’t assured either; you have to wrestle someone for that spot. You wrestle someone in your weight class with that position, if you win twice you get the spot, if you lose once as an underclassman you wrestle junior varsity for that meet,” Jocek said.

For those interested in wrestling, Jocek has some warnings before they try out.

“It’s a hard commitment, you need to be mentally tough for practices as well. It’s more mental toughness than just pushing your body. The attitude you take towards something always determines your outcome,” Joeck said.

Jocek now looks forward to his next season wrestling as a Sophomore. 

“With everything new I’ve learned this year, I can use it to keep building on myself and to improve even more for next year. All I can say is that I’m excited for the future,” Jocek said.