LJ wrestling: Unique health issues

Head Coach Kellen Delaney (left), and new
assistant coaches Isaac Pumajero (with his
wife in background) and Junior Lara
at a preseason team event.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Insisting that "wrestling is the hardest sport," Mike Bomberger, second-year assistant coach for La Jolla High, talked about the need for proper nutrition with parents of Vikings wrestlers attending the preseason team potluck Nov. 9.

"Nutrition is important," the father of sophomore wrestler Buzzy Bomberger told his audience of 15 or so parents at the event in Bay Park. "Nutrition is going to be important all season.

"We don't want simple sugars," which don't have lasting benefit. "We want complex foods. You have a lot of (knowledgeable) people here (indicating the coaches). We all know a lot about nutrition, so you can ask any of us for help."

Said the elder Bomberger, "The snack bar at tournaments is not going to have food that will be good for a wrestler. Pizza is not what they need."

Ryan Lindenblatt, a campus teacher who just returned from deployment in the Navy, advised on time management.

"Time management is essential for a wrestler during wrestling season. Grades come first, but getting projects done on time enables them to show up (for practice). When they're there for practice, they make their practice partner better."

The former head coach, who led the program prior to current coach Kellen Delaney, said, "You've heard the phrase, 'Iron sharpens iron.' You're only as good as your practice partner."

Another health issue addressed at the team dinner, besides healthy eating habits, was prevention and care for skin issues.

"We wipe down the mats everyday," said Delaney. "But the best thing is that your athlete showers as soon as he gets home every night. If he waits around, that's where a problem can happen."

A parent asked about a skin product. "There are several skin products you can buy that are good," responded Delaney, covering several subjects of importance at the potluck/meeting. "We can tell you what those are."

Mike Bomberger added, "If your athlete showers right when they get home, that will prevent problems. If they wait, then it can become a problem in the household."

CIF wrestling officials check participants' skin as part of their pre-meet inspection during the season. They also check the length of wrestlers' fingernails. Wrestlers strip down to underwear for the private check-in, usually in the campus locker room, so that any skin problems are visible and apparent.

As a note, La Jolla High hasn't had a girl wrestler for a few seasons, so the pre-meet checks haven't required a separate location for girls. Some neighboring schools have girl wrestlers, including University City High's team.

According to a coach at the potluck, CIF has ruled that girls and boys don't wrestle against each other. Delaney, asked later about it, said it appears to be a conference-by-conference decision within the San Diego Section.

Finally, the so-called "weight assessment" for LJHS wrestlers will take place Wed., Nov. 13, at Clairemont High. The purpose of the assessment is to establish a healthy baseline weight for each individual wrestler. Then, through the season, the student athlete's weight is monitored, to avoid drastic weight loss.

Until the weight assessment was derived, it was a common practice for wrestlers to deny themselves food and carry on arduous sauna-type weight-drop approaches to get down to weight for meets. Wrestlers were known to stick a finger down their throat to induce vomiting; put on plastic suits and run for hours in heated confines; and other methods.

After some health incidents became public, officials realized something had to be done to prevent further crises due to severe weight drop.

"This is so people lose weight at a responsible rate," Delaney explained to the parents.

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"We are no longer able to have practice before school," the head coach announced. "It's a new City Conference rule." The purpose, apparently, is to guard students' health and strive toward preventing double sessions that could endanger athletes' health.

After-school practice will run from 3:30 (last period lets out at 3:16) to 5:45 p.m.

The Vikings' first dual meet is scheduled for Wed., Dec. 18, at home against Patrick Henry. The first competition comes Sat., Nov. 16, at the Rancho Bernardo Takedown Tournament.