Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a wrestler? Competitive, intense, and fun are some ways people have described the sport. The coach of the Federal Hocking Lancers wrestling team, Kevin Sheridan, said that his wrestling career was pretty good. He started wrestling in 1982, his sophomore year, and kept wrestling through his senior year and almost went to states but just missed it by one match.
Sheridan can still recall his first meet ever.
“I was wrestling a guy from Athens who was heavyweight, before the match even started he busted his own nose and licked the blood, but sometimes that’s the mindset you have to go into with.”
He became interested in wrestling because it was a way to stay in shape for football, but he was quick to fall in love with it. Sheridan has been a coach for seven years and coaches middle school girls and high school boys. He said that his first meet as a coach was very intense but also very interesting. He has advice for wrestlers.
“Your coach can teach you all the moves and techniques and all that they know, but you’re the one who has to go out there and do it. Just try it, have fun, give it your all and that’s all you can do.”
Sheridan really wants to expand the team, especially the girl’s team. The girl’s team started out with four girls but only one stayed, and that girl was Journey Hall.
Hall is in 8th grade; she’s been wrestling for two years now and she really likes it. She said that her first meet was very confusing because there were only high schoolers and also every guy was a football player. When asked what her relationship with her team is like she says that it was very awkward at first, but as time went on she got closer with everyone and they have a good bond now. She is also close with her coach and said that whatever she says goes and she gets Pepsi whenever she wants! Hall had a pretty good season, but said that it was scary and hard at first. Hall said that her way to stay in a good mindset after losing a match is to calm down for a little while and then see friends from other schools. Since there are no girls on the FH team, she trains with Athens and everyone there is kind until she gets on the mat. She said that compared to girls, boys don’t have good sportsmanship, especially when they lose to a girl. Hall has advice for new wrestlers.
“If you’re upset that we yell at you then don’t do it. At some points, you’re just gonna have to be mean because some of those girls are mean even off the mat, but if you’re in a good mindset, then things will go well.”
Another wrestler on the team is 9th grader Adam Gilchrist. This was Gilchrist’s first year wrestling. He said that the first practice was during the summer and he just showed up and that it was an open mat kind of thing and that it wasn’t that hard, but the first real practice was hard. He said there was a lot of motion sickness and throwing up. Gilchrist said that now it’s a lot easier and he’s become more accustomed to it all and learning all the moves and now it’s just kinda a fun time with his friends. At his first meet, he was in a different weight class and his first match was fun. He and his competitor talked to each other about how they were excited to wrestle each other in the future.
“I lost but I wasn’t discouraged because it was my first match so who cares.”
Gilchrist also plays two other sports, he says it’s not that hard to correlate his other sports because his coaches are very understanding, but on meet days it’s hard because sometimes he would have to leave his wrestling meets for his band obligations. Gilchrist also offered advice for someone who wants to wrestle.
“Know what you’re doing, it’s going to be weird your first time because there’s so much going on that you don’t understand. There’s a lot to know about wrestling like weight distribution and specified moves. You also need to know how the sport works in general and how to get the advantage over people, but overall if you just let your body go and turn off your brain you’ll be fine.”
Lizzy Gilchrist is Adams’ sister, who is also the team manager and photographer. She said she started by sitting and watching Adam wrestle and it brought her closer to the coaches and realized that the wrestling team needs more recognition.
“When the coaches offered that I could record the matches for him as someone who has never played a sport in my high school career or been a part of any club, being a small part of the wrestling team made me feel like I was a part of something.”
Tre Scott, Jonah Murphy, Evan Pinkerton, Owen Black, Brayden Smith and Max Sisson were also on the wrestling team for the 2024-2025 season.
So, when next wrestling season comes around make sure to show your love and support to the Federal Hocking wrestlers!
