For the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling team, their last practice started with a game of handball. While it may not be Olympic regulation handball, the game was clearly important, with head coach Barry Davis scoring the goals by giving a big two-handed fist pump.
“The game ended in controversy in overtime,” said redshirt senior Connor Medbery with a laugh.
His team, the shirts, ended up with that controversial victory. Some of those on the skins team did not agree with the coach’s final call, and some on the losing side asked me if the ball actually hit the goal (for the record, I did not see).
Regardless of the result of the handball game, the Badger coaches wanted to keep the practice right before the Big Ten tournament loose. Handball helps keep up the energy but not overwhelm the players.
“After training hard all season, it’s good to stay loose with the game of handball,” said senior Isaac Jordan.
The Badgers certainly brought the intensity to training last week, and were rewarded with two big wins against Michigan State and Central Michigan to finish the season. Assistant coach Trevor Brandvold says the goal for this week is try to have the team peak at the right time.
“After last week’s [hard training], we wanted to keep them still working, but keep their bodies loose. We want them to stay fresh [for the tournament], but still sweating,” Brandvold said.
Indeed, staying fresh for the matchup against some of the best wrestlers in the country will be no easy task. Teams such as Penn State and Ohio State await the Badgers in Bloomington, Ind. Despite their early season struggles against these top-ranked teams, the Badgers are coming into the weekend matches on a bit of a hot streak. As the winners of its last four matches, Wisconsin hopes to keep its momentum come the championship.
Speaking of momentum, Medbery is enjoying his hot streak as a Badger this year. He holds an impressive 22-0 record, despite missing last season. However, his absence did not come without some hiccups.
“The most challenging thing this season was adjusting back to the college system,” he said. “My goal is always to go out and win.”
Battle-tested and beaten, the 2017 Wisconsin season pushed players to the highest level. Even when Davis’s boys got struck by the injury bug or suffered close losses, they stood firm. It has been an enjoyable season, but most importantly, there are still battles to be fought.
“It’s sometimes hard to push through the exhaustion,” Isaac Jordan said. “But you know because of the work you put in, they’re going to be even more tired.”
2017 highlights a historical and statistical significance: For a decade, every team that claimed the Big Ten tournament proceeds to win the NCAA title. Despite this enormous pressure looming for the Big Ten, Coach Davis proclaimed his team’s last practice was the most relaxed this year. The Badgers and the rest of the Big Ten will look respond to the pressure Saturday and Sunday.
