The 2024 wrestling season for the Prior Lake Lakers recently kicked off, but some changes need to be made to account for the much larger number of wrestlers joining the team this year.
The team currently has 64 wrestlers, with 11 on the varsity lineup and the other 53 on the junior varsity. Along with this large team, it brings challenges that need to be overcome.
There are many different factors that contributed to this surge of new and returning wrestlers.
Head coach Joe Block said, “I would like to think that our program is like a family, and there are a lot of kids that came out this year to belong to something.”
Having this family bond is a significant part of the wrestling program. This sense of connection among the team creates a supportive environment for wrestlers of all experience levels to have a fun time while improving their skills day-to-day.
Team leaders play a crucial role in the program, whether by setting up team bonding experiences, pushing everyone to be better at practice, or connecting the team together.
“Our upperclassmen are pretty good about setting up some of these team bonding things. Practices as well, we run our practices together with the new guys along with some of our more experienced kids. I think they enjoy that feeling of being part of a team, part of a group,” Block said.
An example of a leader inside the wrestling room is varsity captain Brock Zurn. Zurn pushes his teammates to improve every day, not just inside the practice room but also outside, being one of the main wrestlers setting up team bonding events.
“The biggest leaders are the people that push each other hardest in the room, work hard at practice, put everything they have out on the mat, and are generally just great people that bring positive energy to the team,” Zurn said.
While the team’s strong sense of connection seems unaffected by the roster size, adapting to the demands of having this large of a team has resulted in necessary changes to the way practices and tournaments are handled.
“It definitely affects us in practice because the room is so full, so it’s hard to do some of the warm-ups, and when we go to tournaments, it’s hard to get a full warm-up because there is a lack of space,” Zurn said.
The size of the wrestling room seems to be one of the biggest obstacles when it comes to everyday practice and going to the different tournaments. However, the coaching staff is making changes to account for this.
“Our live wrestling is the main thing, having more groups of three just because it’s hard for all sixty kids to get on the mat with single partners, so it’s kind of nice to have one guy out,” Block said.
The season started with a very strong win over Rosemount at the first home dual. On the following Saturday, the Lakers won the 59th annual Ellsworth Invitational with a combined total of 182 team points. The team also recently took 6th place out of 32 teams at the Rogers tournament over winter break and 3rd place at the Elk River invitational.
Having this big of a team doesn’t seem to be slowing down the Lakers at all.
