you guys can keep doing what youâve been doing. The rest of you, learn your new weight class. I posted them in the locker room. You got it?â
A few guys say, âWe got it.â
âWhat? I didnât hear you!â
âWe got it!â they roar.
âAnd another thingâthis year, on the line is in-bounds. So you guys have more room to wrestle. Got it?â
âGot it!â
âGood. Now today, weâre going to work on penetration,â says Greco.
âWorked on it last night,â says Bones with a grin.
Everyone laughs.
Greco ignores him. âLetâs get a definition of penetration.â
The gym is quiet.
âYou mean the kind at wrestling?â cracks Bones.
More chuckles. Even Grecoâs smiling.
âThatâs easy,â says Jimmy. âItâs when you get in close enough to a wrestler to take a guy down.â
Greco pats Jimmyâs crew cut. âRight, forward motion through your opponent, directed at his hips, will result in penetration. Good penetration will put you completely past your opponent before he can react.â Greco looks into the faces of the wrestlers. âI need a victim.â
Trevor Crow raises his hand.
âTrevor,â says Greco. âUp here for a demo.â
Diggy mouths the words âKiss-ass.â
Trevor takes a ready position and pushes his hair from his eyes. The only wrestler with hair past his shoulders. The only Indian not from India in the school. In an instant, Greco, in his chinos and Minute Men shirt, shoots in and is holding one of Trevorâs legs in the air. âThe trick is to anticipate where your opponent is going to be and then shoot in that direction,â says Greco.
They pair off for live wrestling. Greco sticks Diggy with Trevor Crow. Diggy knows that Trevor would rather be wrestling anyone else. Not that Diggy could give a fat fart. Last year, Trevor was cut from the varsity squad. So Trevor has no right to pick and choose anyone or anything. Trevor was an eleventh grader on the JV team, which equals total humiliation, no varsity letter, no jacket, and no girls.
Diggy shoots in and slams his shoulder against Trevorâs knee.
âHey, watch it,â says Trevor. âI wasnât ready.â
âWhy donât you cut your hair or wear a hair net?â Diggy doesnât wait for a response. He shoots for Trevorâs legs and wonders how Trevor got so big over the summer.
Trevor holds him off. Diggy falls forward on his hands and knees.
âHey Tonto, how much do you weigh?â Diggy wants to tick him off. Guys make mistakes when they get angry.
âOne-fifty-one.â Trevor wipes his forehead with his palm.
Diggy stares across the wrestling room at the Wall of Champions. âYou realize Iâm wrestling one-fifty-two,â he says. âYou got that, Chief?â
Trevor holds his ground and swallows. âI told you about that. You call me that again, Iâll report you.â
âTo who?â
âTo Coach Greco.â
Diggy sighs. âLook, Trevor, the team canât have two guys at one-fifty-two. Only one can start. Iâm not splitting the weight class with you.â
âI know how it works.â Trevor winces and glances toward the clock. âLetâs wrestle.â
âWhy donât you start eating and go all the way to one-seventy?â Greco sounds the whistle. The wrestlers begin to grapple. âAnswer me, or are you too stupid to understand?â Diggy gets right into Trevorâs ugly mug. âI own one-fifty-two,â he says. âSo you might as well go home and eat a frickinâ buffalo, because youâre not taking my spot.â Trevor takes a step back. Without warning, Diggy springs forward and into Trevorâs knees, knocking him over. Trevorâs head thumps the padded wall.
Trevor rubs his head. âWhatâs with you?â he asks. âYou keep it up and
Dawne Prochilo, Dingbat Publishing, Kate Tate