In only their third season as a program, California High School Pintos and Lady Pintos wrestling made a move April 14 by hiring assistant football coach John Heimann as their new coach.
Throughout the summer, Heimann hosted wrestling camps for his wrestlers to get them in shape for the upcoming 2022-23 season. With California hosting their first meet Tuesday, the wrestlers are hoping to use what they have learned in the off-season under Heimann and take it to the mat.
"We've been working really hard over the last few months to get into wrestling shape more than anything else. There's a difference between running all the time and being able to wrestle for six minutes straight. We've also been working with our team on wrestling for six straight minutes and scoring throughout those six minutes," Heimann said. "We've added some stuff here and there with working on moves to get us in better positions to score points. It's been the basics of a match that we've been paying attention to and getting into shape more and more is going to help us out with that."
What has also helped Heimann in his first season with California wrestling is the expansion of the program. California has grown from eight wrestlers to 24 wrestlers going into the 2023 season.
The Pintos had two wrestlers, Patrick Morrow and Kwynnon Duvall, qualify for the State Tournament in 2022. Heimann would like to get more of his wrestlers to state this year and have at least one wrestler medal in Districts and hopefully medal again at State.
"I think something that we have this year that we didn't have before is to fill an entire lineup. We're pretty close to that. Hopefully, we'll have a guy go down a weight class and fill out every class," Heimann said. "We've got a larger number than some of the teams in our districts and I think that will be beneficial for us moving forward."
As a first-year head coach of wrestling, Heimann wants to spread the word about wrestling in California during his tenure. Being a former wrestler, Heimann knows how to win matches and how important the sport is to everyone who competes. Heimann wants to bring the joy and competitiveness of wrestling up a notch in California and believes he can do that this season, regardless of the outcome.
"Wrestling is a great sport for both boys and girls to participate in," Heimann said. "It's going to be exciting for those who know wrestling and support our kids on this journey of a season. I encourage everyone to come on out, support us, and see what we're all about."
California wrestling's next meet will be on Saturday at the Knob Noster Tournament.