fhspress.com Mustang Stampede Foothill High School

Not using protection a mystery

By ANTHONY ESCUE
fhspress.com Co-Sports Editor
Class of 2012

Who has ever seen cauliflower ear? It's nasty, right? That's what happens when a wrestler is stubborn enough not to wear headgear when he wrestles. Wrestling is a tough sport, with a lot of physical contact. During practice or a match, both teammates and opponents constantly clash heads and, occasionally, ears.

Once an ear becomes irritated, it starts to swell and fill with fluid. The only way to fix it is popping it with a needle and stitching it for a certain length of time. Now, that's just nasty.
When I wrestle, I always wear headgear. I'd like to keep my ears at least somewhat attractive. Some may think headgear is uncomfortable, or maybe the coach just simply doesn't require one during practice. Is that really something smart to do?

In football, a team doesn't practice without a helmet and shoulder pads if they are making full contact, because of the increased risk of injury. A boxer doesn't take off his gloves when he spars with a bag, because it will tear up his knuckles. So, why on earth wouldn't you wear a headgear in practice? The question remains a mystery to me.

Lending out wrestling mats? Not something I'd do. I don't think even the coaches realize just how many germs end up getting spread from the mats we wrestle on. Yes, they are cleaned with an alcohol solution that is supposed to kill any kind of skin diseases, but can we be sure other schools are cleaning them before they bring them back? Two of our wrestlers have already come down with staph infections. Please, other schools, if you borrow a mat from us, at least clean it correctly before giving it back.

anthony.escue@fhspress.com

FOOTHILL HIGH SCHOOL fhspress.com SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA