Warrior Wrestlers Have Varying Motivations, One Goal

Editor’s Note—Lenny Bloom, one of the wrestlers featured in this story, has been nominated as a candidate for Patch Athlete of the Week. .

An intense dislike of losing and the sublime emotions tied to winning are the forces driving senior wrestlers as they lead the undefeated (11-0) Warriors toward a date in the State Meet in February. 

“There is no better feeling in the world like having your hand raised,” Bess, who wrestles in the 220-pound weight class, said describing how the referee signifies the winner after a match. “You own the moment. Everyone is looking at you.” 

Bloom, who is undefeated in 14 starts this season at 145, likes to win but it is the threat of a loss that brings his highest motivation. “Losing to me is the worst thing,” he said. “I can’t even bear the thought of it. I hate to lose.” 

Bess (10-1), who has lost only once this year, thinks there will be more wins in the months to come because of the defeat. He was also an overtime loss away from earning points at State last year. 

“I already lost once this year and it brought me down to earth,” Bess said. “A loss can be a motivator if you pick it up from there.” 

For Hoogheem, who wrestles 113, the paradigm is a little simpler. “I like winning more than I dislike losing,” Hoogheem said. “No one likes to lose but when I do I know what to work on.” 

All three tasted defeat at the State Meet a year ago as the Warriors sole representatives. They want to do better this year and is doing everything he can to accommodate Bloom, Bess, Hoogheem and their teammates. 

“We are scheduling tougher competition,” Pechter said of Deerfield’s non Central Suburban League schedule. The Warriors are seeking their fourth straight league title this year. “All three are better wrestlers this year. They are going to have a lot of success.” 

In addition to qualifying more wrestlers for the State Meet and defending the league title, Pechter has added the goal of sending all the Warriors downstate as a team. To qualify they must win the Regional and do more. More contains a variety of factors to make the grade. 

Pechter admits many of those things are beyond Deerfield’s control. Winning, however, will go a long way. “We just have to take care of business,” he said. 

Part of Pechter’s job guiding an entire team to the State Meet is taking talented athletes participating in an individual sport and transforming them into a team. The role of each wrestler can change depending on the both the team and personal foe. Dual meet victories get a team to State. 

“If you are in a close match you need to have your top wrestlers get a tech fall (getting 15 points ahead to end the match) or a pin,” Pechter said of the higher scoring victories. “If someone is wrestling their (the opposing team’s) star, maybe the best way to help the team is not get pinned.” 

Bloom, Bess and Hoogheem also feel their experience a year ago will help them and their teammates hoping for their first trip. They want to communicate what they learned so the rest of the Warriors can learn from their experiences last year. 

“It was much bigger than I thought it would be,” Hoogheem said of the Assembly Hall at the University of Illinois in Champaign. “It was a huge arena and there was so much going on. Being there last year helps me prepare for this year.”