HERH Wrestling team hoping for second provincial banner

Brittany Dillman and Shelby Beals practice.

MILFORD: Corey Robinson likes what he’s seeing from the veterans— and the up-and-coming wrestlers— with the Hants East Rural High (HERH) School wrestling team.
The head coach for Nova Scotia’s provincial wrestling team attended an HERH team practice on Jan. 11, where he gave advice, and showed the wrestlers, tricks to winning matches and scoring points.
“We have about six different clubs in the province that I’ll bounce around to and help out throughout the season,” said Robinson, who noted he looks for commitments, work ethic, dedication, and a positive attitude when watching wrestlers.
He said with the Canada Games in Sherbrooke, PQ., in 2013 quickly approaching, these trips allow him an opportunity to see the talent available for the team.
“This is a great opportunity to see the kids in each region, each club, keep an eye on them, and make sure they set their goals to become part of the provincial team,” he said.
It’s the first of what HERH head coach Steve Lawson hopes will become a monthly visit by Robinson, as he feels his troops can only benefit the experience and expertise Robinson brings.
“This is a whole new exposure, because Corey’s an international wrestler, whereas I was just a Canadian high school wrestler,” he said. “For a guy of this calibre to come to our club, it will definitely help us.”
Lawson said a lot of the senior wrestlers that helped the club bring home the provincial wrestling banner last year have graduated, with the exception of Shelby Beals.
“We’ve got some more senior athletes here that hopefully can contribute to us winning another banner,” he said. “It’s a learning process. I’m trying to recruit other wrestlers to make it a successful team.”
He loves the sport so much he’s in the process of launching an East Hants Wrestling Club.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s what I look forward to doing every week. It’s amazing working with the kids. When I see some of them do a move that they learned, you get an unbelievable good feeling.”
Those on the HERH team will be getting lots of ring action with seven tournaments over the next nine weeks.
“We’ve had more than a dozen practices so far,” Lawson said. “We’re getting ready for our first tournament this weekend (Jan. 14) in Windsor.”
He said wrestlers with HERH are also taking advantage of extra practices by attending those held at Robinson’s club in Halifax.
“They’re improving extremely well as a result of this,” he said.
Lawson said the club has about 20, but on a good day there are about 14 who show up for practices because of other commitments, including work.
Robinson gave the HERH team a lot of praise.
“I see a lot of young, eager athletes that want to learn, and get involved in a sport that’s pretty difficult both mentally and physically,” he said. “It’s great that Steve’s here to coach them along with the experience he has in wrestling.”
He said the club has come a long ways in the two years since taking to the mats.
“Wrestlers like Brittany Dillman and Barron have been two positive role models for the rural region, so kids can build off their stepping stone and what they’ve accomplished provincially too,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he was eager to get back to work with the Tigers team.
“Hants East has the making of a really good little team,” he said.
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com