Junior Joshua Balat is a veteran wrestle. He has been on the wrestling team since freshman year. He always loved sports and wrestling was one that he has enjoyed over the years. He was also open about the misconceptions and the general lack of knowledge about wrestling.

“During sixth period we practice moves, we practice technique, drilling, putting yourself in those situations and getting the feel of matches,” Balat said. “After school, it is a little more intense. I usually stay an hour, an hour and a half.”

Balat has always been a fan of pro wrestling. He only started wrestling in high school.

“I’ve loved pro wrestling my whole life,” Balat said. “The funny thing is, when starting high school, I was supposed to play tennis, which is a weird thing to switch from. But Cardinal Kickoff night, I tried to find tennis, but I could not find it, so I was looking around at other sports. I talked to the coach back then and he told me I should try it out. I told my dad the next day, ‘Hey, I want to try wrestling.’ He said OK and I started lessons at the school next door. I have fallen in love with it ever since.”

Studies have shown that there is a correlation between sports and better academic performance. Balat says that he has definitely noticed that his academic skill is a lot better.

“I personally think that it has made me better in academics,” Balat said. “It has made me more on my stuff. It has made me focus more on my grades, because once my grade drops below passing, I can not do wrestling, so I now go to my teacher and ask them what I can do.

With any sport, there are a myriad of misconceptions. Balat conceded that there were a lot of misconceptions about wrestling relating to sexual orientation.

“People think that all wrestlers are gay”, Balat said. “I introduce myself as Josh and people ask me what I like to do and when I say I like wrestling, they say, ‘Isn’t wrestling gay?’, and I say, ‘No, it’s a sport.’ I personally find it stupid that they think it’s gay.

With all sports come a certain risk of injury, especially wrestling. Balat says that his injuries have relatively minor.

“I got a concussion my freshman year,” Balat said. “In a match, I got thrown on my head a bunch of times. I will say that I that I have had to think longer about things and to get answers, but I don’t use it as a crutch. It is just something that I have live with. “

Eating disorders are a very taboo topic, especially among guys. Balat explains that the biggest health problem in wrestling is bullimia.

“The biggest thing is guys becoming bullimic because they need to drop weight,” Balat said. “In wrestling, you are put in different weight classes. Some people don’t want to work down to a different class, so they will do the two fingers in the mouth thing. When I first went into wrestling, my dad said, ‘If you become bullimic because of wrestling, I am taking you out immediately.’ I promised my dad that that would never happen.”

Balat is happy about his choice and continues to excel in the sport.