Mental makeover
By KEVIN DRULEY
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kdruley@kcchronicle.com
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| Batavia wrestler Luis Campos (left) lifts teammate Andrew Rudd during a recent practice. Campos enters Saturday’s IHA Class 3A Wheaton North Regional at 29-9 thanks to a “heart-to-heart” with Bulldogs coach Tom Arlis that transformed the wrestler’s competitive approach during matches. (Rob Winner – rwinner@kcchronicle.com) |
IHSA wrestling regionals glance
SATURDAY
Class 2A
Kaneland and Aurora Central Catholic at Sandwich Regional, 9 a.m. (first session) and 2 p.m. (second)
Burlington Central at Burlington Central Regional, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Class 3A
Batavia, Geneva and Marmion at Wheaton North Regional, 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
St. Charles East, St. Charles North and South Elgin at Elgin Regional, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
West Aurora at West Aurora Regional, 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
BATAVIA – Listening to Batavia wrestler Luis Campos raises a chicken or the egg question: has newfound confidence produced victories for the 189-pounder, or has winning itself led him to believe he can?
Scuffling around .500 at the beginning of the season, Campos looked hesitant and uncomfortable after moving up a weight class. The right person took note and, one December Monday during practice, took the junior aside.
Presto change-o, turnaround or epiphany – any one explains why Campos enters Saturday's IHSA Class 3A Wheaton North Regional at 29-9.
"I'd go out there to wrestle not to lose, and now I'm going out there wrestling to win," he said. "So it's turned my season around, talking to coach Arlis."
Bulldogs coach Tom Arlis calls the famous exchange in his office a "heart-to-heart" and still remembers much of the dialogue.
While sitting down with Campos, Arlis first rattled off a litany of Batavia's leaders, including his son, undefeated 112-pounder Logan. Charlie Ryan's, Tyler Patton's, Andrew Rudd's and Danny Watson's names followed.
"What do you think of those guys?" Arlis asked.
"They're great," Campos said.
"And you don't belong with them?"
A pause. He wasn't sure. Given Campos' varsity experience at 171 pounds the year before, Arlis didn't know why.
"There's your problem right there," Arlis said. "You deserve to be right with them. That's the guys that you should be equating yourself with, not looking at them like they're better than you."
They talked some more, with Campos saying his piece and Arlis repeating his message. In a sport known so much for its physical challenges, holding a mental edge is important, too.
So much hinges on the mindset, on the plan. Slowly changing his approach, Campos worked harder on what the team had learned in practice while focusing on "wrestling smarter." For someone lanky and 6-foot-1 who usually weighs in five pounds below his class maximum anyway, that meant going deeper into matches, then attacking.
"He's taken it in full stride," said Watson, who has one loss this season at 171 pounds. "Something clicked. He's really helped. It's good to see him succeeding."
Batavia began relying more heavily on Campos in early January, when senior 215-pounder Jake Hilliard suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Western Sun Conference match against Rochelle.
With classmate Pat Martin still a first-year wrestler at heavyweight, the Bulldogs needed a dependable point-scorer at the top of the lineup.
Campos obliged, later winning an individual WSC title that helped Batavia win the league tournament crown.
"Hopefully, he never looks back," Arlis said.
In addition to qualifying as many individuals as possible, the Bulldogs aspire to reach the team state tournament, too. Winning their regional and placing in the top two at sectionals would do the trick.
Batavia fell to Rockton Hononegah in the 2005-06 sectional finals before the IHSA's new multiplier changed the advancement rules.
"That would be a real plus for the program," Campos said, "to get to state as a team."
Neither Arlis nor anyone else needs to tell him what it takes. Not anymore.
"I made it tougher than it should have been, kind of, by not going out there with the confidence that I have now," Campos said. "Going out there knowing that you can win, knowing that you can beat kids that are good at 189, knowing that you can keep going."
