To build on the failures of a previous season requires hard work, especially when new faces, such as a new coach, come into the picture. For Adin Frost, Div. 150, that is especially the case after the way last season ended for him.

“Last year, I lost at city, so one of my goals is to win,” Frost said. “I’m always trying to improve. I’ll work to improve as much as I can every day.”

Preparation starts over the summer and early in the school year for Lane Wrestling. The training and preparation began at a camp at Notre Dame High School for Frost. That’s a course of action that many high school wrestlers take, according to Frost.

From there, the wrestling team’s preseason begins.

“Strength and conditioning for the season starts at the beginning of the school year, and it ends the first week of the season,” Santiago Matias, Div. 965, said. “You do a lot of running and lifting to build muscle mass and stamina.”

This season marks a big change for the wrestling program. This is the first year with Coach Yan at the helm.

“He’s a young coach who brings a lot of different elements to the table,” Matias said. “I feel like his methods of teaching kids how to wrestle and having them enjoy the sport throughout the season and helps them to not get burned out.”

According to Matias, Yan is an integral part of the growth of this team.

“The new coach’s style is beneficial because you have more people coming out,” Matias said. “He knows how to communicate with kids. In previous years, a lot of our wrestlers would quit after two weeks because our practices were too intense. Coach Yan makes it easier and more convenient for people. We can bring more people to the sport now.”

Competition has also heated up within the team.

“The intensity has picked up since a lot of guys know that their spot is not guaranteed like it may have been in previous years,” Matias said. “They have to work harder and they do a lot of the offseason stuff to be better.”

The new coaching staff has also been very involved in assisting wrestlers during practices, according to Matthew Ridley, Div. 265.

“All the coaches are really helpful,” Ridley said. “If you need help with a move, you can just ask them. They walk around to make sure everybody is doing everything right.”

“I’ve had to work on snap-downs and getting off your back, getting off bottom, and getting off your hands and knees,” Ridley explained.

Ridley also said that he is at a disadvantage in his weight class because of how much heavier other competitors are.

“I need to get stronger,” Ridley said. “In eighth grade I wasn’t that good but I feel like I’m getting better now. I’m getting stronger and quicker.”

Yan had already set goals before the season started according to Frost.

“Our coach believes that since we’re the biggest high school in Chicago, we should have the biggest team,” Frost said.

This attitude is reflected on Matias, Frost, and Ridley. They all have a common goal, which is to win city and continue to improve.

Frost referenced his improvement to this point as a building block for the future.

“I have videos from when I started where I’m doing moves wrong and have no awareness of where my body is in relation to other wrestlers,” Frost said. “I understand moves a lot more and because of the constant drilling. I have the muscle memory to perform moves more efficiently and I’m gonna continue to build on that.”

For Matias, the goal to win the City Championship is about improvement as a team.

“This year we’re just focused on winning City,” Matias said. “I think we have a good chance this year because even in limited numbers last year, we were very competitive with the other top programs in the city. Now, since we are more a established unit, we have more opportunities to succeed.”

Part of achieving their goal is continuing the Lane Tech Wrestling legacy.

Lane has a history of talented wrestlers, most notably Max Schneider, who not only won multiple IHSA State Championships but also a Gold Medal for Judo at the 2009 Pan American Youth Games, according to the Chicago Tribune, and another Gold Medal at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

These wrestlers have said that they want to emulate this program’s past successes.

“If you look at plaques and trophies, we were a powerhouse in the early 2000s,” Frost said. “We won state and city, and we kinda lost that and hope to build that back up again. I believe we can with the team we have.”

The wrestling team’s next meet falls against Senn on Saturday, Dec. 21.