By MIKE MASTOVICH
The Tribune-Democrat
Take 25 high school football players and put them on a large patch of indoor artificial turf.
Then toss in a gymnastics balance beam, a wrestling mat and a couple oversized tractor tires.
Finally, factor in an intense, veteran coach who is known as one of the best instructors and motivators in the nation.
This unlikely sports recipe mixes together twice each week at the Uzelac Sports and Athletic Training Center (USATC) in Richland Township. UPJ wrestling coach Pat Pecora teaches area football players wrestling techniques that can be used on the gridiron.
“I was surprised how the sports are related,” Bishop McCort junior offensive tackle Joe Dubovie said Wednesday. “In both football and wrestling you have to stay lower than the other man. The hand-fighting techniques are very similar.”
Pecora first combined wrestling and football drills to help former UPJ six-time national champion Carlton Haselrig prepare for the 1989 NFL draft. The Steelers selected Haselrig in the 12th round even though the wrestler had never played a down of college football.
“There are so many things that are common between football and wrestling, especially with linemen and linebackers, and even defensive backs, with their hands,” said Pecora, who has more than 400 wins in 30 seasons at UPJ. “When they opened up the hands in football years ago, they turned almost every little engagement you have in football into a short spurt wrestling match.
“In wrestling we’ve stressed the hand-fighting skills for years and years: Trying to get inside control; trying to move so much weight; taking their weight with them. The positioning is so much the same. I hear football coaches always saying, ‘Head up, butt down, elbows in, knees bent.’ It starts with the same things.”
Pecora joined Richland assistant coach Tom Smith and McCort assistant Dan Santoro in running drills.
“We wanted to take Coach Pecora’s knowledge in wrestling and apply it to football,” Smith said.
In past workouts the group moved to the wrestling mat and practiced double-leg takedowns. During other drills, the players walked on the balance beam.
“We’re teaching the kids technique,” Santoro said. “We’re teaching the proper stance and footwork. Coach Pecora is teaching the idea that wrestling and football go hand-in-hand in terms of the hand-fighting up front.”
Wednesday was the sixth of eight weeks of training. Another eight-week schedule begins April 25 at USATC.
“We’re looking to expand,” Smith said. “We have six schools involved “McCort, Richland, Windber, Forest Hills, St. Benedict’s and Our Mother of Sorrows.”
The football-wrestling combination has received positive reviews.
“This has helped me so much,” said Richland sophomore tackle Nick Marguccio. “We do different activities like wrestling, the balance beam and moving tires. I love football, and I thought this would help me next year.”
Mike Mastovich can be reached at 532-5083 or [email protected].
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