As the 2015-2016 Riverside Brookfield boys’ wrestling season begins, the team pins down some early wins to start off the season. With the goal of winning conference, the team is working out before and after school, six to seven days a week.

“We’re like a small family,” head varsity coach Mike Boyd said. “It’s way different than any other program from the coaching to the athletes. These guys, they tell me everything, and I tell them everything. I’m almost like a big brother.”

Boys’ wrestling preps all year round for the season, making it one of the biggest time commitments out of all RBHS sports. Not only do they train physically, but mentally as well. Boyd always tells the team to wrestle with confidence and believe in themselves no matter the outcome.

“We’re together more than any other team in the building. We’re together twelve months out of the year,” Boyd said.

Ever since Boyd has become the head of the wrestling program the numbers of participants have increased from sixteen total wrestlers to 88 wrestlers to date. Boyd’s whole motto is to recruit anyone who is willing to work hard, regardless of any situation.

“I think in wrestling, it’s more of a relentless type person than a skilled person,” Boyd said. “On wrestling, we have people who work very hard, and that could be anyone.”

As for reaching their goals, the team has already taken big strides. For the first time in thirty years, boys’ wrestling beat Morton on November 25. The team also beat St. Rita, which like RBHS, is a state-ranked team.

From high expectations and months of training, the team was able to take these steps towards reaching their main goal of taking home the conference title.

“From the top to the bottom, every single person is treated the same, trains the same, the expectations are the same,” Boyd said.

Throughout the extra hours of training the Boys Wrestling team has become a group of focused and relentless wrestlers who don’t go down easily. Whether it’s in or out of the ring the team’s work ethic is insanely intense, and that’s what separates them from their competition and other programs at RBHS.

In the end, they are one family sharing the sport that they love while always being in relentless pursuit of perfection.