“If you’re a wrestler, then you’re part of a big family,” said Elliy Gorelik when asked about his relationship with his teammates. Gorelik is a senior member of the varsity wrestling team at BCCHS. He is one of five passionate and dedicated team captains that expects great things from himself and his teammates this season.

Gorelik explained how since it is preseason, it is a great time to make adjustments and improvements.  Gorelik looks at preseason as a time to figure out what each individual needs to become better at and improve their stamina through strict conditioning. Club practice, additional practices available to team members to work on wrestling techniques,  is something that he states is really helpful for him and his teammates. Having former members of the team and retired wrestlers join in at Club practice is something that he looks forward to every time. He also is excited to take part in preseason tournaments, such as Megatron in Arizona and Freakshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He conjointly is impressed by the way the team is looking so far. Both the male and female teams have proven to him that this upcoming season will be a great one. Among the many goals that Gorelik is determined to achieve as a team, he particularly stated that beating El Camino in a duel match is one of his top priorities. He feels that this can be accomplished through hard practices and an extreme amount of effort.

Gorelik also elaborated on the fact that his coach, Coach Jim, is what makes the team come together as one.  With a very convincing tone, he spoke about his coach and his plans for the team. “Wrestling is his life. His goal is to build a dynasty.” He expressed this admiration and respect for Coach Jim’s principles and values by mentioning the fact that he has taught the team about life skills. That include respect, discipline, and how it feels to be part of a good team.

With strong emotion, Gorelik gave an individual recap of his high school wrestling career as of yet. Gorelik admitted to losing every match of his freshmen year on the team. However, he explained how that only motivated him to become the best he can be. Now, Gorelik concentrates on how he can improve as a wrestler in every possible way. “When I’m lifting, I think about the best guy in my weight class and how he is also lifting. I think about how he may be lifting more than me, then that means I have to lift even more and be better than him.” Gorelik often uses methods like the one expressed to encourage himself to keep working hard and stay focused.

Academically, Gorelik is able to manage. With morning and afterschool practices, one would think there isn’t any time for homework but Gorelike makes it work. He does his homework during the time that is allotted in study hall but if it is still not completed, he makes it his duty to finish all homework at home. Gorelik explained that he is solely  focused on his athletic and academic life.  “My mind is always on wrestling and school.” Miraculously, he is able to find a balance between the two and plans to continue doing so in order to make his senior year a goal achieving year.