John Madden once said, “I would have all of my Offensive Lineman wrestle if I could.” Why do you think he would want this? While the connection between basketball and track has been highly publicized, it’s agreeable that the transferable benefits of wrestling and football are equally strong. Some NFL greats with wrestling backgrounds include Warren Sapp, Ronnie Lott, Lorenzo Neal, Roddy White, and Ray Lewis. According to Hudl, roughly 5% of all NFL Hall of Fame inductees wrestled in high school and/or college.
So what attracts wrestling to 2021 lineman Aaron Berry who is a Junior at Western Guilford High School in Greensboro, North Caroline? “I started wrestling back in 7th grade and it attracted me because it looked challenging,” he stated. “I thought that I could make it a second sport that is fun, physical, and can keep me in shape for football.”
Whether it’s wrestling that’s keeping him in shape for football or the other way around, the strategy seems to be working. Aaron’s current wrestling record is 29-4 and his high school team is the current Piedmont Triad 3A conference champions.
Finished day one of a two day tournament, I was seeded first in my weight class bracket and had a bye in my first round. This match was the second round and ended with a win. This makes me 16-0 and tomorrow I wrestle in the semifinals and if I win that it’s onto the championship! pic.twitter.com/sSBz1JoAr7
— Aaron Berry (@aaronberry52) December 21, 2019
