Miss-Delectable
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Cowboys Wrestling: Helbig overcomes impairment en route to NCAAs
When most of Wyoming’s wrestlers take to the mat, the Cowboy bench is up, demonstrative, shouting encouragement and instruction from the sideline.
When L.J. Helbig wrestles, the bench becomes much more composed and quiet, never shouting and only rarely providing instruction.
It wasn’t always this way, but UW coach Mark Branch and the men sharing the sideline with him had to learn how useless their mid-match shouts are
when they are directed at someone who is deaf.
“Your opportunities to coach him are few and far between,” Branch said on coaching Helbig during a match. “If you’re not ready to give him as clear instructions as you can, you’re probably going to miss your opportunity.”
Helbig — one of six Wyoming wrestlers taking to the mat in the NCAA Championships, which start today in Philadelphia — has a cochlear implant, surgically added to his left ear when he was in fourth grade, that he uses to hear when he is not on the mat.
“Basically, I can hear everything around me,” said Helbig, a sophomore from Mason, Mich. “The problem is you can hear everything but you cannot understand everything.
“Every day, on my own, I have to work hard.”
During matches, the external hardware of the implant has to be removed,
rendering Helbig deaf.
Helbig said he uses his hearing impairment as an advantage when he can.
Without hearing during a match, he said it is much easier for him to stay focused — he can’t hear the crowd or the coaches. The negative, though, is the same — he can’t hear the crowd or the coaches, which becomes critical in situations where time is running short or where the score is close.
Helbig said he doesn’t know any other college wrestlers who are hearing impaired, and he has never wrestled against anyone with a hearing impairment.
Branch said Helbig’s greatest growth this season has come off the mat, where Helbig has tried to follow the coaching staff’s advice about maintaining his confidence as a wrestler, not just as a deaf wrestler.
“The first instinct, whether it’s the teachers or the teammates or the opposition, they feel a little bit of sympathy... but it’s important for him and his confidence that he doesn’t use it as a crutch and he doesn’t feel sorry for himself,” Branch said.
However, Helbig’s hearing impairment does not define him as a wrestler. Instead, last year’s experience of juggling weight classes helps set Helbig apart.
Last year, Helbig wrestled at both 197 pounds and at heavyweight, eventually settling into the starters’ role in the heavyweight class.
Helbig said wrestling heavyweights made him more patient and more focused on technique. This year, Helbig settled in at 197 pounds and went 22-14, including three consecutive victories at the West Regional to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.
The run included a 14-4 major decision victory over Northern Iowa’s Andy O’Laughlin, a wrestler who beat Helbig 10-2 in their dual match just two weeks prior to the regional tournament.
“[Last year] he had to go out and perform and he did that, and I think that made him more comfortable in that role this year,” Branch said.
When most of Wyoming’s wrestlers take to the mat, the Cowboy bench is up, demonstrative, shouting encouragement and instruction from the sideline.
When L.J. Helbig wrestles, the bench becomes much more composed and quiet, never shouting and only rarely providing instruction.
It wasn’t always this way, but UW coach Mark Branch and the men sharing the sideline with him had to learn how useless their mid-match shouts are
when they are directed at someone who is deaf.
“Your opportunities to coach him are few and far between,” Branch said on coaching Helbig during a match. “If you’re not ready to give him as clear instructions as you can, you’re probably going to miss your opportunity.”
Helbig — one of six Wyoming wrestlers taking to the mat in the NCAA Championships, which start today in Philadelphia — has a cochlear implant, surgically added to his left ear when he was in fourth grade, that he uses to hear when he is not on the mat.
“Basically, I can hear everything around me,” said Helbig, a sophomore from Mason, Mich. “The problem is you can hear everything but you cannot understand everything.
“Every day, on my own, I have to work hard.”
During matches, the external hardware of the implant has to be removed,
rendering Helbig deaf.
Helbig said he uses his hearing impairment as an advantage when he can.
Without hearing during a match, he said it is much easier for him to stay focused — he can’t hear the crowd or the coaches. The negative, though, is the same — he can’t hear the crowd or the coaches, which becomes critical in situations where time is running short or where the score is close.
Helbig said he doesn’t know any other college wrestlers who are hearing impaired, and he has never wrestled against anyone with a hearing impairment.
Branch said Helbig’s greatest growth this season has come off the mat, where Helbig has tried to follow the coaching staff’s advice about maintaining his confidence as a wrestler, not just as a deaf wrestler.
“The first instinct, whether it’s the teachers or the teammates or the opposition, they feel a little bit of sympathy... but it’s important for him and his confidence that he doesn’t use it as a crutch and he doesn’t feel sorry for himself,” Branch said.
However, Helbig’s hearing impairment does not define him as a wrestler. Instead, last year’s experience of juggling weight classes helps set Helbig apart.
Last year, Helbig wrestled at both 197 pounds and at heavyweight, eventually settling into the starters’ role in the heavyweight class.
Helbig said wrestling heavyweights made him more patient and more focused on technique. This year, Helbig settled in at 197 pounds and went 22-14, including three consecutive victories at the West Regional to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.
The run included a 14-4 major decision victory over Northern Iowa’s Andy O’Laughlin, a wrestler who beat Helbig 10-2 in their dual match just two weeks prior to the regional tournament.
“[Last year] he had to go out and perform and he did that, and I think that made him more comfortable in that role this year,” Branch said.