Having coached 40 state qualifiers, seven state placers and two state champions, Coach Tom Thomsen has been a key  figure in MSJ Wrestling for 30 years. Coach Thomsen sat down with the Smoke Signal and shared his thoughts on this season.

Smoke Signal: How did you first get involved with wrestling?

Tom Thomsen:  My whole family was involved in wrestling when I was little. My dad was the first wrestling coach at Chabot College and three out of my five brothers wrestled. Wrestling in my family even goes back to my grandfather and uncle who were professional wrestlers in carnivals and sideshows in San Jose. After 27 years at Mission, I am still having fun coaching.

SS: What are your expectations this season?

TT: This year, as always, I want to win league and have every weight qualify for NCS. I also want the seniors who have wrestled for four years to qualify for state.  My goals for all the young wrestlers are to continue to develop throughout the season and have some success.

SS: What is a typical training day?

TT: They go in the wrestling room and warm up. Then they work on new techniques and drill their takedowns. They also review the techniques of the previous day. The next phase of practice entails doing a lot of push-ups, climbing ropes, and running. As far as wrestling itself, at the beginning of the season, they wrestle live for fifteen to twenty minutes each day. But by the end of the season, I expect them to be able to wrestle for at least an hour straight. Once they can do that without stopping, they will be ready for a tough six minute match with their opponents.  

SS: Is it true that you turn up the thermostat to 100 degrees during practice?

TT: No. We keep the room at a warmer temperature to keep the mats soft and to prevent injury, since wrestling on cold mats increases chances for injury. The warmer temperature is also to help facilitate sweating, but this is not as important as keeping the mats soft.

SS: Did you enjoy being Darth Vader in the Class of 2010’s Junior Homecoming skit?

TT: Yeah. It was definitely cool to be a part of the junior skit. I enjoyed having the opportunity to be involved in Homecoming last year.