Off the Mat with Cody Waters
1/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Perhaps more than any other sport, individuals involved in wrestling tend to wrap their entire lives around the activity. They eat and sleep wrestling. They talk wrestling and analyze wrestling and consider how every action will affect their wrestling. But on a team heavy with like-minded, wrestling-obsessed individuals, few can compare to senior/junior Cody Waters.
Early in the season, however, Waters found himself in one of the toughest positions an athlete can face: he was a wrestler who couldn't wrestle. An adverse reaction to a medication had triggered an autoimmune ailment that caused his body to start attacking his liver. After two months of very limited activity, Waters stepped back onto the mat in December and has since already competed in two open tournaments, including a runner-up performance at the Midwest Open (Dec. 30) in his latest appearance.
On the eve of Michigan's second semester, Cody took a moment after a midday workout to talk about getting back on the mat after a hiatus, growing up a Wolverine wrestling fan, and his ideal session of wrestleoffs.
On having to sit out much of the season's first half ...
"It's difficult not being able to wrestle, but the hardest part was not being able to work out at all for two months unless I wanted to ride a bike at a pace similar to walking. I wasn't allowed to have my heart rate over 80. It was hard to just sit there and watch my teammates have that opportunity to wrestle, knowing that the only thing I wanted was to be out there giving it my all on the mat. I don't miss workouts very often, so it was really challenging for me. It was a mental obstacle. I talked about it a lot with my parents and several of my teammates, specifically (Jeff) Marsh and Casey (White), and they really helped me out. My coaches were there to help talk me through it. I did whatever I could to keep up with everything. I came up with a saying of 'won day,' and I just took it one day at a time. Each day that I felt I made improvements mentally, it would only help me that much more physically when I was able to get back. That probably helped me the most."
On coming back after the long hiatus ...
"I was really optimistic coming back. That's just my personality. My first workout back wasn't anything too bad, just two miles and sprints -- laps around the concourse (of Crisler Arena) -- that's usually the easiest thing for me. But it destroyed me. That's when I realized that it would be a lot tougher than I had thought. That day was probably the hardest workout I've had in my life, and I made it through. As much as it hurt, I was just so happy to be able to work out again. I was excited to get on the mat the next day, and that hurt, but I bounced back within about two weeks. I had my lungs back to about 85-90 percent. I wrestled in an open tournament at Cleveland State. I had goals to be back no matter what, and I was rusty, but I think I pushed through it and did quite well just persevering. I still have a hard time with different lifts because I can't really get my strength back in season. I'm trying to lift hard, wrestle hard and condition hard, so right now, it's more of a mental game where I'm just trying not to wear myself out. I'm getting better about understanding things and utilizing different strengths."
On his start in wrestling ...
"My dad is a middle school coach, and I'd always go to the matches. I was really hyper and liked to fight. Once everyone realized that I needed to do some sort of physical activity, my parents were more than happy to get my involved in wrestling. I was about five or six years old."
On growing up a Michigan fan ...
"I've been coming to meets since I was in second grade. I just knew that all I wanted was to wrestle at Michigan. I remember that they'd always have trivia questions at the meets. I'd come with my middle school team, and I always know the trivia questions because I was a little nerd about wrestling. The only two times I actually answered the questions, I won, and I remember Ragine (Dvorak) giving me the awards and telling her that I'd wrestle for Michigan one day. I think my favorite Michigan wrestler was Otto Olson. I try to wrestle a lot like he did."
On his wrestling style ...
"Well, I'm not overly aggressive. I'm not very fast or explosive, not terribly strong. But I do keep pushing and pushing, and if I see an opportunity, I'll go after it. So I'd say my style is more patient and persistent. I wait for that perfect, or near-perfect, opportunity, I'll take my chances. I don't want to give up on anything."
On a preference for Greco-Roman ...
"I don't shoot very often, and I don't really like when people shoot on me. My legs tend to get in my way. If I don't have to worry about my legs, I feel a lot more comfortable hand-fighting. Nothing makes me more excited than locking somebody up and throwing them. Even if I get tossed, I'll hurt, but I always think, 'Wow, that must have been a thrill.' It's just really exciting for me."
On competing as often as possible ...
"All I want to do is wrestle. I feel that I wrestle my best in matches, and I feel that I'm able to make my greatest improvements through wrestling matches. I learn from my mistakes, and I'll learn more from those matches than from wrestling the same guys every day in practice. After a while, you'll just get a little stagnant. In matches, you mix it up and see all different guys. I just love competition. If I win a little bit more, I'll be happier, but I always have a good time wrestling in matches."
On Michigan's greater emphasis on open tournament this season ...
"I think it's great. I wish we could get more guys to go to all the opens. It's tough with school and everything. But I think we should be doing everything we can to make ourselves, our teammates and our team as a whole better. I think the best opportunity to accomplish that is to get as many matches in as we can."
On what makes wrestling unique ...
"It's one of the hardest physical activities that you can do. It just allows you to legally beat on someone, make them hurt and make them feel terrible. I'm a nice person, and I won't do something like that in everyday life, but when I have that opportunity to get after somebody, when you feel them break in a match, that's just something you have to love if you're a wrestler. Wrestling is just so exciting, and watching wrestlers who are willing to risk it to get those extra points is exciting. We have a lot more wrestlers this season who are willing to do those things, and I think that is going to be what sets us apart at the end of the year."
On his 'welcome to Division I wrestling' moment ...
"The summer prior to my freshman year, I was working out at camp. I needed a workout partner, and Joe DeGain grabbed me. I weighed about 179 pounds, and he told me he only weighed 195. I looked at him and thought, 'No way,' but I didn't say that. He pounded on me. I got lucky and somehow got behind him with a takedown or a reversal, and he hit a standing Granby and just slammed me. He let me up, worked me to the edge of the circle. We were at Oosterbaan (Fieldhouse), so we had the mats on the turf. He hit the hardest double I've ever been hit by and just runs -- doesn't try to take me down on the mat, no attempt at all -- me down, shoulder and face first into the turf. I remember getting up and having the rubber all over me and thinking that they get a little mad if you score on them. I wanted to get like that."
On what he'd do if he was head coach for a day ...
"I would set up a wrestleoff, featuring (Kirk) Trost and Brian Keck, Joe (McFarland) and (Tom) Borrelli from Central, (Andy) Hrovat and Casey Cunningham, and Mike (Kulczycki) and Tom Minkel. I'd have (Kevin) Vogel, John Fisher and Ryan Churella do a UFC match against Johny Hendricks, John Smith and Pat Smith from Oklahoma State. I'd also have (Eric) Tannenbaum go UFC against Zack Esposito."
Note: "Off the Mat" runs in The Riding Times, an inside look at U-M wrestling.
Players Mentioned
