Taylor Massa"I really want to go to the Olympics someday and I feel that I can do that at Michigan," said Massa, "The coaching staff and training situation has a huge impact on my decision, you can't really argue with workout partners and great environment I will have their. Plus I want to go to medical school and still train after my college career and that will work out perfect."
Massa has been a mainstay on the national scene since the fall of his eighth grade year when he stormed through the Super 32 135-pound weight class and finished third over countless state champions and college bound seniors. Since then all he has done is win the biggest tournaments he can find and he has been the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in his class by InterMat since his freshman season. So why did it take so long for this mega-recruit to make a commitment?
"It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make because I am so close with the Michigan State guys and me and Chris (Williams, MSU assistant coach) go back a long time," said Massa, who grew up just 21 miles from East Lansing and attended nearly every Spartan home meet. "He (Williams) has done so much for me and I grew up idolizing him so it made this decision really hard."
The huge success that Massa had early on has put him in a rare situation of nearly always being the favorite to win, even at the toughest tournaments in the country. As a freshman and sophomore wrestling at upperclassmen weight classes, he was expected to win and he did so, in dominant fashion without a single hiccup along the way, leading to his current prep record of 179-0.
"High School season gets a little boring at times, but I try to keep my same focus of one match at a time. I hate seeing people wrestle not to lose, I have learned that you cannot worry about how close the score is or giving up a takedown or what other people may think. I try to just put that stuff aside and focus on what I have to do," said Massa. Massa's future goals are even higher than his past accomplishments. When asked, he mentions winning four NCAA national titles and winning Olympic medals as his major goals.
Last summer Massa made the FILA Junior World Team and competed at the World Championships, where he lost first round and failed to place. It was the first time in a long time that he was out that early in a tournament, and as he says, it was a great learning experience.
"I learned that you have to learn to adapt to not being able to follow your normal rituals and routine. It was a great learning experience even though I didn't really wrestle as well as I would have liked. It showed me that I still have a lot to work on and it really fired me up about wrestling in the Olympics. Before this summer I wasn't one hundred percent sure if I wanted to make a run for the Olympics after college or be done, but wrestling overseas and seeing how corrupt things can get really lit my fire."
Dealing with pressure and dealing with adversity is something that this young man has had to learn early. Although he is going to be a Wolverine next year, it was a former MSU Spartan who helped him with his mental approach.
"One thing Franklin (Gomez) told me was, 'Wrestling is not my God'," said Massa. "I am not as religious as he is, but I think that although wrestling is a huge part of my life, it is not my life. If I lose I deal with it and move on. Life moves on. Learning to think that way has really helped me deal with pressure and losses."
The future looks bright for this kid; however, he is not done yet. He still has one more season left at St. Johns High School, where the Red Wing team may be almost as dominant as Massa this year. The Massa effect on St. Johns has been amazing as the team that was relatively unknown across the state 6 years ago is now a national powerhouse.
"I really didn't think we (St. Johns) would ever be this good. I knew we would have studs but I always thought we would have big holes that would be hard to fill but like my dad always says – when you are surrounded by great wrestlers you're bound to get a lot better," said Massa, "A perfect example of this is the Bender brothers who went from being below .500 their freshman year to being state qualifiers as juniors last year and potential placers this year. Guys like that have taken us to the next level as a team."
St. Johns looks to win their third team state title this year, however, according to Massa and many others this could be there best team yet with the addition of strong freshman class that includes his younger brother, Logan.
"It's cool that me and my brother will get to be on a team together. Ever since I was in middle school we have talked about this year being our year and this whole town is ready for wrestling season to begin."
The whole town of St. Johns is ready for this season to begin, but the whole country is ready for Taylor Massa's college career to begin. He leaves as one of, if not the most highly touted prep wrestlers that the great state of Michigan has ever seen and only time will tell what he can do as a collegiate and international wrestler, but the future definitely looks bright and we will all have the pleasure of watching it unfold nearby in Ann Arbor.
InterMat was granted permission to republish this article from MichiganGrappler.com.
http://www.michigangrappler.com/files/High_School/HS11-12/massa_um.html
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now