Ligouri Wrestles With Injury Challenges
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For wrestling co-captain Matt Ligouri, winter is the season he looks forward to all year. Ligouri and co-captain Tom Bassford have high expectations for this season and are planning to lead the team to the top.
After having the best season in 20 years this past winter, the captains have high goals and “are looking to do better and have a winning record,” Ligouri said. After moving from class MM to class L in states, there is a good chance the team can place better than ever in this new category in the state championships.
As for FCIAC’s, Fairfield County is one of the toughest counties for wrestling in the state, but Ligouri is excited to see where the team will place but has confidence: “the team has the potential to place very well.”
With both high expectations and optimistic goals for the upcoming season, a shoulder injury is the last thing the team wants to deal with right now. After undergoing shoulder surgery in early September, Ligouri was immediately concerned how it would affect his wrestling performance and ultimately the boy’s wrestling team as a whole.
“Any sidelining injury in wrestling is a big injury because it messes up the whole order of weight classes and people must be moved around, often moving up a weight class (which is more difficult to wrestle) or substituting in J.V,” Bassford said.
Matt's Top 5 Bands:
- Sublime
- Radiohead
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Slightly Stoopid
- Gorillaz
After having his shoulder x-rayed, Ligouri’s doctor determined that he had torn his labrum – this is the fibrous cartilage around the edge of the articular surface of the bone. Basically, the labrum is “the tissue on the top of your shoulder that connects all the motion in the arm,” Matt said. “For a wrestler, it’s bad to tear.” And for obvious reasons, since wrestlers use their upper bodies to pin down their opponents.
After many unsuccessful sessions of physical therapy, Ligouri underwent shoulder surgery to try to fix the torn tissue and allow him to regain motion in his right arm. For the first month, his arm was reduced to a sling to limit his motion. Ligouri feels his arm is “currently in good shape,” but he will not be allowed to wrestle until sometime in early 2009, which he hopes is the very latest.
While Ligouri will be out for the first month of the season, he is allowed to run. He even plans to practice with the boys indoor track team for the first two weeks, which Matt said will “at least kick my legs into shape.” Of course, missing the first month of a season is always hard, and Ligouri is especially upset – it is his senior year, and as captain he was hoping to help lead the team to victory.
Sitting out for the first month will be tough, as he won’t be able to participate in the primary matches. When asked to comment on this situation, his reply was simple. “It’s bad that I can’t wrestle in matches for the whole first month. Some of the teams are beatable, so it stinks for my own record and the team because I could help them out in getting points.”
Ligouri’s delayed start to the season will cause obvious setbacks for the team. “Because Matt is one of the most experienced wrestlers on the team we are going to have to work incredibly hard to make up for that temporary loss,” Bassford said. “I’m sure he’ll want to get back in sooner than the doctor says but virtually all he can do is wait it out and use his knowledge and support until he heals.”
Despite not being able to help his teammates by gaining points in matches, Ligouri is optimistic that he will still be able to lead the team through his role as captain. “I’ll be drilling my team hard on the sidelines” Ligouri said. He is looking forward to the season and being able to move his arm again. “Once I get back into wrestling, it should be better than ever.”
