Winter practice notebook

The schedule is tight for the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team to enter the 2023 season.

The Hodags essentially have five practice days prior to scrimmaging at Wausau West on Monday and opening up the regular season a night later at home against Crandon. 

Two-a-day practices have been the norm for coach Derek Lemmens, who enters his 14th season leading his alma mater. In a season like this, the nine practices this week are essential.

“I’m not a big fan of these (first) Tuesday games. It does make you feel rushed, but it will hopefully also create some purpose within the team. We’ve got to be focused and getting ready,” he said. 

“There’s a lot to cover and if we come into practice ready to go, we can take care of that.”

Per usual, Monday’s first practice featured a lot of skill work and a lot of conditioning. 

“The mornings, especially the first morning, is always hard,” he said. “We’re trying to find out who all’s going to show up, what we’re going to have, who’s in shape, what it looks like and then we can progressively get more and more in detail with what we’re doing. Today was just a lot of skills, a lot of conditioning and just get ready for the later practices when we start implementing our stuff.”

There’s a lot of stuff to implement, too. Fortunately, the Hodags will have another week and a half before they open up Great Northern Conference play at home against Antigo, but the task at hand for the Hodags this week has been getting ready for Tuesday’s opener.

“You definitely want to get your foundational pieces, not just implemented, but you really want to start making it repetition so we can build on it,” Lemmens said. “Then, whatever extras — baseline out of bounds, sideline out of bounds (plays), things like that. We’ve got to have a press and a press break ready because, hopefully, we’re winning and we need to beat pressure. If we are behind we’ll need to create pressure. We don’t know if they’re going to throw a zone or if they’re man-to-man. You really need to at least get some foundational pieces in.”

Hodags back in the water as state title defense begins

    Members of the Rhinelander High School boys’ swim team listen to coach Jenny Heck speak prior to the start of practice in the Heck Family Community Pool Monday, Nov. 13. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Jenny Heck had all of 67 hours to enjoy leading the Rhinelander High School girls’ swim team to the WIAA Division 2 state title. She was right back in the pool Monday afternoon to begin a state title defense. 

That’s the thing about high school swimming in Wisconsin, one season blends right into the next. The girls’ season concluded this past weekend and the boys’ season started on Monday, as they begin their three-month march toward the state meet in Waukesha. 

It’s a quick change, but one Heck said she’s used to, having led both the Hodag boys’ and girls’ teams since 2017.

“It seems like it’s going to be worse than it is, but it’s not my first time doing it and it’s always different with boys versus girls, as far as just personalities,” she said. “That sort of thing is more of the changing of the gears than anything else. We do the same-type drills and similar sets and things like that. Those personalities are a lot different, but I really enjoy both of them.”

Of course the Hodag boys experienced their own championship moment last February in Waukesha. Repeating that feat will be a difficult task after graduating six seniors off of that squad. Rhinelander enters with nine swimmers this year, including three incoming freshmen, as it looks to reload.

“What happened in the past is in the past. We won the state title last year, but it’s a whole other year and we’ve got to start proving ourselves again,” Heck said. “It’s starting all over. We just want to be all formulating as a team, coming out here being friends and teammates and talk about how we’re going to go about that. Those are the important things to go over. It’s probably the most important part of practice today, and then just getting in the water and getting back to the routine.”

The team was eager to jump in the water after Heck spent the first 30 minutes outlining clerical items, team goals and expectations. She said she believes if will not take long to get the team up to speed.

“I think they were all swimming before season,” she said. “Everyone knows there are high expectations. No one wants to come in feeling like, ‘Wow, I have to start practice without having any backup training.’ That’s a horrible feeling. They’re experienced enough to know that and I know they put in the work.”

The Hodags jump right into competition this coming Tuesday with a pentathlon meet at D.C. Everest and will open Great Northern Conference competition nine days later at Medford. 

Arneson puts trust in Hodag wrestlers

    Rhinelander High School wrestling coach Scottie Arneson falls from a set of monkey bars into the arms of waiting team members in a trust-building exercise during practice at James Williams Middle School Monday, Nov. 13. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Standing on the top of a set of monkey bars in the Hodag wrestling room Monday, coach Scottie Arneson crossed his arms, closed his eyes and slowly began to lean backwards.

He wasn’t fazed by a seven-foot drop to a concrete floor that was covered by only a couple of layers of protective wrestling mats. There was plenty of help to break his fall before he reached the bottom. 

Several team members were waiting to catch him, a stunt that served as part of a team-building exercise during the RHS wrestling team’s first practice. Soon a number of wrestlers did the same, either falling from where Arneson did, or from an adjacent ladder, into the arms of their teammates.

Clearly the first day of practice was far from ordinary, but Arneson said it was key for a team looking to band together after a couple of lean years.

“Everybody thinks that wrestling’s an individual sport, but the way the coaching staff and I look at it is we’re a team,” he said. “We’re ready to go to war with each other. Every time that one of our wrestlers steps on the mat, that’s our brother or sister going to war. We’re going to have a lot of great team camaraderie going into the season. It will just keep getting better and better as the season goes on.”

For a wrestling practice, there was very little wrestling that actually took place. Sure, wrestlers sparred a little bit with partners, but Arneson said the goal of Day 1 was to keep things light. The result, he said, was the best first day he’s been a part of in his four years on staff with the Hodags.

“Everybody we had in here today had high energy,” he said. “I thought today was awesome, very little technique today and just tried to keep it as light as possible and keep the vibes very positive. The kids just bought in and they’re ready to rock.”

Spirits were up, and so were numbers, as the Hodags started their season.

Arneson said the team had 22 wrestlers — 20 boys and two girls — on the first day, up four overall from the start of practice last year. 

While there will be plenty of time for technique and grappling in the coming days, Arneson said, his No. 1 goal prior to the start of competition is to build a sense of team among the wrestlers.

The Hodags will open their season Dec. 2 at the John Roberts Scramble in Antigo. Arneson said that gives the team plenty of time to build into the season.

“We’ve got about 20 days before competition,” he said. “That will be very good for us. We’ll have, hopefully, good numbers going into that Saturday. I think the biggest thing is getting as many good practices (in as possible). You can come to practice and not get better at wrestling, it’s making sure that when we do come to practice that that’s our focus, getting better at wrestling.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].