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01-18-2007, 09:48 PM
http://www.illinoismatmen.com/images/wrestlers/rashid_hamza.jpgBY RON KREMER
The Herald News
To the heavyweight wrestling class, Plainfield Central High School's Hamza Rashid brings a lighter kind of tale.
He uses speed and smarts to make up for his relative lack of size. His success mirrors that of his parents.
Rashid is the son of Palestinian immigrants. His father moved to the United States at the age of 12. His mother followed after they were married. He owns a store in Cicero. She is a stay-at-home mom in charge of keeping peace in a family of seven children.
The wars at home are restricted to dinner table tussles over second helpings of meat and potatoes.
Back in Palestine, Rashid's cousin once was nicked by a stray bullet, the result of an age-old conflict between rival religious factions. Many of his relatives still live in the Middle East today. He last visited them during the summer months between his sophomore and junior years in high school.
"There is always concern when somebody you care about goes into an area of unrest," Plainfield Central coach Paul Faris said.
Faris long ago took Rashid under his wing and helped him develop into a rock at the top of the Wildcats' lineup. He serves as a senior co-captain and boasts a 28-5 record heading into today's dual against Plainfield South. He also ranks in the top 20 percent of his graduating class. He has been accepted by Northern Illinois University. And he might pursue a career in law.
Poster boy
To think, he started with nothing, much like his parents.
"I always use him as my example of how much you can improve if you really set your mind to it," Faris said. "He's my poster boy. He came in as a freshman and he was just kind of a roly-poly -- not a very athletic kid. He had an older brother. I think they both wrestled for one year in middle school. Then, he came in and was not very good.
"He has worked very hard every year. He wrestled most years at 215. This year, he's a light heavyweight. He has really hit the weight room. He has a great ability to scramble. So, that has helped him. If he athletically doesn't have what it takes, sometimes he gets out of situations because he scrambles so well. And this year his technique is a lot better.
"Right now, he's been wrestling at heavyweight. It's been working out well. He's had a couple of the real big kids that he has struggled with. But against everybody else he's battled very well. So, he's been a good one. He's a smart kid."
Rashid also is well-conditioned. He lifts five days a week and spends the sixth day of his regular training routine on cardiovascular exercises. He has boosted his maximum bench press from 250 to 365 pounds and his squat lift total from 405 to 520. He called on his endurance to beat Bolingbrook's Samie Sabbah 4-2 in overtime during Saturday's Lockport Mega Duals.
Sabbah, like so many of Rashid's opponents, took a 50-pound weight advantage into the match. He tips the scales at about 220 pounds.
"I get a lot of help in practice," Rashid said. "We've got a lot of fast guys, a lot of guys that can take quick shots. So, I just try to work my speed and try to get around them as fast as I can."
In the fall, he first started moving big bodies around as the center on Central's football team. Then, after taking a couple days off, he reported for wrestling practice. He might drop to the 215-pound class for the conference, regional and sectional tournaments that are upcoming.
"I drill with a lot of the coaches," Rashid said. "They all help me with technique. And then we'll do this thing we call big man, little man where we'll get a bigger guy working with a littler guy. For me, it's usually Ryan Prater or Jeremy Ellingwood. I use my weight on them. But they use their speed on me. So, that kind of helps me."
Family ties
The Rashids moved to Plainfield when Hamza was in sixth grade. He is the second oldest of the family's seven children. His older brother Mo also wrestled for the Wildcats before graduating last year. The two boys still work out and roll around on the mats. Mo lives at home.
Hamza would like to continue his wrestling career in college. When he finally unfastens his chin strap for good, he'll turn from warrior to barrister.
"Something in law, maybe," Rashid said. "I got accepted by Northern the other day. I might go there if the wrestling thing doesn't work out. The first thing that interested me about law -- this is going to sound kind of weird -- but it was watching Liar, Liar as a kid, all these funny, lawyer shows and stuff like that. It just got to me. I was like, 'Oh, man, this looks kind of cool.' "
The matchup of Rashid vs. almost anyone else on the wrestling mat often takes on a much different feel: Picture David vs. Goliath.
"There has to be some strategy," Faris said. "Just the height difference -- that's one of the factors. Even those kids at 215 many times are quite a bit taller. So, you have to use the skills that you have. Hamza is very strong. He's very compact. So, it's hard for those kids to get him extended, too. He's starting to learn how to use that to his advantage now."
The Herald News
To the heavyweight wrestling class, Plainfield Central High School's Hamza Rashid brings a lighter kind of tale.
He uses speed and smarts to make up for his relative lack of size. His success mirrors that of his parents.
Rashid is the son of Palestinian immigrants. His father moved to the United States at the age of 12. His mother followed after they were married. He owns a store in Cicero. She is a stay-at-home mom in charge of keeping peace in a family of seven children.
The wars at home are restricted to dinner table tussles over second helpings of meat and potatoes.
Back in Palestine, Rashid's cousin once was nicked by a stray bullet, the result of an age-old conflict between rival religious factions. Many of his relatives still live in the Middle East today. He last visited them during the summer months between his sophomore and junior years in high school.
"There is always concern when somebody you care about goes into an area of unrest," Plainfield Central coach Paul Faris said.
Faris long ago took Rashid under his wing and helped him develop into a rock at the top of the Wildcats' lineup. He serves as a senior co-captain and boasts a 28-5 record heading into today's dual against Plainfield South. He also ranks in the top 20 percent of his graduating class. He has been accepted by Northern Illinois University. And he might pursue a career in law.
Poster boy
To think, he started with nothing, much like his parents.
"I always use him as my example of how much you can improve if you really set your mind to it," Faris said. "He's my poster boy. He came in as a freshman and he was just kind of a roly-poly -- not a very athletic kid. He had an older brother. I think they both wrestled for one year in middle school. Then, he came in and was not very good.
"He has worked very hard every year. He wrestled most years at 215. This year, he's a light heavyweight. He has really hit the weight room. He has a great ability to scramble. So, that has helped him. If he athletically doesn't have what it takes, sometimes he gets out of situations because he scrambles so well. And this year his technique is a lot better.
"Right now, he's been wrestling at heavyweight. It's been working out well. He's had a couple of the real big kids that he has struggled with. But against everybody else he's battled very well. So, he's been a good one. He's a smart kid."
Rashid also is well-conditioned. He lifts five days a week and spends the sixth day of his regular training routine on cardiovascular exercises. He has boosted his maximum bench press from 250 to 365 pounds and his squat lift total from 405 to 520. He called on his endurance to beat Bolingbrook's Samie Sabbah 4-2 in overtime during Saturday's Lockport Mega Duals.
Sabbah, like so many of Rashid's opponents, took a 50-pound weight advantage into the match. He tips the scales at about 220 pounds.
"I get a lot of help in practice," Rashid said. "We've got a lot of fast guys, a lot of guys that can take quick shots. So, I just try to work my speed and try to get around them as fast as I can."
In the fall, he first started moving big bodies around as the center on Central's football team. Then, after taking a couple days off, he reported for wrestling practice. He might drop to the 215-pound class for the conference, regional and sectional tournaments that are upcoming.
"I drill with a lot of the coaches," Rashid said. "They all help me with technique. And then we'll do this thing we call big man, little man where we'll get a bigger guy working with a littler guy. For me, it's usually Ryan Prater or Jeremy Ellingwood. I use my weight on them. But they use their speed on me. So, that kind of helps me."
Family ties
The Rashids moved to Plainfield when Hamza was in sixth grade. He is the second oldest of the family's seven children. His older brother Mo also wrestled for the Wildcats before graduating last year. The two boys still work out and roll around on the mats. Mo lives at home.
Hamza would like to continue his wrestling career in college. When he finally unfastens his chin strap for good, he'll turn from warrior to barrister.
"Something in law, maybe," Rashid said. "I got accepted by Northern the other day. I might go there if the wrestling thing doesn't work out. The first thing that interested me about law -- this is going to sound kind of weird -- but it was watching Liar, Liar as a kid, all these funny, lawyer shows and stuff like that. It just got to me. I was like, 'Oh, man, this looks kind of cool.' "
The matchup of Rashid vs. almost anyone else on the wrestling mat often takes on a much different feel: Picture David vs. Goliath.
"There has to be some strategy," Faris said. "Just the height difference -- that's one of the factors. Even those kids at 215 many times are quite a bit taller. So, you have to use the skills that you have. Hamza is very strong. He's very compact. So, it's hard for those kids to get him extended, too. He's starting to learn how to use that to his advantage now."