by ANDY ELDER
for GoPSUsports.com
| Aaron Anspach (left) prides himself on being able to learn and absorb the lessons of coaches and teammates. |
t's 1 p.m. on a Saturday and Aaron Anspach, a senior at Penn State, is roaming the aisles at Giant Market.
"So what?" you may ask. Lots of college students shop for groceries on the weekend. Well, Anspach is no average college student and this was no ordinary grocery trip.
He and 12 of his Nittany Lion wrestling teammates were procuring provisions for a five-hour bus trip to Hempstead, N.Y., and a date with No. 5 Hofstra. Anspach, a 255-pound heavyweight, needs a steady supply of nutritious food throughout the day to maintain what is now a chiseled body. Once back on the bus, Anspach revealed the "fuel" for this trip, which was overflowing out of a plastic bag.
"My Mom baked Christmas cookies and sent a bunch up," he said, smiling and holding up two gallon Ziploc bags of home-baked goodness. "I never go on a trip without these O's, Honey Graham O's," he said, pulling a box of cereal out of the bag. "They eat like candy. (Penn State radio play-by-play man Jeff) Byers doesn't agree with me. You can eat them without milk. I think they're the best thing out there.
"I've got my flavored water (a six-pack), Raspberry Splash. I got one bagel. Two oranges, a banana and a pack of gum. I just ate at the dining commons and I figure the coaches will go out to eat tonight and I'll eat with them when I get there."
As it turns out, those provisions are for one day. Like any other day, Anspach tries to eat five or six small, nutritious meals so that his body is almost always digesting food which, strength and conditioning coach Eric Childs said, helps elevate the 6-foot-2-inch Anspach's energy level and metabolism. In his fifth year in the Penn State program, but first as a starter, Anspach has come a long way in both his mental makeup and approach to the sport and his physical composition. It's been a hard, long trip to the starting lineup for the Columbia High School product.
When Anspach first arrived at Penn State he weighed 235 pounds. "But it was a fat 235 pounds," he freely admits. Four years, a couple of shoulder surgeries and hundreds of practices and lifting sessions later, much of that "fat 235 pounds" which resided in the vicinity of his waist has been reshaped, shifted north and transformed from fat to muscle.
For a man his size, that transformation wasn't easy. "It??s discipline. It??s getting him to eat right. (Former Nittany Lion All-American and NCAA heavyweight runner-up) Pat (Cummins) did the same thing," Childs said. "He??s got a good diet and doesn??t eat a lot of junk, but he has to eat a lot of food. Being disciplined to eat in the morning. You have to eat five or six times a day. You have to eat before a workout and after a weight workout. He was disciplined and dedicated enough to do that. It doesn??t happen overnight. It takes a long time. He??s been really persistent with that."
Anspach, in his humble manner, deflected credit back to Childs. "To be fully committed to Childs?? program, I feel like anyone could come in and change their body," he said. "He has it down to such a science that it??s hard to not come in and not change your body if you??re dedicated to the program. I??ve listened to what he's said and so far it??s worked."
In addition to Childs' guidance, Anspach also credited Cummins for showing him the way. "Pat Cummins, I??ve always said, is my huge role model," Anspach said. "I came in and really didn??t eat right. He helped me there. He showed me how to work out. He showed me and led me through the whole process."
Like any learning process, you can have the best teachers, coaches or role models, but if you're not receptive and willing to dedicate yourself to those teachings and those examples, then not much can be accomplished.
"He has a good attitude and a good work ethic and good ability. With the combination of all those three, he??s developed gradually," assistant coach Dave Hart said. "I noticed last spring and summer, he really started to get the best of me. When you wrestle every day, you have a pretty good idea. For me, it was an indication of how far he came. When he first came in, I could clobber him. Now, he can work me over."
"He has the discipline. He has good, day-to-day discipline training. He also has good match discipline. When the going gets tough, he sucks it up and doesn??t lose. You can see with his day-to-day discipline how he reshaped his body. He stayed up here all summer training."
Head coach Troy Sunderland agrees. "He??s a great kid. He??s got a good nature about him. If you need something done, you can count on him being there. If there??s a workout at six in the morning, he??s going to be there. He puts in his time and he??s paid the price to be where he is. We want him to be injury free for the rest of his career here at Penn State so he can reach his full potential," he said.
In Anspach's first season on campus, Cummins was firmly entrenched as the starter, so Anspach redshirted. During the off-season, he underwent shoulder surgery but still recovered in time to post a 7-3 record in open tournaments. Then, during the 2004-05 season, another shoulder surgery put him on the shelf.
During the 2005-06 season, Joel Edwards moved up to heavyweight from 197. Anspach saw spot duty as well as open tournament action and went 14-8. Finally, at the start of this season, Anspach's shoulder was recovered and there weren't any more All-America caliber heavyweights impeding his path to the starting lineup. His day had finally come.
"It??s been a long time coming with injuries and being behind some of the other heavyweights that were here," Anspach said. "I??m excited. I??ve been working hard for it. I can??t wait. I??m excited for the (rest of the) season." - as is his head coach. "I I think Aaron??s matured a lot physically and mentally. He??s had some great workout partners in Pat Cummins and Joel Edwards and coach Hart. He??s obviously been hampered by some injuries that have prevented him from getting to where he wants to be earlier," Sunderland said.
"He??s right on the edge of breaking through. He??s the guy we??re relying on this year at heavyweight. He??s got great training partners in the room who are pushing him. He??s coming into his own and coming into where we thought he would be when we recruited him."
As Sunderland alluded to, Penn State possesses a luxury few teams have, an embarrassment of talent at heavyweight. "It??s quite a good thing we have going on here," Anspach said. "We have (Stefan) Tighe, who resembles (Minnesota's Cole) Konrad, the number one-ranked heavyweight. Then we have (Joe) Farina and (Brendan) Herlihy who resemble other guys in the country. And also, (two-time All-American 197-pounder Phil) Davis. He works out with me, too. He resembles a (Paul) Weibel (of Lehigh). I have every kind of partner I could ask for. They resemble every type of heavyweight there is in the country. For me not to be successful, that??s my own fault."
| Because of losing time to injury, Anspach is hopeful the NCAA will grant him a sixth year of eligibility. |
Having lost two-plus seasons to injury, Anspach might qualify for a sixth, or hardship, year of eligibility from the NCAA. He said he plans to write his letter, just one part of a long, involved process, soon.
"Over Christmas break I??m going to start writing my letter, pretty much begging them for a sixth year," he said. "I haven??t started doing that because I??m busy with school work right now. The process is under way and hopefully I??ll be able to find out before the end of the season sometime. I??m really hoping that comes through."
Hoping for the best and planning for the worst, Anspach has no choice but to approach the rest of the season like it's his one and only in the starting lineup. That introduces a sense of urgency to the next three months.
"It really does. I??m urgent this year for the fact that this is my first year being the main starter. Also, not knowing if you have any more time, that this could be my last shot, I want to make it my best," he said. "Knowing that, I??m leaving everything out there."