Going from one school to another can be challenging, especially if a student does it in the middle of their high school experience. However, there can also be benefits in doing so such as one student found out.

Carl Miral, a junior, moved from Freedom high school in the Bay area to Stagg this year. At his old school, Miral was on the wrestling team for his sophomore year and it was the first time he’s ever tried the sport out.

While he got his interest for wrestling at his old school, Miral sees factors that make Stagg a better team. The practices were more demanding than his old ones were and that allowed him to be more prepared for tournaments. He also believes that the coaches have had an impact on his experience with a new team.

“The coaches just know what they’re doing and if you just listen to them you’ll be successful,” Miral said. “At my old school, the coaches weren’t really like that.”

From who he was at Freedom high school to now, Miral has seen a difference. Because of what he has learned, Miral can see improvement in how he wrestles. Not only has he gotten faster, but he has seen healthy change in his weight.

“Last year I was really heavy like 250 lbs,” Miral said. “I lost a lot of weight and I’m like 182 lbs now.”

At the beginning of the season, Miral didn’t do well at the tournaments. He felt bad about the first match but felt more confident by the second. Going against other wrestlers that he wasn’t prepared for and the harsh practice from time to time was a challenge, but he wants to make masters at a tournament by the end of the year and being in a new wrestling program will get him there.

“I think the wrestling here really pushed me and we’re an all around good team.”