Sometimes, when prescribing an operation, surgeons say there is a need to cut and cause temporary pain in order to provide long-term health.
That is the road Ewing High School wrestling coach Matt Dalessio had to take with Lavinsky Collins last year, and the results have been remarkable.
As a freshman, Collins lost his quarterfinal match in the Mercer County Tournament and flew off the handle so much, that the Blue Devils were hit with a penalty point on their team score.
It was basically a freshman mistake that could have been chalked up to youth, but Dalessio immediately pulled Collins from the rest of the tournament, meaning he could not try to wrestle-back for third place.
“It was a learning point for him, he had to understand that there is a way to handle yourself on the matt and off it and how to do that,” Dalessio said. “It was a tough match. He lost by two or three points, he was upset about it and handled it poorly.”
While some families might have be enraged and requested a meeting with the athletic director, Collins’ parents “understood and were on board with it,” according to Dalessio.
And while Collins did not like the decision when it happened, upon reflection, he understands it.
“I’m not very used to losing, so it just taught me I have to be calm when I lose,” he said. “When I’m away from the mat and nobody can see me, then I can flip out. But we lost points there, and it doesn’t matter if you’re the best wrestler out there, you shouldn’t do something like that and hurt your team.”
That was the cut-and-pain part of the story, and healing quickly began. There have been no more outbursts and Collins is well on his way to a standout career if he continues to work hard and improve.
“He carries himself well out there now,” Dalessio said. “Win, lose or draw he comes off the mat and he gets it. Whether it’s a win or a loss it’s a learning experience. He controls himself better and it rubs off on his teammates. Now they look at him as an example of how to behave and how to control yourself.”
Not to mention, an example of how to win. Collins finished last season at 25-12 with 12 pins, breaking Matt Bearden’s school record of 24 for wins by a freshman. He finished third at 152 pounds in districts and got to experience life in the regions.
This year, against an extremely tough early-season schedule, Collins went 6-3 before suffering a shoulder injury that kept him out for a few days. He returned in mid-January and Dalessio felt he was ready to start peaking.
The wrestler’s goal is to win, or at least finish top-three in the MCT and eventually reach states this year. Those goals have changed slightly since when he began the sport.
“I used to want to be in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and my dad said ‘If you want to be in the WWE, you better wrestle,’” Collins said. “So I got into wrestling when I was in fourth grade.”
He began in the Trenton recreation league and took an immediate liking to it. Somewhere along the line, the WWE dreams were replaced by becoming a good high school grappler.
“It was super fun,” Collins said. “I went undefeated my first year and from there I just wanted to get better and better at wrestling.”
When he got to middle school, Collins wrestled for his entire 7th-grade season but was disappointed when the coaches inserted someone else in his weight class at the county tournament. He came back in eighth grade and took third in counties.
Dalessio couldn’t wait for his arrival at Ewing, and Collins did not disappoint.
“I would frequently attend middle school matches and thought he’d be special,” the coach said. “I didn’t think it would be that early on. But when he got out to a 10-1 start, I said ‘We’ve got something special,’ and we knew he’d be a big part of this program for four years. This season hasn’t gone as he wanted so far but that hasn’t been his fault. I expect him to take off soon. We’ve gone out of our way to get tougher matches and make sure we’re matching him up the best we can.”
Collins, with the support of his dad, Lavinsky Sr., and his mom, Shelly, competed in numerous tournaments last summer and also went to Danny Flounders’ All Heart Academy in Hamilton. Flounders is credited with helping turn Steinert’s Brandon Cray into a state champion.
“He taught me some technique and some things I need to know to be smart during the match,” Collins said.
Lavinsky also worked on his stamina by accompanying Shelly to the gym.
“My mom invited me to go so I could keep in shape, so I don’t get gassed during a match,” Collins said. “We run on the elliptical machine for 40 minutes and then we go on the treadmill for 15 minutes.”
Although he started the season at 152, Dalessio hopes to get Collins down for 145 for counties and districts. The coach feels that weight could be better for him, though Collins said trying to drop to 145 last season left him feeling tired.
It’s not written in stone that he will drop down. And however it plays out, Collins has experience to fall back on, thanks to his trip to regions last year.
“He got knocked out of regions early but I think it gave him the burst he needed,” Dalessio said. “He got a taste for it, he knows what it’s about. It opened his eyes, where he said ‘I’m a pretty good wrestler, but I’ve got a ways to go.’ It was great for him.”
Collins agreed.
“It made me want to be a part of regions again and place and then go to states,” he said. “It was different. You can’t just make mistakes. You have to be absolutely correct on your moves or they’ll take advantage of you. And you have to take advantage of their mistakes.”
Collins feels his biggest strength is in the neutral position, as he is adept at taking people down—“No one can take me down,” he said.
Dalessio said Collins’s combination of strength and speed is his key on the mat.
“He’s strong for his size, he’s got a grip you wouldn’t believe and he goes after things and is just really strong,” he said. “Last year he was weak in technique but really worked in the summer, he started to figure out the technique aspect.”
He has also figured out how to become a model citizen. Dalessio praises the entire Collins family, including his three siblings, for coming out to watch his matches.
And the young freshman who lost his cool last year is no longer around.
“In school, no one has any issues with him,” Dalessio said. “He’s a hard worker, always smiling. One of the first things people notice is the big grin. He’s always just happy. He looks to have fun, he jokes around and doesn’t take himself too seriously.”
Unless he is on the mat, of course. Then he is all business—but with the right temperament.
Lavinsky Collins defeated Steinert’s Joe Verdi during a home match on Jan. 13, 2016. Ewing won 63-17. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.),
