By Victoria Mickens - STAFF WRITER

Mike Hughes is a junior on the Hofstra Division I wrestling team who is currently powering through his best season yet. Or, as he modestly puts it, “So far the season is going better than the other two years but it still could be better. It’s definitely improving in the right direction in my opinion.”

He is currently 16-3 on the season after just this past weekend making his way to the second day of the Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational. Hailing from Smithtown, New York, Hughes has been involved in the sport of wrestling since the age of six or seven.

“My parents put me into the kids’ program at the high school. So it was just kind of having fun with my friends,” said Hughes. 

Hughes did indeed play many other sports, including five years of football at Smithtown West High School. But like most athletes, the others tapered off and the focus shifted entirely to wrestling. Weighing in at 285 pounds and standing at 6 feet 3 inches, Hughes credits a lot of his consistent performance to practice and repetition.

“I’ve just been trying to get bigger and stronger, put on more weight, and try and work on some technique. Just sticking with the same things every day. Just trying to work on it over and over.”

Most athletes have special preparation routines involving music, books, movies, prayer or other traditions or superstitions. Hughes, however, prefers to sit and relax. 

“I don’t usually wear like headphones or anything, but when I do listen to music I like to listen to country music just to try to relax me a little bit,” he said.

He has noticed that mental preparation, in terms of relaxation, focus and personal confidence, has been a major contribution to his overall progress as a student athlete.

Inspiration seems to also have strongly played into Hughes’s shift in mind set and noticeable improvement. He finds most of his drive from the unconditional love and support of his father.

“My biggest inspiration would definitely be my father just because he’s always on my side. Always giving me or trying to give me motivation even though all the time he might not understand wrestling,” said Hughes. “He always texts me before matches and it’s just nice to know that he’s backing me up the whole way.”

Looking forward, Hughes plans to redshirt next season and spend the time training hard and preparing for the following season. As for the future, Hughes is studying physical education and health science and aspires to be a teacher and a coach.

“I love working with kids, love working with high schoolers. I like coaching, so for me I thought [this career choice] was very good. I [can] influence lives like people have done for me.”

There’s no denying that Hughes brings a passion and intensity to the mat.

“In wrestling, when you’re sitting there before a match you hear everything going on around you, but for some reason once you step on the mat most of the time the coaches are screaming and you don’t even hear them until you get that break and you have to reset … It’s just weird sometimes, they just scream and you’re just zoned in and you don’t hear one word they’re saying.”