Jonathan Martinez is a senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School where he is set to graduate in 2025. He spent most of his high school years dedicated to wrestling and trying new sports. Sports were hard, but the sense of community and help from experienced athletes helped him improve. After high school, he plans on studying real estate.
What inspired you to join the wrestling team?
Jonathan: Mr. Vitari and my friends Dev [Patel] and Yousef [Abdeelal] inspired me to join. At the time, I wasn’t in the best shape and I saw everyone in wrestling was built. So I thought I could get like that too.
How has wrestling impacted your high school years?
By showing me that it’s okay to lose as long as you learn from it. At the end of the day, your friends can turn into family as long as you give them trust.
Did you have any setbacks?
My sophomore year I was injured and out for the season. The following year, I was injured again and got another tear in my rotator cuff. From there, I’ve had shoulder problems going into my season. Even though I had some setbacks, I think my senior year came out successful and I was happy with the outcome.
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen on the team?
Be ready to get your butt whooped, and take it as a learning experience. The more you lose, the better you get, and the better you get, the more you don’t lose.
Given the chance to do it all over again, would you pick a different sport?
I would pick the same sport since I believe it [wrestling] is the most physically demanding. There are a lot of things I would have done differently if I could change scenarios, but I wouldn’t change the choice I made of picking wrestling.
