Lake Highland Prep’s Rise to Excellence
A Wrestler Cannot Afford to Be Average
Lake Highland Prep’s Rise to Excellence
By Bill X. Barron
“I grew up a wrestler. Wrestling taught me about life,” asserts Mike Palazzo, head coach of Lake Highland Prep (Florida), whose team has been ranked in the nation’s top ten for the past decade. In Coach Palazzo’s “wrestling is life” perspective, “you become something, not get something.”
“Every day, remind my athletes: ‘From the time you wake up, you are a wrestler.’ A wrestler – our wrestlers – can never afford to be average. To succeed in today’s world of wrestling, you have to be an exceptional athlete who has all of his or her life in alignment.”
Following a match or tournament, “the next day we are back to work, regardless of standing or place. Although our team and individual goals are to be Number 1, the process is what’s most important. We will not be champions again unless we add another five-pound plate to our training.”
Leading a program that has won ten state team titles in twenty years, Coach Palazzo – now in his 13th season at the helm – welcomed a new challenge this season when his Orlando private school joined the National Prep Network to directly take on the only high schools ranked higher in 2020: #1 Wyoming Seminary (PA), #2 Blair (NJ), and #3 Malvern Prep (MD).
Self-described as “hyper-competitive,” Coach P believes that “kids without driving forces will never experience excellence. Admission to this school is so difficult; what got us where we are is hard work, not recruiting. We put school first because the sport grows first through a commitment to academics.”
As a program with resources and the full backing of the institution, Palazzo feels “blessed to be able to train and compete at any level.” LHP aims to develop “pillars of the community, ones who give back. Wrestling is an opportunity for our kids to be the best examples of what you can become in life.”
This year, in the absence of a National Prep School Championship, he brought 25 middle and high school wrestlers to the best competition he could find, RMN Events’ Rumble in Arizona, where Wyoming Seminary was one of 28 high school dual teams and over 2000 individual wrestlers.
“We were very excited for our first RMN event. It’s really remarkable what the Gutierrez family has done to hold a competitive event under the present circumstances. As we were looking to add grease to the wheels, the Rumble is exactly what we needed. Humility is what keeps us alive.”
Following Lake Highland’s well-earned 1st-place team duals victory over Seminary, Mike reflected: “It was not exactly the win we ultimately seek, given the school/club structure brought on by Covid, but for sure a prelude of what I am confident is yet to come.
“There are so many great programs out there; thus, we need to keep working hard, as it will never be easy to compete at this level in any regard. Chasing the biggest goals requires a more committed process which ultimately means the biggest of benefits, win or lose.”
“If wrestling does not change lives,” concludes Palazzo, “there is no reason for our sport. Together, through commitment and heart, wrestling gives meaning and purpose to life.”