January Athlete of the Month: Noah Martin

Name: Noah Martin

Sport: Wrestling

Grade: Senior

Weight Class: 126

Record: 21-3

Recent performance of the player: Defeated his opponent in a match against Pascack Hills. Valley defeated Hills by a score of 38-31.

Noah Martin has always been dedicated to his craft. Being 21-3 and wrestling in one of the most competitive weight classes does not come overnight. 

“The day after the season ended last year I went to my club, Olympic Wrestling Club. I trained there every day from April until now,” Martin said. “It made me a 10x better wrestler just training there.”

Along with training every day during the offseason, the specific way Martin wrestles makes him one of the best. 

“[When] I wrestle, I like to break my opponents down mentally,” Martin said. “Whether it is putting their head in the mat after I take them down or wrestling more physically [allows] me to break them down mentally.”

Martin embraces the hard work that comes with wrestling and values the results that follow. When it comes to how Martin got into wrestling, the story is quite unconventional and unique in comparison to others.

“In 5th grade, I quit basketball. My dad told me that I needed to do a winter sport and he was like [you should] do wrestling,” Martin said. “Eventually he convinced me [to play] but at the first practice, I did not want to go. He [ended] up dragging my shirt and forcing me into the room.”

With last season being a shortened season due to COVID, there was a huge adjustment in regards to how the season would go. Last year the team wrestled a mere 9 matches while in a normal season they wrestle close to 35.

With the adjustment from last season to this season, there was also a coaching change. With Coach Gallione transitioning to an administration role, a new coach was needed. The team ended up with 2 co-head coaches, Gary Beyer and Steve Schneider. They both have nothing but praise for Noah and his leadership.

“Noah’s leadership has played a huge role in the success of our team this year,” Schneider said. “Noah leads by example through his work ethic in the practice room and the rest of the team feeds off his energy.” 

Beyer also had some words to say about Martin.

“His skill level is extraordinary and his ability to dominate wrestlers on his feet during competition makes him a whole lot of fun to watch,” Beyer said. “It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with Noah! We expect great things from him on and off the mat, he’s a terrific young man!”

Martin has been wrestling since his freshman year enabling him to have several upperclassmen to look up to. Stephen Soravilla, Matt Beyer, and Tyler Pizzi all had a huge impact on the wrestler he is today.

In addition, his varsity experience at such a young age allows him to lead the team and prepare them for the next challenge ahead.

“Freshman year, wrestling varsity, was definitely hard so as a leader now I try to help the younger kids with questions they have,” Martin said. “Having a good relationship with the team and earning their respect is important along with going over mistakes in previous matches allows me to lead the team.”

Although Martin’s junior season was impacted by Covid, he was still able to have an impact as a leader for the team. Along with Martin’s unique style of wrestling, he also aims to always score points for himself and take his opponent down.

Wrestling is by no means an easy sport on the mat, yet the procedures could be considered tougher. Making weight is always a struggle for wrestlers, especially from match to match. Martin wrestles at 126 but he said at the beginning of the season he weighed in at 138. 

“Diet is a huge part [of losing weight], cutting out sodium, carbs. Eating a lot of protein, vegetables and fruits,” Martin said. “During practice you want to sweat a lot and cut all of that water weight. Wearing layers [also helps].”

If Martin does find himself in the predicament where he is a pound over the day of the match, he will throw on layers and hop on the bike to cut the extra weight. He admires college wrestlers Austin DeSanto and Yianni Diakomihalis and strives to wrestle like them. 

Martin gives thanks to both of his parents for helping him throughout his journey and they have always supported him through all of his decisions, including quitting soccer senior year to focus on wrestling.

Martin is still deciding whether he wants to pursue wrestling in college but he said it is definitely an option.