Treva Valliere - New England wrestling qualifier - By Stephanie Coffin

It all began with Treva Valliere bringing home a flyer from school. Never participating in this type of wrestling before; Treva’s mother decided to sign both Treva and his brother, Colby, up for the sport. Treva, an eighth grader at Windham Middle School has reached goals he never dreamed of in the sport of wrestling. Amber, Treva’s mother, stated, “Treva had a lot of energy when he was little so wrestling has taught him a lot of discipline and a lot of self-control.” Treva has been wrestling now for eight years; he started when he was in second grade with Kratos, coached by Thom Johnson and George Lekousi.

Treva really enjoys watching college wrestling and has met Logan Stieber from Ohio State who is a four-time NCAA Champion. This was an extremely exciting moment he will always remember. 

 

The Valliere family has been going to the New England Qualifier for about five or six years now. The very first time they went Treva placed second. This year was different for him though. Treva has put a lot of time and energy into his training. He has taken all practices very seriously. It has been hard for Treva to wrestle kids his own age because he is so much bigger than most of them, so a lot of the time he has wrestled his two coaches Nate Johnson and Jason Dryburgh. 

Treva also has the support of his older brother Colby who has practiced with him along with some other kids from high school who have taken time out of their schedules to help him. As his parents, Amber said, “we have always told him leave it all on the mat while he’s out there.” And this year, Treva did just that, every time he stepped onto the mat. 

Treva has been lifting every night with his dad and brother in preparation for this tournament. He really proved to himself that hard work pays off in the end. Treva ended up winning first place in the New England Qualifier and had the chance to move on to compete in the Nationals in Ohio which was hosted on April 18^th.

This was a huge opportunity for Treva to compete against others that are just as serious about wrestling as he is. He had to maintain his weight of 171 pounds. Treva could not go below or above by even an ounce for his weight division, that was a challenge in itself. Treva continued to lift with his dad and brother and the coaches were wonderful in helping him prepare for this tournament. The coaches set up special practices for him, and with their help and the help of the high school wrestlers he really was able to concentrate on making himself the best that he could be. 

As the time drew closer to the event, Treva’s excitement also grew. Amber stated, “ We drove down as a family so we were in the car for about 15 hours straight. Treva used that time to clear his mind and prepare himself for what was going to happen.” Treva puts himself in competition mode by listening to music. 

When the Valliere family arrived at the Nationals, they couldn’t believe their eyes, the place was huge. They had about forty mats going all at once. Treva was able to meet some of the other kids he was about to face on the mat because they all had to stay together to wait for their turns. 

“This was a different type of wrestling that Treva was not used to. We usually go three rounds 1- minute long. Here they went three minutes with no stopping.” Amber said. “Treva happened to be one of the first to go in his weight class and when he stepped out on that mat and put everything he has worked so hard for into it, we were so proud.” 

Unfortunately, Treva lost his first match by only points. He was understandably upset but he cleared his mind and got ready for his next match. He did exactly what he told himself he was going to do; leave it all on the mat again. Again, Treva unfortunately lost that one as well by points. Overall, Treva did very well and though he may not have won the competitions in Ohio, he won a place in the hearts of his community.

“His dad and I are very proud of him. He is looking forward to next year and hopefully being able to compete again in Nationals. He has already started talking about his training for it. He is a great kid with a lot of talent and he is going places. I can't wait to watch him grow and become the best student athlete that he can be,” Amber said. 

As far as wrestling next year as a freshman with Coach Dryburgh, he will definitely be there. He is looking forward to wrestling at a different level. Not forgetting where he came from, Treva said “Coach Johnson was an amazing coach. He never gave up on me when I had a bad moment and he is the reason I feel that I won first place.”

The Valliere Family would like to extend a ‘heartfelt thank you’ to the Windham wrestling community. Amber stated, “It means a lot to all of us. We would not have been able to go to Nationals if it wasn't for the whole wrestling community. The parents and students helped raise the money we needed to get Treva there – these people made it happen for him.”