| My name is Nikolas (Nik) Gallardo, I am fifteen years old, a Freshmen, and wrestle at The Meadows School and Aniciete Training Club (ATC). I have been wrestling for ten years. I am grateful to be nominated as NVSportsLocal’s Athlete of the Month for April. My older brothers Bobby, Noah, and Sam Gallardo are my inspirations to wrestle. Watching them made me want to be more and more like them. They are all over the walls of Shadow Ridge High School with accolades and awards, and even though I don’t go there, I want to be able to do more than they did in their high school and college careers. |
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| I started wrestling at the age of five, and I did not really win any matches in any of the tournaments I wrestled in my first year, but I always kept coming back for more because it was awesome. I still remember, the first tournament I won, which was in 2016, at the Cimarron Bad Boy Brawler. When I won this tournament I realized that wrestling is the most fun sport I have ever done, and it had me want to keep pushing myself even more. My dad was the youth head coach at Team Vegas where I first started wrestling and has been in my corner from the beginning. I learned a lot from him, and he even taught me my favorite shot: the sweep single. Having him in my corner and always telling me, “To give 100 percent effort” and he would never be upset if I won or lost. |
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The following year in 2017 we went to the Cimarron Bad Boys with Coaches Doan Pickett, George Morales and my dad, and my wrestling continued to improve. At Cimarron, our team did good at State where I placed 4th in Folkstyle and 2nd in Freestyle and Greco. It made me want to keep getting better, and I loved being at Cimarron, but since it wasn’t a year-round team we ended up going to Pistol Wrestling Club. Meeting Coaches Pete Martin, Anselmo Gutierrez and Teddy Concepcion made my wrestling even better. Having kids that I wrestled at tournaments as partners pushed me harder each day as well. My dad being an Assistant Head Coach there also helped me even more. We held extra practices with another teammate, Dexter Donough, and we focused on fundamentals like feet placement on shots, and getting my bottom improved. My confidence in a sweep single grew, and I realized it is my favorite shot. I was a part of Pistol from 2017-till COVID happened, and unfortunately, Coach Pete turned over Pistol to another program called Gold Rush. |
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| Since 2021, I have been at Aniciete Training Club (ATC) led by Coaches Napoleon Aniciete, Val Rauser, Alex Aniciete, and Antonio Jauregui, and my wrestling has improved by leaps and bounds. My neutral has gotten better, and my shot has been worked on even more by adding more setups and learning how to not get out of my stance, and to stay in good position constantly. ATC has improved my top wrestling and I now enjoy doing the cross-face cradle, and I have learned how to lock it up on many opponents. Wrestling with Coach Nap taught me how to keep attacking and always think three moves ahead of your opponent. Coach Val has taught me to keep my feet moving and how to do counter offense with ease. Coach Alex has taught me how to be intense and always be 100 percent into your opponent. One obstacle that I have not learned well yet is something called floating. Floating is where you go 70-80 percent with your partner, and you wrestle through positions getting into and out of uncomfortable/comfortable situations. When I started doing this, I wanted to win every “go” but over time I learned through floating, how to scramble and be confident in certain positions. Having Coach Nap, Val and Alex as my club coaches has made me enjoy wrestling even more and has built a confidence in myself and my abilities that I am truly grateful for. |
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| Going into my Freshmen year–this year, we decided on attending The Meadows School. Although my brothers all wrestled at Shadow Ridge, I could not pass up the educational opportunities The Meadows had to offer, or the possibilities of being coached by my club coaches who took over the program at my new school. My Freshmen season, I was nervous. I was worried about strength and speed at the next level. I learned through having my brother Sam, as a partner at high school and club practices, that I am good enough. Sam helped me from the summer till January, and he pushed me and taught me things he is so good at. Having him here to train with me up and giving that little extra difficulty through the drill has definitely helped me to feel that I am good enough. If I can keep up with my brother, then I can keep up with almost anyone. My high school record my Freshmen year was 32-5. I Placed 4th at the Cimarron Spartan Invitational, and 4th at the Chaparral Invite. Leading into Regionals I was nervous because I had never wrestled the top two seeded kids, not even in youth. We went and watched their dual, and I studied them. In Regionals, I was in a different mindset and prepared. I went out there and didn’t allow a single point. Going into State I was still skeptical, but Coach Nap kept reminding me I was ready, and no one was able to compete with me. The first two matches at State were a pin and a decision win, but going into the Finals match I again was nervous because I had not wrestled this opponent before, and he had beaten kids I had lost to. Everything clicked; I felt underestimated; I was mentally ready, and I won via pin in the 2nd period. |
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My long-term goal from 6th grade to 9th grade was to win a high School State Title and be on the
same level as my brothers. Accomplishing this felt good, but I wanted more. As a team, we went to Virginia Beach and wrestled in the NHSCA, better known as High School Nationals. Once again, I was my worst enemy doubting my abilities and selling myself short against East Coast competition. We had 5am practices, followed by coming to evening practice thirty minutes early, and having our coaches remind us, “to do something you have never done before.” This was engraved in my mind and pushed me through the 5am’s and going into the tournament, it propelled me to go 6-3 and place 8th and getting on the Podium. My practice buddy, Nate Prado, and I both became All-Americans, and we realized our hard work had paid off, and that we did this. |
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| I am thankful for my brothers pushing me every day to be the best. I’d like to thank my brother Sam especially because he has been by my side as my partner the last two years, and he has pushed me to be the best that I can be, and is the best partner I have ever had. I’d like to also thank my dad for always being in my corner. Having him in my corner to vent to about anything that happens in a match, to study future opponent’s videos and to analyze and strategize, has helped me more than words can say. He motivates and teaches me to do the little things that will continue to contribute to my success going forward. |
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| I am grateful for the opportunity to wrestle and without it I don’t know how different my life would be. I am grateful for the support system around me. Besides my brothers and dad, my sister and most importantly, my mom, I believe are my biggest cheerleaders. I am thankful for them cheering for me in my wins and my losses, and encouraging me in my preparation and effort. Thank you, mom and Olivia! Lastly, going into practice, whether it’s a 5am, live-go session or floating, it is always fun to learn new things. Wrestling has taught me valuable lessons in life especially off the mat on how to be respectful and humble and most importantly grateful. |
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