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By STEVE KRAH stvkrh905@gmail.com Tanner DeMien likes to see his success even before he achieves it. The NorthWood High School sophomore wrestler has learned to use visualization to take him to the next level. As a freshman, he placed seventh at the IHSAA State Finals at 106 pounds and his sights are set even higher this winter. “I see myself running through my moves and getting my hand raised,” DeMien said. “I think about previous matches and how I can fix those mistakes.” Fourth-year NorthWood head coach Damon Hummel said DeMien has gotten better in many aspects of wrestling, but it is between the ears where he has shown the most improvement. Hummel said DeMien gets the mental game. “He understands how to go into a tournament (with four or five matches) and mentally prepare himself,” Hummel said. “Kids have a tendency to wear themselves out by the end of the day. He prepares himself to be better at the end of the day.” With his wrestling I.Q., Tanner is able to diagnose his issues about as quickly as Hummel and his staff. “He’s been around wrestling enough that he knows what to do and what not to do,” Hummel said. “He picks himself apart more than most coaches do.” Between matches at a super dual, Tanner will go into a quiet place and do visualization exercises and run the halls to keep his heart rate up. These are lessons that Tanner has learned from the many camps and off-season programs — he toured the western U.S. with the Ohio All-Star Travel Wrestling Team for 45 days last summer — he’s attended. Tanner, 16, is thankful for his father, Jason, who got him into wrestling as a 45-pound peewee at around age 6, for his help and guidance. “He’s a big part of what I am and what I’ve accomplished,” Tanner said of father, who is also a NorthWood volunteer assistant coach. “I give my props to him. He’s been teaching me ever since I can remember.” The DeMiens have heard highly-decorated coaches like Dan Gable speak on the importance of visualization. “A lot of camps we’ve been to have really talked about the mental game,” Jason DeMien said. “It’s seeing the match before you step on the mat.” While rotating between 106 and 113 pounds, Tanner has also refined his moves on the mat. “I’ve gotten better in the top position and I’m able to turn people and put them away,” Tanner said. “It’s more about technique than a strength thing. I want to get more points for my team.” Jason DeMien said his son has learned to apply more pressure on top, gotten good at escapes as well as movement on his feet. “As he has gotten older, he’s learned to get angles and work those really hard,” Jason DeMien said. Tanner goes into each practice with a game plan. He knows what he wants to concentrate on and he does so with intensity and is a believer in Hummel’s insistence on repetition. “If I’m going drill high crotch, I’d rather do that 50 times then run five moves 10 times each,” Tanner said. “It’s just getting a couple of moves down and running them.” Hummel calls Tanner a “drill king.” “He loves to hit the move and hit the move,” Hummel said. “We talk to all of our kids about repetition.” Hummel and his coaching staff do not throw the kitchen sink at the Panthers. The idea is to be proficient at the things they do and not how many things they do. “When you get close to January, there’s not much more you can teach the kids,” Hummel said. “They’ve learned what they’ve learned. Now we need to fine-tune everything. You need to be ready for sectional at the end of the year. “Kids think they can do everything, but you’ve got to teach them two or three good moves. Some of these kids can get a couple nice takedowns and go to state with that if you’re good at it. Practice intensity goes up while duration goes down. “When you’ve only got one guy per weight class, you can’t beat the heck out of them everyday in 2 1/2 practices,” Hummel said. “A lot of coaches believe in a lot of moves. We believe in a smaller move base and hit them harder and faster.” While Tanner sees plenty of mat time during the year, he is not just a wrestler. He plays tennis for NorthWood in the fall. “It’s great for a kid to do that,” Jason DeMien said of the multi-sport appoach. “It gives them a break from being on the mat where your body just gets worn down. Doing something different gives your mind a break.” Not that Tanner didn’t use his mental skills on the court. “There’s a lot of carryover between tennis and wrestling,” Jason DeMien said. “Tennis is a very mental sport and agility is huge. I noticed that his mental game was so much stronger than kids who have been playing a long time.” Look for Tanner and his NorthWood Panther teammates Wednesday, Dec. 23, at Rochester’s McKee Memorial Invitational and Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 28-29, at Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic.