Eastern wrestler overcame a concussion and is 11-1
First came the bout that Jordan Pinette can't remember. Next came the conversation that Pinette can't forget. Now a senior at Eastern, Pinette is one of South Jersey's top lightweight wrestlers. He has an 11-1 record with six pins and four major decisions competing at 120 or 126 pounds.
First came the bout that Jordan Pinette can't remember.
Next came the conversation that Pinette can't forget.
Now a senior at Eastern, Pinette is one of South Jersey's top lightweight wrestlers. He has an 11-1 record with six pins and four major decisions competing at 120 or 126 pounds.
Pinette is a quiet but powerful presence for a surging Vikings team that has the inside track for the Olympic Conference American Division title and also looms as a strong contender for the South Jersey Group 5 crown.
"We're a different team," Eastern coach Brian Boland said, "when Jordan is on the mat."
Pinette said his senior season is special for the simplest reason: It nearly didn't happen.
Pinette suffered a concussion in a match against Holy Cross last February, an injury that caused him to sit out the remainder of his junior season and to hear a distressing diagnosis from a doctor soon after the incident.
"The doctor said there was a good chance you won't ever be able to wrestle again," Pinette said. "He said my concussion was really bad."
The circumstances of the concussion were odd: Pinette and a Holy Cross wrestler butted heads "five seconds" into the bout.
"We both shot at the same time," Pinette said.
Boland said the collision was a "glancing blow, not like two rams."
Pinette wrestled the entire bout, losing a 4-3 decision. He doesn't remember any of it.
"It wasn't like, 'There's something wrong. He needs to get off the mat,' " Boland said. "It was more like he just wasn't having a good match."
Pinette walked off the mat and collapsed. He said he lost consciousness for a few moments.
"It was scary," Pinette said.
A couple of days later, Pinette saw a doctor, who suggested the teenager's wrestling career might be over.
"It was devastating," Pinette said. "I had worked so hard to get there, and I was having a good season. I couldn't wait for districts."
Pinette's record at the time was 25-3, competing mostly at 113 pounds. He had built on a strong showing as a sophomore, when he took third in Region 7 at 106 pounds and advanced to the state championships in Atlantic City, losing competitive battles in his first two bouts in Boardwalk Hall by scores of 1-0 and 4-2.
"I love wrestling because it's unlike any other sport," Pinette said. "It teaches you how to be a man."
Pinette said he began light exercise sessions about two months after his concussion. He gradually increased his workload, spending a lot of time in the weight room.
Still, there was no guarantee he would be cleared to wrestle his senior season.
"There were a lot of times [in the offseason] when I thought I have to be prepared not to have him," Boland said. "We really didn't know if he would be able to wrestle."
Pinette said he finally received clearance from the doctor about a week before the start of the season.
"I had no doubt in my mind," Pinette said. "I knew I was coming back. I kept getting better and better as time went on."
Boland said Pinette is the kind of wrestler who "does everything right" and leads by example.
"It's kind of contagious," Boland said of Pinette's approach to the sport.
Pinette hopes to attend Ursinus College, study environmental science, and wrestle for the Bears.
Although Pinette has enjoyed wrestling since he started in the fourth grade, he said his health scare has given him a "different mind-set" in his final high school season.
"It kind of changed me," Pinette said. "It made me realize how lucky I am to be on the mat when other people can't wrestle. It made me work even harder."
@PhilAnastasia
jerseysidesports