No matter how, who, or where you get tackled during an arena football game, the pain is real.
That includes, of course, the members of the undefeated Wheeling Miners, the Friendly City’s newest tenant at Wesbanco Arena that finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Miners will welcome the New Jersey Bearcats to their home turf this weekend, and the concrete arena floor will be barely padded and the wooden dasher boards are always in play.
“It’s football,” said Miners head coach and general manager Josh Resignalo. “But it’s a different kind of football. In a lot of ways, it’s more physical because of the fields and the rules.”
That’s one of several reasons why Resignalo is pleased with the partnership the Miners have developed with the owners of ThrIVe Wheeling, JJessica Barclay and Vanessa Craig.
“We engaged in the partnership with ThrIVe because of the facility they have in downtown Wheeling and the needs our athletes need for recovery,” the head coach said. “They play hard, so the cryo tank, the infrared sauna, and the red-light therapy are all important pieces for us and our success. That’s because of the healing that takes place, and our players are very excited about the relationship.
“Our guys get 30-minute massages at ThrIVe, too, and those have been a big hit, too, because not every team out there has access to services like these,” he said. “And it helps with our recruiting, too, and that will be very important as our organization moves forward here in Wheeling.”
Wheeling has defeated the Bearcats twice during the regulars, including a 42-32 victory in Jersey on April 19 and a 25-20 win at home on May 18. Game time Saturday evening will be 7 p.m., and a victory would advance the Miners to the American Arena League’s championship against either Waco Tornadoes or the Peach State Cats.
“We got a lot of rest thanks to our first-round bye, but after this Saturday’s game, we’ll need to get the guys healed up again at ThrIVe,” Resignalo explained. “I can remember when I was young, body recovery after practices and games included a bag of ice and a whirlpool, so we’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. Cryo therapy has been around for a few years but ThrIVe has all of the latest procedures and technology. It’s a very impressive operation.
“The city of Wheeling is a terrific place because there are facilities like ThrIVE, and because we’ve gained a lot of loyal fans already, and we know we have to prove ourselves to the community,” he said. “I feel we’ve laid the groundwork to prove we’re the real deal, and now that we’re headed into the postseason, we’re looking to have continued success. Winning. Winning proves a lot.”
ThrIVe Wheeling is located at 1052 Main Street and is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Sunday 12– 4 p.m.
“We’ve really enjoyed working with the players and they’ve been very enthusiastic about their recovery because arena football is a rough and tough game,” said ThrIVe co-owner Jessica Barclay. “They have taken advantage of the full body and localize cryo therapies, and the NormaTech compression therapies have worked very well with them, too.
“We’ve helped a lot of people with a lot of things since we opened back in 2019, but sports recovery and proactive recovery, I believe, is our niche here in Wheeling. That’s why a lot of local athletes have come to us,” she said. “I’ve read that for every four hours of sports play, it takes an hour of active recovery to get back to normal.”
The ultra-spa opened only five months before the beginning of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and since has been greatly challenged by the $32 million downtown streetscape project.
“Vanessa (Craig) and I are big fans of Wheeling and we like to see the development that’s been taking place. That’s very exciting for us,” Barclay said. “And we love going to the Miners game because they’re a lot of fan and the game is really interesting. It’s football, but it’s a different kind of football. It’s a lot of fun.
“We’ve treated people of all ages – from 10 to 70 probably – but when the players come in, it’s an exciting time because of their energy and personalities,” Barclay reported. “We enjoy those days and I know our other clients do, too.”
