(this article is my follow up to the one last year, but it won't be in the paper)...........
I’m lying completely prone on the
The night before was spent at the “weigh in”. My son who has wrestled at 70 lbs all year suddenly had a growth spurt, threatening to exceed the weight limit for which he has trained in all year. This could be tragic, since we know where he stands with the kids in his weight class. Plus, it’s the weight he is signed up for. So. He has to make weight. This is a special meet, it is a culmination of this years’ work, and it’s called Districts..
During the test time for weigh Ins, he’s over the weight, by a mere 6 ounces. Those 6 ounces could keep him from competition the next day and then his “year” would be over before the finale even begins. So, that can not happen. After visiting the rest room, he’s still over by 2 ounces. I will not mention the unmentionables I’ve been asked not to mention (that were in my pocket), but I will say he eventually was ready to try weighing again. His skin and fingernails were checked. He passes. Next, we head to the scale, a bit nervous. The moment of truth arrives: 70.00!! We go to Subway to celebrate, not worrying what his weight is any longer.
Last year I was very taken aback by so many things: the lack of parental observation of the practice, the long, tiring meets and the seemingly small amount of time my child was actually participating in the meet. This year, all of those things were amazingly………….irrelevant. We have been able to focus on just watching Kolby wrestle his matches.
So, while eating dinner with him, I begin to think back on this season of wrestling. The emotions run the gamut. Because of the close and personal nature of the sport, it naturally lends its self to a wide range of crazy experiences for the child. When you meet some stranger that has every right to put their hands basically where ever they want all over your body with a thousand (or so) people watching and cheering, well……….a child can easily take it quite personal. The sheer strength exuded during a match combined with the interesting situations the child finds their self in will cause even the most even-keeled child to basically…..”lose it” But that’s only if they lose. If they win, you witness a rush of accomplishment and pride that seems unmatched in any sport.
So Kolby had a great year. He won two thirds of his matches. For the ones he lost, well, he decided to quit the sport three times! He didn’t actually quit, but in the fury of the moment, each emotional outburst caused me to once again wonder if we will make it through the season. But each time he came back and stuck with it and learned a lot in the process, about endurance in the face of extreme opposition. I watched the mat side coaches call him over and take his tear stained face in their hands and coach him through the difficult moments, they helped him have confidence to keep going. Several times he refused to talk to them, only to learn later that he would pay for the insubordination in the form of extra strength conditioning. I like this form of training; I need to incorporate it into his daily life.
So apparently my pounding of the floor and Keith’s hugging of the air paid off (look how we take the credit) because he won that match and did well enough to advance to the regional competition. I am of course very proud of Kolby and also appreciative of the coaches and their never ending patience. Yes, I say, yes, yes, yes to wrestling!
