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Why failure is the most important part of wrestling


WaltHarris

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Old.   Stodgy.   Out of touch.   Clueless.   Oblivious.  Don’t get it.   Outdated.  

 

This is how my grandchildren and children describe me.

 

Honestly, I dislike most people under 35.   I do not get social media.   The whole of idea of ‘being famous’ on Twitter or Facebook is a farce.   The narcissism of so many young people is completely foreign.   And social media is just a stupidity amplifier for the selfish foolishness of millennials. 

 

There is one group of people under 35 I still can relate to and that’s wrestlers.   I can talk to a kid who wrestles for hours.   There isn’t much selfishness in these kids.   These are really damn good kids. 

 

That got me thinking.   Wrestling is really the most humbling thing a person can do.   At least in my opinion.   Even our greatest wrestlers ever, guys like Ellis and Tsirtis and Palmer, have been beat and pinned at some point.   If you’ve ever wrestled, you been humbled.   Probably multiple times.

 

So many kids today really have no idea what failure is.   I watched the video of that girl at Yale screaming and I could not believe it.   Halloween costumes are now offensive and cause a person to emotional convulse?  Really?  Too many soft people.   Too many people who have never failed.   Too many people who have never been challenged. 

 

I see so many wrestlers perform so admirably in adulthood.   And I honestly think it is because so many of these kids failed.   They failed plenty of times in wrestling matches.   And they were taught to get back up and do it all over again.   Don’t quit.   Don’t stop fighting. 

 

Wrestling provides these kids armor for life.   If they lose a job or something does not go their way, they don’t immediately crumble.   They move on.   And they certainly don’t fall to pieces over made up transgression like Halloween costumes or micro aggressions. 

 

These kids who wrestle are probably the one thing that give me some glimmer of hope for the future.

 

End of old man's rant.

Edited by WaltHarris
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"The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."

(From a sermon preached by Peter the Hermit in A.D. 1274)
 
"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint".
(the Greek philosopher Hesiod, 8th century BC)
 
The children now love luxury; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.
(Socrates)
 
I definitely agree with many of the things you say, Walt.  But don't forget that difficulty with "youth of today" has been identical in one form or another for every generation in history.  It seems none of us really become responsible adults until we're a ways past the legally defined age.  Ever since I came across a few ancient quotes like the above, I've found myself being a little more gracious for the growing pains teens and 20-somethings will face without fail.
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It is a very humbling experience even for reserved and quiet kids like I was. I wrestled at a young age and then lacked support to keep me in the sport. I was encouraged my senior year to come out and help fill a spot. I knew I was in for a battle and some lumps. Until you get out on the mat in front of a packed home crowd in what was predicted and actually was a tight dual, and get stuck, do you really know failure and disappointment. We came back and won the dual and I eventually improved but wasn't a good wrestler in the least. The biggest thing I felt was that I probably let down my teammates and was starting on the wrong foot. My teammates encouraged me and help me improve after that dual and helped me see everyone gets humbled whether they are 1st timers or state qualifiers.

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Overall great post.  I think parents protect kids from failure like it's going to destroy them.  I've been "humbled" multiple times this year by my heavyweight... It's always good to get a reality check. 

 

I loved the comment: "Wrestling provides these kids armor for life."  -- It's great insight.  

 

I disagree slightly with your comments on social media.  It's a tool, just light anything, that can be used in great ways.  Me?  I use to as a platform to encourage others to be unstuck in life; to help others understand it's their choice to either be a victim of circumstance or overcome it.  I use it as a tool to connect with millennials (who by the way overall are amazing young people) to give them insight to my life to help provide an example to them of what a great marriage looks like, what hard work looks like, and giving them a peek at what this whole wrestling sport is (the school I teach at doesn't have a program).  At 28 I'm considered a millennial.  These kids are different. Their motivation is different. The fact is, overall, they really do want to be a part of change and help people.  As business leaders, coaches, teachers, and parents we have to understand what motivates them.  Tactics used even 15 years ago aren't going to work. I don't know the answer but I agree things we're seeing such as entitlement issues, "oh this offends me", and the fact they just quit things is a problem.  Our numbers have been down and we've had probably 10 kids quit during the year. 

 

Or maybe they just need to be smacked. A nice backhand when I was younger did set me straight... 

Edited by GrecoISU
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