R4mom Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 First of all, I want to let you know that I was going to wait until February to become a member of the Indianamat.com message board contributor, but I decided now seemed like a better time than later. Hopefully, I won?t upset my boys by writing this but, I feel this cannot wait till the end of their high school wrestling. My name is Julie Rieker and I currently have 3 boys wrestling for Columbus East. I am sure many of you know who they are. I also have a daughter that has been scorekeeper and manager for East wrestling. To begin with I want to say that my family has been involved in Indiana wrestling since 2003. My whole family has been a huge fan of Indiana wrestling since then. In the past, we enjoyed reading the message board at the IHSWCA and now the Indianamat.com website. So I would like to begin with thanking Coach Cooper, Coach Fisher, Coach Chitwood, Coach Miller, Coach Zollman, Coach Metzger, Coach Zollman, Coach Trapp and Coach Bryant and many others for all the time, confidence, mentoring and support they have given my 3 boys over the past several years. I would also like to thank their family members that have given so much for the time they gave up so my boys and the rest of the East wrestlers could achieve what they have these past several years. I also want to thank all the other coaches around the state that coached them in all their many wrestling tournament and camps over the past several years which included states of Ohio, North Dakota, Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois and even overseas to Japan. And to the coaches? families that sacrificed their family time for these coaches to represent Indiana wrestlers. All of these coaches represent what Indiana wrestling is. These coaches, as well as many others, represent Indiana wrestling by travelling around the state, country and other nations representing ALL of our Indiana wrestlers by giving their best in commitment, time, hard work, sacrifice, success and most importantly family so that ALL of Indiana wrestlers are Champions in their own right. While I don?t always agree or understand a coach?s decision, I respect that decision and so do my boys. And if any of them or I have issues with that decision; we take it to the coach and/or the other parents. The boys know that as long as they give 110% for their team and their coach, they have done all they can to win, be a leader to the team and no matter the outcome makes their family proud. And believe me, there have been many times I have been frustrated, upset and have had to sit back and watch my kids struggle and overcome obstacles to get to where they are today. But because of those struggles and obstacles, all three of my boys are fine young boys I am so proud of. They have matured to take on challenges head on, make their own decisions and accepted the results of those challenges and decisions. I have family members and friends that keep up with my boys? wrestling by reading the Indianamat.com message board and results. So lately, I have become very frustrated with some of the messages left on the message board. It seems as of lately it has become more of a board to try to ruin wrestlers and team reputations. Yes, my boys are not perfect and neither are their teammates. And yes, my boys have done some things they should not have, like throw a fit or head gear. So their coaches have taught them to take it to a hallway, bathroom or locker room to deal with their frustrations. Also, as their parents, my husband and I have made sure the boys take responsibility for their actions and apologize to their coach and even their team mates but we have also found someone who can relate to them to talk about their behavior on and off the mat. Depending on which of my boys, depended on which coach was able to get through to him at the time of the incident. I am sure most other wrestlers have had a time when they lost their ?cool? also. Yes, it is embarrassing and frustrating to the family and coach when this happens. And yes, I am sure over some point of their past 7.5 years of wrestling they have missed getting their placing reward for some reason. Yes, they should have been there, but they weren?t. You cannot change the past but you can change the future. There has also been talk about why kids, quit, move somewhere, removed from the team, etc? The Why isn?t important! What is important that we as a wrestling family support these wrestlers and wish them much success no matter what their future holds. We are talking about young boys and girls that are trying to grow-up, learn proper behaviors, and be independent and mature adults. One wrong word or some untruthful gossip on this site could affect the future of these wrestlers. It can adversely affect their reputation, college options, scholarship $, jobs, relationships, and their own outlook on life. So why don?t we take the time to show all the wrestlers, teams, coaches, families and fans, what Indiana wrestling truly represents and that is to be the adults that know how to be respectable, mature, responsible adults and let these wonderful young men and women wrestle. Be happy for the winning wrestlers and teams and strive to make your wrestler and team be winners by being the parents, coaches, and fans the wrestlers deserve by dealing with issues in person not over the internet for the whole world to read. Otherwise, we risk tarnishing young men and women?s reputations, as well as, the entire Indiana Wrestling program that many people over the years have worked so hard to build. Good luck to all our Indiana wrestlers as they prepare for the state tournament series. No matter the outcomes of your matches, please know you are all champions. Thank you and may God Bless you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Rebel Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tskin Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Awesome...I would Cool Point yea but for some reason I haven't had the ability to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler60160 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I don't know you personally, but your my HERO! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Momma Rieker, Your boys are an absolute joy to be around (even Baron!). I've had the pleasure of being on two trips with them and have had a blast with them both times. You and your husband have yourself a fine group of kids. Coach Cooper runs a top notch program and, he might not know it, has done alot for me as a coach. He's a true ambassador to our sport! Now if we could just do something about that husband of yours......... ;D ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cewrestlingfan Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Very well said Julie. I think you know how I feel about your boys and Cat. I also would like to thank you so much for everything that you have contributed to Columbus East wrestling over the last 7 + years and for all you have done for Ashton. It brings tears to me when I think too much about the time we have all spent together over the last 7 years is about to come to an end. But it also makes me feel very good inside knowing that wrestling and the time we have all spent together has made all of the kids better prepared to chase their future dreams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I have seen your boys (and daughter) do far to many positive things to let just one isolated incident of missing the podium in order to "cooled down" change my overall view of any of them. From what I know about him I'm sure in retrospect he realized the error in judgment without even being addressed about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecomets Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 AMEN :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piscis1956 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 A good post r4mom. I wish others on another post on this site would read your message and take it to heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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