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Confession Time


Kookie953

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So time to take a quick break and provide a distraction to the loaded regional and SS talk.

My son is new to the sport...it was a little over a year ago that he decided he wanted to give wrestling a try.  Something about watching kids under the lights at Bankers Life in 2015 provided that spark.  So as a 5th grader he started on his journey.  

After a bit of research, we learned about Red Cobra and he’s been in that sweat box ever since...and most nights I’m also spending a few hours listening to Coach Red bark instructions to all the kids.

Now true confession time...I never wreslted myself and frankly thought wrestlers were an odd bunch growing up.  One dude I knew in Junior High covered his singlet in deer attractant as an “advantage”.   Another kid claimed to rub onions on his pits and “area”.  I was a basketball player and that was my love...I wasn’t tough enough to wrestle even though I considered myself a tough guy.  So needless to say, I knew next to nothing when my kid started and know just a tiny bit more now.

More recent confession, during our first few meets man some parents were going insane during a match while I just saw some kids leaning on each other.  My inner monologue said “dude, what’s those people’s issue?  They’re some real nut-jobs.”

Fast forward to today, and a solid year of Coach Red training has not only helped my kid but also his old man that’s been sweating profusely on the other side of the partition while Coach Red instructs like only he can.  What I didnt know is that I was getting C-Red Trained too.   Now I find myself automatically and instinctively barking stuff like “Get Your HEAD UP!!!” And “UP AND OUT!!!” Or “GET THAT TIGHT AND SQUUUEEEEZE!!!” Or “God gave you two hands SO USE THEM!!”  Its like I can’t control it.

So to all you parents before that I was secretly being real judgey towards in my head, because y’all were losing your minds (or so I thought)...my bad.

To all you beginner parents wondering why the big dude in purple is losing his mind in the future....you’ll get it one day.

One thing I’ve learned while my boy has really embraced and taken to this sport and the process...if you’re the parent of one of these high schoolers that’s putting it all out there in the coming weeks, then really be proud of it and where you are.  Make sure to take a moment and take it in.  Be proud they’re there regardless of outcome. Unlike any other, wrestling is an awesome sport that requires some real courage to even walk out there on that mat.  Sometimes it takes the eyes of a newbie to bring the obvious into focus.

Good luck to all competitors and teams as each step gets a little tougher.  I’m glad I’m here...and I’m glad my son has chosen to be a wrestler.  

<Pound Sign>HendricksCountySmellsFunny #PainTrain #PoundSign

Edited by Kookie953
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Glad your son chose the right sport. You were correct about wrestlers being an odd bunch. Their is always an exception to the rule, but for the most part they are odd and usually the better they are, the weirder they are. As for us parents, we are all mad here, some just hide it better than others. Welcome to the weird, wild and wonderful world of wrestling. 

 

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Glad your son is taking up the sport, congrats and good luck to him!  As for the parents you're absolutely correct, we're all a little crazy it just seems the dads' hold it in better, I personally can't say the same for the mothers out there. LOL

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Great stuff. Welcome to the club buddy. This is a typical story here on the west side of Indy. Solid middle school programs, great clubs, and even better academies. Growing like wild fire. Hundreds of little guys grinding every night. Really excited to see what the future brings for all these youngsters. Thanks for sharing.

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30 minutes ago, Mattyb said:

Great stuff. Welcome to the club buddy. This is a typical story here on the west side of Indy. Solid middle school programs, great clubs, and even better academies. Growing like wild fire. Hundreds of little guys grinding every night. Really excited to see what the future brings for all these youngsters. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah he was a decent basketball player but wanted to give this new sport a whirl...we don't do 2 sports in the same season and now he's a gym rat in a totally different sport.  I don't think he's going back...he only plays basketball with his buddies for fun now but his new stated long-term goal is to qualify for State one day.    

And I agree.  Seeing what's going on at RC and Contenders, the clubs, and the Middle Schools the future is bright.  Having the 2 first class academies, with truly awesome and caring coaches in Coach Red and Coach Parrish...it's a great time to be in PoundSignTheCounty.

I also appreciate the teamwork between the Dogs and the Orioles to advance the sport...my kid appreciated the opportunity to roll around with the AWC team as a wildcard and had a blast.  Going to be fun to watch in the future.  Thanks MattyB (if that is your real name).  

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It's crazy the kind of things we do as parents once our kids get involved in something.  I dabbled with wrestling in high school, but coming from a small school in Ohio, there wasn't much push back then.  So when my kids started wrestling a few years ago, I wasn't exactly sure what we were committing to.  Now that they have shown great interest and are starting to have some success, I've become that crazy wrestling dad too.  Fast forward to now and I'm like a sponge, listening to everything our club coaches say, learning as much as possible, getting bronze and copper certified, etc.  Heck, even somehow got volunteered to serve on our club board.

This sport is amazing and I'm so glad my 3 boys have decided to be involved.

 

Thanks for posting this thread............much needed reminder that we all come from different places, but in the end our love and passion for this sport is what drives us!

 

 

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Just want to chime in on this sport can take a hold of you and make you a fan for life. I wrestled in high school , joined the army after graduation and got married. I would go watch the local schools wrestle as well as local touneys that I found in the newspaper. I came home in the mid nineties and jumped right back to supporting my old school. I have three daughters none of whom wrestled, but would come watch with me and then became stat keepers in middle school and high school, the youngest did it in college. I'm now an empty nester, but my wife and I can still be found in the stands every saturday and even some sundays when we can. State is our weekend getaway, and some people call us crazy sometimes, but they just don't understand that once you are a wrestler the love for this sport stays with you for life.

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Great post Kookie (I assume you got permission from MattyB to post even tho you didn't put your name on it!..I kid of course MattyB)

To piggyback off some of the thoughts above, all of which are fantastic and got me to add my own, I never participated in the sport and knew nothing of it like Kookie, but got hooked exactly 5 years ago next week when Jr decided he wanted to go to Middle School state. Was hooked instantly.

Fast forward to now and this is my 1st year of not having a "skin in the game" so to speak for the state series run. I miss it immensely, more than anything else in this year of 1st's as an empty nester. The anticipation, the nervousness, the drawing up of imaginary bracket scenario's for the ticket round, watching Jr get in the zone as the week progresses to Sat, worrying about every little red mark that pops up on the skin or every sniffle as that was my worst fear was that skin fungus or sickness would rear it's ugly head at this time of year, the intensity buildup as the stakes are raised in each subsequent level of advancement, the exhilaration of seeing the hand raised and even the agony of defeat as that is when character comes out. We can argue about class/wrestlebacks etc but this time of year was the best, for a large part because it's setup as it is. Whether your child gets to the bank, or gets 4th and moves on to the next round of regional/SS, the bonds and memories are priceless..because you know what these kids have done to compete in the sport of wrestling.

Good luck and good health to everybody. May the best kid win, but if they don't hey there's always wrestlebacks!, but if they don't, they are still your kid and your champion. Enjoy the ride..savor the moment.

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Dear Sweet Baby Wrestling Gods, at 126 ... please don’t give us a Death Draw at Evansville Semi-State. All the State Champs & Runner Up deserve to prove themselves at State. 

 

All...... Crap .... wrong Confession Time & Place . 

 

 

Edited by TeamGarcia
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6 hours ago, TeamGarcia said:

Dear Sweet Baby Wrestling Gods, at 126 ... please don’t give us a Death Draw at Evansville Semi-State. All the State Champs & Runner Up deserve to prove themselves at State. 

 

All...... Crap .... wrong Confession Time & Place . 

 

 

#Amen

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