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This is a great sport


Galagore

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Fair warning, long post with mostly just fluff that we all agree on already:}

 

Today our MS team participated in their conference tournament. My son made the finals battling two really tough kids in the quaters and semis to get there. He wrestled to a tough 2-2 tie in regulation, losing in OT. At first, both of us were really disappointed and let down with the day. After some reflection, it happened again. I fell in love with wrestling. Someone wins, someone loses, that's the way it goes. You can do everything in your power, and if the other wrestler is doing the same, sometimes you just have to tip your cap and say, "good job," and move on. No hiding, no time-outs, no substitutions. Maybe this will always be the way for my sons. Maybe there will always be someone who is a little bit stronger or a little bit quicker, or who is just plain a little bit better. And you know what? That's OK. Climbing to the top of the podium is fantastic. However, climbing to anywhere on the podium can be valuable. This sport teaches things that no other sport does. Someone (non-wrestler, actually) once said to me that wrestling seems even harder than boxing or MMA because, in those sports, you at least get to hit someone. If you are so frustrated you are freaking out, you can (at least attempt to) strike someone to release some pressure in your brain. Not wrestling. Wrestling makes you take it, and take it, and take it. You can't fully promise someone that it will eventually pay off because maybe the other person is in the exact same situation you are. And that's OK. As hard as this sport is, it is probably the easiest sport to clearly define the benefits of participation. In closing, there is honestly no real point to this post except that this is the one place where I know people understand what I am saying. So, thank you to Joe and to everyone on here for creating a community for people in Indiana who love wrestling. And thank you to anyone who read to the end of this rambling post. Typing this out was very cathartic.

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15 hours ago, Galagore said:

Fair warning, long post with mostly just fluff that we all agree on already:}

 

Today our MS team participated in their conference tournament. My son made the finals battling two really tough kids in the quaters and semis to get there. He wrestled to a tough 2-2 tie in regulation, losing in OT. At first, both of us were really disappointed and let down with the day. After some reflection, it happened again. I fell in love with wrestling. Someone wins, someone loses, that's the way it goes. You can do everything in your power, and if the other wrestler is doing the same, sometimes you just have to tip your cap and say, "good job," and move on. No hiding, no time-outs, no substitutions. Maybe this will always be the way for my sons. Maybe there will always be someone who is a little bit stronger or a little bit quicker, or who is just plain a little bit better. And you know what? That's OK. Climbing to the top of the podium is fantastic. However, climbing to anywhere on the podium can be valuable. This sport teaches things that no other sport does. Someone (non-wrestler, actually) once said to me that wrestling seems even harder than boxing or MMA because, in those sports, you at least get to hit someone. If you are so frustrated you are freaking out, you can (at least attempt to) strike someone to release some pressure in your brain. Not wrestling. Wrestling makes you take it, and take it, and take it. You can't fully promise someone that it will eventually pay off because maybe the other person is in the exact same situation you are. And that's OK. As hard as this sport is, it is probably the easiest sport to clearly define the benefits of participation. In closing, there is honestly no real point to this post except that this is the one place where I know people understand what I am saying. So, thank you to Joe and to everyone on here for creating a community for people in Indiana who love wrestling. And thank you to anyone who read to the end of this rambling post. Typing this out was very cathartic.


Thanks for posting. The “climbing”, that your boys are working at, is gonna set them up for success in their future. Not just in the sport!

 

You’re kicking butt as a wrestling parent, even if you support class wrestling! 😉 

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I'm sure we've all been there a time or two when life gets really hard. You have bills to pay, a family to support, and you're trying your best to keep up, then something happens and the car has problems or the roof is leaking or whatever. For me, that's when I reach down into my own soul and say "I can do this, I've been through tougher situations, harder practices, weight control, and tough as nails matches. I can do this." I'm not saying my problems magically go away but they do seem more manageable from this perspective. This is what I find most valuable about wrestling, it teaches you to deal with problems and issues, as you said, there are no time outs, no substitutions, just you and your "opponent". In life, I'm not saying I'm undefeated but I'm still in the tournament!

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3 hours ago, Ahawkeye said:

I'm sure we've all been there a time or two when life gets really hard. You have bills to pay, a family to support, and you're trying your best to keep up, then something happens and the car has problems or the roof is leaking or whatever. For me, that's when I reach down into my own soul and say "I can do this, I've been through tougher situations, harder practices, weight control, and tough as nails matches. I can do this." I'm not saying my problems magically go away but they do seem more manageable from this perspective. This is what I find most valuable about wrestling, it teaches you to deal with problems and issues, as you said, there are no time outs, no substitutions, just you and your "opponent". In life, I'm not saying I'm undefeated but I'm still in the tournament!

I totally agree.  Not many people know this but 11 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer. As a former wrestler and now a wrestling official I took this attitude. 

 

Ok, Doctors what can we do about it and when do we start?

 

I was given a schedule that was an 8 week timeline filled with radiation and chemo. I circled the last treatment day on my calendar and told myself that 2 weeks before my last treatments until 2 weeks after my last treatments I was going to be as sick as I ever going to be.  2 weeks after the last treatments I was going to start getting better. I knew going into this and that these were the cards that I was dealt. 2 weeks after my treatments I slowly started getting better and since I have fully recovered. 

To me this is what wrestlers (and former wrestlers) do.

 

 

To quote Ahawkeye

"Cancer" was my opponent in life, and I'm not saying I'm undefeated but I'm still in the tournament"

Good luck to all.

Edited by feez
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