wrestling with sanity
My 3 sons are athletic in that they play lots of sports. Even when they are not great, they participate and we keep them involved. Year round we are carting them to various practices for Baseball, Roller Hockey, Swimming, Football and my favorite...Wrestling.
Wrestling stretches from November to February and offers them a chance to exert themselves through the cold winter. During really cold winters I'm grateful that they can do anything.
For me its also a chance to connect with them. I wrestled through high school and now am a coach with their rec team....so heres the crazy part.
They've been wrestling for 6 years, and have wrestled a hundred matches each. I've seen every match, in fact I know the scores of each match and who they wrestled. Even crazier, I scored the matches in my pda as they happened, so I know exactly how each match went how many takedowns, escapes, nearfalls, reverses even escapes they've had. We've gone to tournaments and I've searched their opponents names:
"You wrestled him last year at x tournament, you were winning 6-2 but he pinned you in the 3rd with 18 seconds left."
My oldest now wrestles for the Middle School, and is having a GREAT year. He's winning, but thats not what I think is great....he's working hard and giving it a complete effort. There's a maturity about taking responsibility for your bouts and being prepared. It's a source of pride for me to see him like that.
It's also the first time I've been unable to go to his matches, and thats so heartbreaking for me. The schools matches are held right after school lets out, while I'm still at work. On match days my wife races from work to get there on time. She calls me on my cellphone during the match and calls out the action as I close my eyes and imagine I'm there. I still get to see him wrestle on Saturdays for the rec team.....yeah, thats where I'd rather be right now....
Wrestling stretches from November to February and offers them a chance to exert themselves through the cold winter. During really cold winters I'm grateful that they can do anything.
For me its also a chance to connect with them. I wrestled through high school and now am a coach with their rec team....so heres the crazy part.
They've been wrestling for 6 years, and have wrestled a hundred matches each. I've seen every match, in fact I know the scores of each match and who they wrestled. Even crazier, I scored the matches in my pda as they happened, so I know exactly how each match went how many takedowns, escapes, nearfalls, reverses even escapes they've had. We've gone to tournaments and I've searched their opponents names:
"You wrestled him last year at x tournament, you were winning 6-2 but he pinned you in the 3rd with 18 seconds left."
My oldest now wrestles for the Middle School, and is having a GREAT year. He's winning, but thats not what I think is great....he's working hard and giving it a complete effort. There's a maturity about taking responsibility for your bouts and being prepared. It's a source of pride for me to see him like that.
It's also the first time I've been unable to go to his matches, and thats so heartbreaking for me. The schools matches are held right after school lets out, while I'm still at work. On match days my wife races from work to get there on time. She calls me on my cellphone during the match and calls out the action as I close my eyes and imagine I'm there. I still get to see him wrestle on Saturdays for the rec team.....yeah, thats where I'd rather be right now....
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Moments in my early life I am proud of, in no particular order:
Finishing Basic Training
Having sex before I got my driver's license
Getting my Eagle Scout
Having sex again before I graduated from high school
Graduating college
Wrestling well enough to be the only freshman in my high school to earn a varsity letter
Wrestling's cool. Keep 'em interested.
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