It’s a long night the first time you step on the varsity mat. The lights are brighter, and they all seem to be pointing in your direction. Trickles of sweat leave the underarm in a pre-match tremble. Parents of a new wrestler scream “Get ‘em!” or “Squeeze!” every chance they can. The chants are infectious, and the other new parents start chanting the same thing in a glorious round that mimics an elementary choir singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” the same fashion. Your coach is in the corner hoping that one of the moves he has taught in the past three weeks will be your key to victory. Checking in at the table is forgotten, a headgear unstrapped. Moves swirl around in the gray matter, Set up a double? A high crotch? Run the half? You shake hands. The whistle blows. Then you forget. You forget everything and do everything that you have been taught not to do. The lessons swirling around in your brain simply leak out your ear. Your stance is horrible. You clasp. You get cautions. Your face gets red. But it’s okay. Sometimes you get it together, sometimes you take a defeat. No matter the outcome, you have joined an elite club. You have joined a brother and sisterhood we call wrestling. Soon, the pounding heartbeats will fade, the clasping and cautions will diminish, and the routine will become natural. It is this shift that will allow you to become great. Don’t focus too hard on match one. It’s a long season. *** We have a young team this year. No seniors. There are very few kids with experience, but we all gained some last night. This year is a learning year. No expectations. We’ll win some and lose some we shouldn’t. But in the end, we’ll be a family, an ugly, bloody, sweaty group of warriors. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Last night, we went 1-2 as a team. We had our had raised 19 times including forfeits, and lost 11 matches. We have a lot of work to do, but these kids are willing. It’s going to be a long season, but we have goals worth fighting for. Good luck to all the wrestlers stepping in the circle for the first time soon.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 14:09:36 +0000
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