Picture of the Week - 1/23/2020

Oh this sport of wrestling...  what can I even say about it...  maybe I should start by sharing something someone else wrote about wrestlers. 

Obsessed Wrestler

“They suffer in silence.

Day in and day out the men and women of my squad do things others would deem superhuman.

Fight to maintain grades
Fight to maintain weight
Fight off skin infection
Fight to keep varsity positions
Fight to win matches against skilled opponents.
Fight the stigmas of their peers.
Fight against the silence of a community that widely ignores them.
Fight with personal demons.

They do this all in a deafening vacuum of ambivalence. Unseen by friends and family. Locked away in early mornings and late nights they push themselves to the peak of human perfection. Their is a certain beauty in their quiet struggles. No banners. No parades. No accolades. Just the simple promise to themselves that they will be better. That they have to be better.

So the next time you see one of my wrestlers, remember this: that the people of this world that can get things done are the workers. The ones with their sleeves rolled up and their boots caked with dirt. These wrestlers thrive with sweat on their brow.

There is a good chance they have done more than you ever could. And will achieve more that you ever did.

And it all starts with the quiet stillness in their silent suffering.”

- Ryan Lancaster

When I was younger and envisioning my future life, I never once, for even ONE SECOND, considered that I might raise a wrestler.  I didn't know anything about wrestling.  Actually, that's not true...  I did *think* I knew some stuff about wrestling, but it turns out it was all wrong.  Every perception I had about those boys in their underwear, was inaccurate.  Wrestling, for those who aren't IN IT, doesn't make sense.  And if you aren't IN IT, trust me when I say, you don't understand it.

I never would have dreamed that in 2020 I would spend 20 bucks for the privilege of watching a live stream of a Georgia State Wrestling Dual.  Like seriously...  my 1995 self was never going to even BE in Georgia, would have had girls, and couldn't even conceive of the idea of watching some kind of live event through an app on my smart TV.  Mind blown.

And yet.  That's exactly what I did.  And I didn't do it passively.  This wasn't a "put it on for noise in the background" kind of experience.  For 3 days my schedule revolved around when the West Wrestling Team would be wrestling next.  I was useless during their matches.  I paced.  I cheered (yes, alone in my room).  I had the video up on the TV and the live scoring app on my laptop.  I had a spreadsheet to keep track - real time - with points.  My heart raced.  I was a nervous wreck!!!  

And it was SO RIDICULOUSLY FUN!!!

It turns out wrestling is an addictive sport.  It's a FAR bigger adrenaline rush than football has ever been for me, which kind of surprises me to admit.  Think back to the most exciting football game you've ever watched.  Now cram ALL of the emotion into 6 minutes and strip it down to a one-on-one match-up.  Now imagine that one of those souls out there exposed on the field is your son.  If you are following with this imaginary situation, you might have an inkling of what wrestling parents go through during a match.

So the West Wrestling team 4 years ago was struggling.  It wasn't a successful program.  Spencer and Quinn were in 6th and 7th grades.  We had just decided to rejoin the world of wrestling because Spencer's football coach convinced him it would be good for his football career.  We were football first, wrestle-to-work-on-footwork people.  

Then the high school got a new coach.  The energy around the wrestling room shifted.  Spencer, unexpectedly, got to wrestle varsity as a freshman (admittedly largely due to the fact that the program was kind of in shambles at the time and there wasn't anyone else.)  And we all fell in love.  We never even saw it coming...  the transition to "wrestling people" just happened.  

Wrestling is, of course, a sport that demands physical preparation.  It requires strong bodies and focus on strength and endurance (in 6 minute bursts).  I love this about the sport because my guys all need a kick in the pants to get moving.  I want them to be of sound body and this sport demands it.  

But wrestling is also a sport that demands mental toughness.  It is this that makes it my favorite sport (of all those we've experienced).  I believe there isn't a better way to prepare for L.I.F.E than to get ready for a wrestling match.  I think this is especially true of Duals.  If you are like me, you may not understand anything about wrestling.  It's taken me 3 years to figure out some of this stuff.  In a high school Dual, each team gets 14 weight classes and each weight class has 1 wrestler from each team.  They battle it out in front of the entire gymnasium full of people and whatever points they earn from their match go toward the TEAM'S total.  The TEAM wins or loses - even though that win is made up of 14 individual battles.  Some interesting strategy comes out in some Duals.  Kids can be bumped up a weight class or held out of a match based on what the coach thinks will happen.  It's a chess battle, with a ton of physicality required, all played out on a mat without anywhere for the wrestlers to hide.  They don't even get pads.  

When West, and Coach Goff, started rebuilding the wrestling program, I don't know if anyone thought that they would be on the State Dual Championship podium in year 3 of the process.  At best it was a stretch goal.  West is a 7A school.  This means they have to compete with some monster programs.  When they went down to Macon, GA last weekend and won 3rd place no one remotely connected with the program took one minute of that experience for granted.  It's the best finish the program has ever had - and it was earned in spectacular style.  

After going 2-0 on Thursday, the team went head-to-head with Camden County Friday evening.  Camden is a perennial powerhouse and we lost... badly.  Of the 14 guys, we only won 2 matches.  It was basically a slaughter.  Saturday morning, the team got after it again.  They had the mental fortitude to put the beating behind them and move on.  They beat Brookwood to earn the right to wrestle Archer in the consolation final match.  And don't for one second think that anyone on that team was focused on the word consolation...  this was their final and they were fired up.  

The Archer team is loaded at the lighter weights.  For a Dual competition, you might be surprised to know that the wrestling doesn't always start at the light weight.  It just so happens that, based on the way the tournament went, this final Dual started at the smallest weight and would end with heavyweight.  We lost 6 of the first 7 matches and found ourselves down 3-19 before the tide turned in our direction.  The whole time this was going on, I was doing math.  Spencer wrestles 220 and our heavyweight is amazing.  If we assumed we would get a pin (6 points) at the heavyweight match, would Spencer's match matter? 

Turns out Spencer's match ended up being the decision point of the Dual.  NOTE - I do NOTE think that anyone who wrestled before or after Spencer didn't have just as much to do with the win as he did.  If any of the other guys had gotten pinned instead of "just" lost or had any of the other wins gone differently the whole Dual would have changed.  

But in the moment, when Spencer stepped on the mat, it was HIS PERFORMANCE that would determine the fate of his team.  (This is again, assuming Dylan, our heavyweight would pin his kid... which is always a good assumption...)  When Spencer started his match the team was down 22-25.  He needed to win.  If Spencer got pinned, the team would lose.  If Spencer lost on points, the team would have lost on tie-breaker rules.  It was a high drama situation.  I nearly died...

Spencer pinned his kid.  And I have never been so happy for him.  I cried real tears of joy on his behalf.  It was a special moment.  (Then I drank wine... because Holy Hell that was stressful!!!)

I am so proud that my kids - all of them - are a part of this program.  They just completed the BEST EVER finish the high school has ever had.  They are a part of something special.  And what they are gaining through the process is, literally, priceless.  

Updates and such

- Everyone is wrestling this weekend!!!  Zane got clearance today to resume normal activities as the pressure in his eye is finally back to normal.  He's still on the drops twice a day for the next couple of weeks, but we are soooo excited that he's healing well and can get back to normal!  Zane and Beck will wrestle in a tournament on Sunday.

- The high school wrestling season now transitions from Team-based Duals to Individual battles.  Spencer will be wrestling in a big tournament - at Archer, of all places - this weekend.  Quinn's assignment is slightly up in the air as the guys around him all jockey for position.  He will either wrestle in the same tournament as Spencer (which would be very nice for the parents...) or he will wrestle in a JV tournament.  Either way, I'm excited to get to watch him put in some work as it's been a while since I've seen him wrestle live in person. 

- If you need us this weekend, check the gymnasium.