Picture of the Week 11/11/2021

 Wrestling wrestling wrestling - It's taken over my life.  And I love it all!  It's my favorite time of year!

I love this season and this sport.  (Although I do kinda hate that it overlaps all the holidays...  Someday I will relish the idea of an elaborate and calorie-rich cookie tray again...)

So many wrestling things going on...

First - Spencer had his first official collegiate match last weekend.  I am just so proud of him.  My parents and I went down to watch him and despite a 0-2 record for the tournament, I can't help but be in awe of how well he's doing.  He's just so settled.  He's figured out the college life and has his priorities right where they need to be.  He's doing well in his classes, competitive in the wrestling room, and working on finding a summer internship and nailing down his summer plans.  He's thriving in Charleston and it makes my mama-heart so full!

Second - Quinn has won his wrestle off to earn a spot at 138lbs on our varsity team this year.  (The team is SO big, nearly 70 strong, that he will likely get pushed to fight for this spot all year.)  I'm so thrilled for him to be in the Varsity A line-up (yes, we also have a Varsity B team...) this year.  He's worked hard to earn his spot!  And yet, when the team goes to their first competition this weekend, he will not be there.  Why?  Because he's taking a trip with his church Small Group to Chattanooga for the weekend.  His faith is so much stronger than mine was at his age and I love love love that he leans into it.  He's just an all-round cool dude.  

Third - Zane also won a wrestle-off this week to earn a spot at 125 lbs on the middle school duals team.  This is a pretty big feat for a 6th grader!  Our youth program this year has blossomed to over 50 kids.  Zane is a leader in that room and he transitioned from football to wrestling without missing a beat.  I really can't wait to watch him wrestle this year!  He's on the top end of the 12U age group and has a few years of experience under his belt now.  His club team coach asked him to travel with them to a duals tournament in Virginia Beach in December after watching his FIRST PRACTICE after football season.  Zane weighs the same as he did last year, but has grown 2-3 inches.  Should be a pretty fun season for him.

Fourth - Beckett is last, but certainly not least.  He's wrestling too and while he's not old enough for middle school duals just yet, he's got some individual tournaments coming up that should be pretty fun.  Beckett is pretty laid back about things in general, but he does have an aggressive side that tends to come out on the football field and the wrestling mat - when he wants to, he will.  

And last - there's the parental-involvement...  Bob and I are having a really great time volunteering our time and talents to this sport and these teams.  It's fun.  I really enjoy helping new folks learn the ins and outs of wrestling.  And this week, I'm really really glad that all the high school team uniforms are finally distributed to the wrestlers.  They had transformed my dining room into a bit of a messy-storage room look.  Better Homes and Gardens is never gonna come knocking on my door!  (And that's A-OK with me!)

Here's a picture of me and Spencer at last weekend's Citadel Open and a couple of pictures of our vast organizational challenge - aka wrestling uniform distribution...

Picture of the Week 11/4/2021

 As football winds down, wrestling takes off

Last weekend was Beckett's last game as they lost their playoff game.  So he's moved onto wrestling practice 3x week (for now).  Zane, however, won his playoff game so he's still doing the juggling thing with 3 football practices and 2 wrestling practices this week.  He's busy!  Quinn and Spencer are both doing wrestling practice every day.  

Here are a couple of pictures from Zane's game last Saturday.  I have really enjoyed watching him play this year.  He's having a blast and you can tell by his performance every week.  He's a beast on the line.  Some of his football play reminds me SO much of Spencer.  He has a ridiculously fast first step off the line and really excellent form in his stance.  It's textbook form - low butt, flat back, face up.  He's different than Spence was though because he knows the game so much better at 12 years old than Spencer did at this age.  I credit hours and hours of Madden.   It's also that he seems to just enjoy the whole thing more.  He has FUN first - and knows when to switch into "job mode".  Spencer was always so serious that I'm not sure he liked it as much as Zane does.  Win or lose this weekend, I'm so grateful that he had this team this year to prep him for middle school football tryouts in the spring.  It's weird to think that Saturday may be his last ever Midway football game.  Oy - that just made my eyes water!  7 seasons in the blink of an eye.  Couple of picture of Zane - one of him snatching up a fumble and one of him fighting through a double-team, which he did through that entire game without getting frustrated or backing down.  I love his attitude!

Yesterday Quinn won his wrestle-off to earn a spot on the Varsity A team.  Pretty excited about that!  Last year he got bumped to JV, so I'm really proud of him for working to get back into a starter role this year.  The high school team, which had about 30 total kids (maybe) when Spencer started 5 years ago is up to almost 70.  It's crazy how fast that program has grown.  Success makes everyone take notice and want to participate!  I have a dining room full of team gear to prove it!

Tomorrow I'm grabbing Berber and Pappy and we are heading to Charleston to see Spencer.  The Citadel is hosting an Open tournament which means all the wrestlers will get to wrestle - even the non-starters.  I'm pretty excited that we will get to watch him in his first collegiate matches.  Here's a picture of Spencer and the rest of the wrestling team in the wrestling room in their winter uniforms - they call them Salt and Peppers - after an inspection.  He's the second from the right.

Have a great week everyone!