Brought my 7yo to stillwater for the meet today. He wrestles, and after 125, we spent most of the meet talking about what we learned through each match. One Silver Lining was it was a great coachable meet for a kid from top to bottom:
125: Anybody can get beat, never assume you can’t win. Never assume your win is automatic.
133: Attack, attack, attack — Even if the other kid is ranked higher than you.
141: Whoever keeps their head higher in a scramble usually gets the TD.
149: It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish it.
157: Use your coaches to help you keep track of the match situation. Example: Don’t cut a guy at 59s of Riding Time. I also had to explain Riding Time.
165: Every young wrestler should have an NCAA hero they want to wrestle like. I couldn’t be happier if yours is Alex Marinelli.
174: “Big moves” are high-risk, high-reward. Be aware of the risk.
184: Don’t wait until the 3rd to open up your offense.
197: Don’t rely on the ref to win the match.
285: Always support your team through until the end. Even if the score is mathematically out of reach, cheer them on until it’s over.
The other Silver Lining was to watch my son really become an Iowa fan over the course of an otherwise ugly event. In an arena of 13,000 hostile fans he cheered his little heart out for every one of the Hawks. He did the math and held-out hope Warner and Stoll could still pin their opponents and the Hawks would pull it out. Even once that ship sailed, he was on his feet yelling “shoot” at Stoll in the closing seconds of the match. We may have losses the meet, but we gained one more true fan today.
