Lessons From The Mat

My son is wrapping up his last year of wrestling today, making his second and final appearance in the “national” championship tournament for his league. Over the years, I have gone from barely being able to watch his matches to being an ardent fan with great respect for the sport.

The first year my son wrestled, I wasn’t into it at all. I didn’t really enjoy watching the boys, and felt so barbaric cheering them on. As the season wore on, I understood the sport more, could follow the scoring, and figured out why you need to “lift his head!” when you have your competitor on his back (to force the shoulders on the ground to earn a pin). Still, when the season was over, I looked forward to cheering on the lacrosse team instead.

It took his second year for me to start to enjoy the matches. Well, I still don’t like it when the boys seem to bend their necks more than they should be able to go, or when arms and shoulders get twisted back too far, but for the most part, they wrestle “clean” without hurting each other.

What I have really come to appreciate is how demanding wrestling is as a sport. Sure, a round may only last for 2 minutes, but you try keeping your shoulders off the ground for even 30 seconds using only your core strength while someone your weight is on top of you using all of his weight to try to push you down. There is also strategy in figuring out how to flip your opponent over without losing control and getting flipped yourself. I see it in the boys’ faces as they try a move, reconsider, reset, and try again.

Wrestling offers so many lessons:

• It ain’t over until it’s over. You can be way ahead in points, but if you get careless, or tired, or the other guy gets lucky, you can find yourself on your back with the referee checking your shoulder blades for a pin. The good news is that this holds true when you are behind. There is always a chance that you can pin your opponent and win as long as you stay in the match and keep trying.

• Every second counts. A match can change direction so quickly. The wrestler who initiates a take-down may quickly find himself flat on the mat. The wrestler on the bottom may be able to flip around if his opponent is too high up on his back. Even if you are on your back, if you can keep a shoulder blade off the mat until the clock runs out, you may be able to escape a pin. Sometimes it seems that sheer determination earns the win. 

• The number on the scale doesn’t tell you everything. Each weight class is separated by 5-17 pounds (at the higher weights) and most boys try to be at or near the high end of their weight class. That means that boys in the same weight class should weigh about the same, but they often look very different. There are boys with tall and lanky builds, boys with short and stocky builds, and every build in between. It’s not clear that either build necessarily has an advantage. More often it is skill (and maybe a bit of luck) that determines the winner–I’ve seen boys with different builds dominate their matches.
• You need to work with what you have. If you are tall and lanky, you need to use that height (and leverage) to your advantage. If you are short and stocky, you need to make that strength and stability work for you. No matter what your size, you can hone your skills and agility so you will be able to respond to your opponent’s strengths.

Another thing I really enjoyed about following my son’s wrestling team was the team “family.” Parents make an effort to come to the matches and everyone cheers on each wrestler. It is fun to watch the boys grow and mature as the season goes on, and it is great to get to know the other parents as we pass the time between matches during the day-long tournaments.

It is also nice to see the boys come together as a team. While wrestling is a very individual sport, the boys seem to support each other in a way that we don’t see with other sports. It is so heart-warming to see these “tough guys” giving each other pep-talks, coaching each other through tough matches, helping each other shake off rough losses, and coming together to celebrate hard-earned victories.

Four years ago I never would have thought that I’d be sad to see my last wrestling tournament, but now wrestling is the first “last” that I am getting sentimental about as my son finishes his senior year of high school.

Did you play a sport in high school?