Lessons From The Mat

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Coco

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.

wrestlers

 

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?

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Check Your Pulse? There’s An App For That!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Coco

My husband is the only member of my family that does not have an iPhone, and he gets tired of all the iPhone hype, but even he was impressed by this new app:

Instant Heart Rate by Azumio

I read about it in the February issue of O[prah] magazine, and downloaded it on the spot. It uses the iPhone camera to detect the pulse in your fingertip–you just hold your index finger over the lens for 10 seconds to get an instant read. You can store your data, check your pulse against different targets, and even share your data on Facebook and Twitter. All for only 99 cents!

I don’t know how accurate it is, but it measured by resting pulse at 61 bpm, which sounds about right.

I always say that watching my son wrestle makes my heart race, and I remembered to check my pulse at his first match of last week’s tournament–it was 131 bpm! And that was after I fumbled with my phone–it probably was even higher before that distraction.

Have you discovered any fun new apps lately?

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~Ash Wednesday~

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Coco

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, a 40-day period of repentence and reflection that many Christians observe before Easter.

(source)

Although Ash Wednesday is a solemn holy day in the church calendar, it is not all doom and gloom. In fact, I really love the liturgy of the Ash Wednesday service in the Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer. The opening prayer gets me right away:

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have created and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.

I think being reminded of God’s forgiveness before we confess our sins reinforces God’s unconditional love for us.

On of the readings usually is Psalm 103, which includes these verses:

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and full of great kindness.

He will not always accuse us,
nor will he keep his anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.

To me, this Psalm is a reminder that God sees us apart from our shortcomings and wrong-doings. While we tend to define ourselves by our worst traits, God loves our whole selves.

After the Bible readings, the service continues with an invitation to observe a holy Lent, which begins:

Dear People of God . . .

I just love that phrase–maybe because it connotes a sense of belonging to God.

With the imposition of ashes the priest reminds us:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

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While this may strike some as a macabre part of the service, I see it as a needed reminder of my place in God’s creation. So often I get caught up in myself and my own abilities–I think I can do anything, that I have to do everything–that I forget to place my faith and trust in God. It also is a good reminder that our days on this earth are numbered and so we should spend them wisely.

I still haven’t decide how I am going to observe a holy Lent–what practices of “self-examination and repentance,” “prayer, fasting and self-denial,” and “reading and meditating on God’s holy word” I will focus on for the next 40 days, but at least I have started Lent with a sincere and contrite heart.

Are you giving up anything or committing to do anything for Lent?

If you got ashes today, has anyone told you that you have a smudge on your forehead?

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Shiraz?

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Coco

After a long day at my son’s wrestling tournament, my husband and I decided to go out for a quick “date night” to get dinner at a new neighborhood place.

We both like Mediterranean food and have been known to enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner, so it looked like a safe bet.

When the waitress brought our menu, we were suprised that there were no “adult beverages” listed. The sign in the window did proclaim “Premium Wine Selections” and there was a wine rack lining the wall behind the bar that seemed to have bottles in it.

When she can back to take our order, I asked:

Do you have a wine list?

No.

Do you have any wine?
(Maybe they didn’t get their ABC license yet?)

Yes. . . Pinot Noir.
(She said hesitantly, drawing two syllables out of “noir”.)

We’ll  each have a glass of that, then.
(My husband said, since I was stiffling a laugh.)

Luckily, the Pinot Noir was very nice–maybe the extra syllable makes it better! 🙂

Later, we heard a different waitress offer the table next to us a choice between Pinot Noir and Shiraz. I should have expected them to have a Shiraz since that is the name of the restaurant! We will have to go back again to see if that’s just as good–or if they’ve added to their “premium wine selections.”

Have you ever been surprised by what a restaurant did or did not have on the menu?

Posted in Food, Life | Tagged | 4 Comments

Proud Mom Monday

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Coco

My son had a great year of wrestling last year. We were most of the way through the season when his coach pointed out that he had won every one of his dual meets.  He earned medals in many of the intra-league tournaments, and he had a stellar weekend at the state championship tournament, finishing fourth after a number of hard-earned wins (including two multiple-overtime matches). He was one of three on his team to qualify for the national championship meet, and while he was eliminated in an early round, they all enjoyed the experience of being there.

My son almost didn’t wrestle this year. A few weeks before the season started we found out that he has a lacrosse-related injury that will require surgery to repair. After the doctor assured us that it wouldn’t get any worse if he waited, he decided to live with the pain for a while longer so he wouldn’t have to miss his last year of wrestling. Then at one of the first meets of the year, he tweaked his knee. We thought that might put an early end to his season, but with ice and physical therapy he was able to keep wrestling. Still, it seemed to take a toll–his opponents always seemed to grab for his “bad” knee and he wouldn’t take his sister’s advice to wear a brace on both knees so they wouldn’t know which one was hurt.  (I thought that was a very clever idea!) He ended the season ranked fifth–good, but a drop from his fourth place finish last year.

As we headed to the state championship tournament, I was hoping for a good weekend, but I’ve seen enough heartache on the mat to know that there are no sure bets in wrestling. 

There were 24 wrestlers in his weight class. On the first day (Friday night), he won his first match but lost his second match, which bumped him down to the “consolation bracket.” Because he lost before the championship rounds, the best he could possibly do was to place third, but to do that he had to win the rest of his matches–six more!–without another loss.  (I’m glad I didn’t do that math until the tournament was over.) He won his third match, ending the first day on a high note.

The second day of the tournament (Saturday) was nerve-wracking. He won his first match solidly. His second-match started off as a nail-biter, but he won by a pin early in the second round. His third match was easier to watch and he won decisively (10-4).  With that win he would place at least eighth in the tournament, but only the top four go to the nationals and I know he wanted one more trip on the wrestling team bus. 

His fourth match went into sudden-death overtime. I screamed and jumped out of my seat when the referee raised my son’s hand to signal his win (4-2). That was his ticket to the championship round where he would compte for third place.

(That’s him in the wild lacrosse shorts)

We couldn’t see the scoreboard from where we were sitting, and the 2-minute rounds seemed to take forever. The first round was scoreless. The second round my son started “down” and earned one point for an escape. The third round . . . was scoreless! So, my son won his third place state championship medal in a 1-0 match–so fitting for the defenseman that he is!


(Head Coach, my son a co-Captain, Assistant Coach, Co-Captain
–I think they were still smiling that big when they fell asleep!)

Several of his other teammates made it to the championship rounds, and two others placed well enough to go on to the nationals. The team as a whole earned sixth place–meeting the goal the coach had set at the beginning of the season.

I am so proud of my son. He worked so hard for his medal. Wrestling eight times in a weekend, with six wins in a row (and five in one day) is quite a feat of physical and mental strength and endurance. His coaches told him that he won third place “the hard way”–the first and second place winners only had to wrestle in five matches over the whole tournament (twice Friday and three times Saturday).

But what makes me really happy is to see my son so proud of himself. The smile on his face after his win was so genuine, so hard-earned, so heart-felt. He’s a pretty quiet boy, and we don’t get to see that exuberance very often!

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

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