Wrestlers on Top

Let me just begin by saying that wrestling is, BY FAR, the most difficult sport the boys participate in. I say "participate in" because wrestlers don't "play". They sweat their butts off every night in the gym wearing insulting t-shirts that say stuff like:
"Other guys PLAY with balls, wrestlers HAVE them" or
"If I wanted to do something easy, I would have played basketball" or Owen has one with the Incredible Hulk wearing headgear that says, "You won't like me when I get angry!" and I've even seen
"If your grandma were wearing a singlet, I'd take her down, too." Go ahead, laugh, it's okay. A wrestling gym is one of the few places left in America where a boy can still be a BOY.

However, my personal favorite t-shirts tend to be more motivational:
"Everyone has the desire to win, only champions have the desire to prepare" and
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" and
"Train to near death. Rest. Repeat".
Connor has one that says "I wrestle. I wrestle with demons of doubt. With my past failures. With my injuries. With that unrelenting voice that tells me to stop. But I am a wrestler. And one thing is certain. I will be victorious." I even kinda like the pink ones that say "The only thing tougher than a wrestler is his MOM!"

So it would be safe to say I am proud of my wrestlers, no matter what. I am proud of them every time they step on the mat. They are tough and brave and smart and determined, traits that will take them lots of places far away from any wrestling mat.

Reilly had a great year in the B League, placing 5th in the county, a huge improvement for him over last year. He proved to us all that he can use his moves and stick with it through the tough times, even though I begged him to quit and stay home and color and read stories with me instead. :)
Owen stuck with it all year and never lost his cool (okay, only lost his cool once) even though he wrestled seriously underweight in the toughest league around. When he came up against someone his own size, he put them on their back almost every time.
Here is Owen, in deep on a double-leg takedown.
Here he is squeezing a half nelson.
And now, he stuck him! (Awesome photography by Connor; I am always running the video camera, trying not to pee my pants and/or throw up during their matches!) He did win bronze at the region qualifier, too. Most of the time though, Owen can be found bumming around the gym with the guys long after he's been eliminated and is the favorite, all-around team little brother.

More great news is this was FINALLY Connor's year! After winning the county B tournament his first year and then placing 5th in the county A the next year to qualify for states, Connor was promoted to the travel team for his third year and he has never had a fantastic record since, despite winning the team spirit, leadership and hard work award every season for the last three years. He has had to struggle, persevere, learn to manage his weight and find satisfaction in personal bests and baby steps toward the podium. Two weeks ago he took the gold medal in the region qualifier and with this being his last year in the youth leagues, set his sights on really doing something special at the beltway league championship tournament. Look at all these boys waiting to wrestle:

Connor in the skin and nail inspection. This is the first time the boys usually start looking around the gym and sizing up the competition. It makes me so nervous!
Here he is shaking off the nerves right before a big match. Sorry no action photos (Owen's not as good with the camera as Connor is but....)
...here's the sweet victory smile! He finally pulled it all together and wrestled really well against the best of the best, giving the eventual champion his only close match on his way to 3rd in the tournament, including 4 pins and an overtime victory against a former nemesis. He successfully qualified to wrestle in the Maryland/Virginia State Championships again this weekend! He was so happy he pumped his fist coming off the mat, a huge expression of elation from a kid who is always known for being SO SERIOUS. Dad got to be there and I got to see the video. Priceless.
Here he is with his trophy and the other state qualifiers from his team. Go Connor! We've always been proud. But it sure does feel good to be happy for you, too, this time! And, as those Dan Gable t-shirts say, "Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy."