America needs Wrestling - Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Hello Everyone,

April is always a very busy month. The majority of our team is going to Akron tomorrow to compete in the University Nationals. This will be a great opportunity for our redshirts and non-starters to compete again. It has been a few months. A few of our starters are going as well. It’s great to compete.

Today I am going to write a blog on why America needs wrestling.

I’ve said in a few interviews over the years that I am counting on wrestling to make up for any errors I make (my wife is perfect!) raising our kids. I am confident that wrestling will prepare our youth for life.

I consider the great opportunity wrestling provides as very similar to the opportunity we are provided living in American. There are many parallels. I will write a blog on that someday but would need to prepare to do the topic justice.

We would be a stronger nation if every child participated in wrestling. Here are 5 important qualities that wrestling reveals, teaches and strenghtens.

1. Hard work

To be successful in wrestling you must work hard. Wrestling is one of the few sports that the greatest athletes in the world (in regards to running, jumping, throwing a ball, shooting a ball etc) could not walk in off the street, step on the mat and have instant success. Wrestling is different. Wrestling is an acquired skill that comes only through hard work. Wrestling is less forgiving too because it’s a sport where pain is used as a setup.

After you have a taste for hard work and the satisfaction that it brings, you learn to love it. Hard work is addicting. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing- hard work is usually the answer.

I think kids learn to work hard by watching their parents/ mentors but the next best thing is sports and no sport requires more physical and mental work then wrestling. If I sit on the couch and watch television, my son will sit on the couch and watch television. If we race around the house, play hard and do work, he will do the same. Kids want to do what their parents do. A wrestling room is gym with padded floors and padded walls, it’s the perfect place to send our youth to burn up energy, and learn to love to play sports. Sports, especially wrestling, are exercise. So as they develop a love of sports, they are also developing a love of exercise and hard work.

2. Competition.

Wrestling is competition. Competition pushes people to be the best they can be. Competition strengthens individuals. Learning to love to compete and developing that already instinctual desire to be the best is a very important and positive thing. To be the best you can be, you must work hard, be disciplined, be smart and work and a number of positive qualities. Competition forces the best out of people. Competition solves problems. For kids to get close to their great potential they must learn to compete, and enjoy it! Wrestling teaches that. Competition is great. It’s not about winning, but it is about wanting to win and doing everything in your power (legally of course) to win.

3. Accountability.

Wrestling teaches accountability. There are a lot of hands that prepare a wrestler but each individual steps out on the mat alone and is responsible for whatever happens out there, win, lose or draw. Progress is severely limited without accountability if not stopped completely. People can try to blame others for their actions but we are all responsible for everything we think, do and feel. Wrestling puts the credit or the blame on clear display. That is great to learn. Taking accountability is taking control. Wrestling helps teach that.

4. Courage.

Wrestling teaches courage. It takes a lot of courage to be a wrestler. It’s a tough sport and you compete individually. You have to put a skimpy little singlet on and step out on the mat in front of a lot of people, against someone your own size and age. The sport is one-on-one. Wrestling is a physical sport. There will be bloody noses, injuries, and hurt egos. It’s great. You must stand up for yourself and that takes courage. Wrestling teaches and reveals courage.

5. Humility.

You would think that life in general, each individual’s personal flaws and mistakes, and the eternal perspective and objective of our life on earth would be all the humbling that we need. But it isn’t. Wrestling helps teach humility. Every wrestler has lost. All of the same pieces of the sport that teach courage teach humility. There is always another opponent. Even if you are fortunate enough to win a tournament, there is always the next tournament to prepare for. There is no room and no time to cocky or to be a show boat in wrestling. If you don’t keep working, and keep progressing someone will kick your butt. Wrestling is like life, there is always another level and another step. There is no such thing as perfection. You can look at a win or a loss and find areas that you can improve on. That’s part of the fun. Never being satisfied is fun. The process is always exciting and never boring when you continue to look for ways to improve.

There is sincere celebration and that’s great. You should be happy after you do something big, but never at the expense of your opponent. There is never an excuse to belittle an opponent. The accountability in wrestling teaches humility. You don’t see a lot of showboating and that’s for a reason.

Other qualities that wrestling teaches: self-defense, teamwork, sacrifice, discipline, friendship, coachability, responsibility, health, strength, and respect and many more.

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