My son is a wrestler and we’ve been watching Big10 matches all season. We were excited to learn that the national championships are here in Pittsburgh next season.
Such a great sport for kids. Jake’s 9 and just finished his second season about 6 weeks ago. He’s wrestled in several tournaments since then, and the coaches wrapped up practice last night (and handful of kids wanted to keep working out after the regular season ended). He’s going to take a short break, finish hockey, then start wrestling with a local club a few times a week to keep drilling techniques.
He really likes it, but he’s had an amazing season, so winning helps foster the love.
As an alum of tOSU (in addition to FSU), I’m a huge Kyle Snyder fan. Talk about a freak of nature.
(I’m a jerk, I’m not disputing that).
It’s physical certainly, but the mental aspect is key too.
We’ve been at a few meets that have 1,000+ fans in the stands. Think about the courage that it takes for an 8-year old kid to walk out onto a mat by himself/herself, knowing that they’re about to “fight” another kid.
Formally it’s a team sport, but it’s really you and only you, you can only rely on yourself.
Turnaround times between matches can be quick (Jake wrestles in both open meets and team duals), so if you lose, you may have to gather yourself very quickly to go back out there again.
Jake took a cheap shot from a kid at a team dual, the kid punched him in the nose and he was literally spurting blood on the mat. Lots of people completely fold at the site of blood, more so if it’s their own, but after the paramedic got the bleeding stopped and we got him cleaned up, I told him he needed to go back out and finish the match, which he did (and brutalized the other kid).
I don’t brag much about anything, but about this, I certainly do. He’s such a sweet, mild mannered kid, until he gets on the mat. Doesn’t hurt that he’s freakishly strong for his size and weight (and can do the splits, which is quite useful for a wrestler...and a hockey goalie).
One thing I do not like about youth wrestling is parents of wrestlers. Lots of a’holes in the stands every weekend. I’ve told Jake that any time a parent yells at him while he’s smashing their kid, he’s to blow them a kiss, turn the kid onto his back, and lock on a nasty, tight cross face.
I started in 2nd grade, as he did. I wrestled until 9th grade and he’s already more accomplished than I was (he’s in 3rd grade now)
(although my coaches might suggest that I didn’t set the bar too high).
I started in second grade, as he did. I wrestled until 9th grade and he’s already more accomplished than I was.
Spencer Lee is a local kid. My son wrestled at a dual meet at Franklin Regional HS, where Lee is from. Those kids are good, from an early age.
Our coaches do roll around with the kids a bit, but there’s not much that they can do (these are still little kids); however, they do wrestle with each other to demonstrate moves and technique.
