Quote:
Originally Posted by Iowanian
I've been helping coach the youth group this year, we've had up to 50 boys(and girls) in the room....which is great considering how low wrestling numbers are in HS across the state.
As a group they've been doing pretty well at tournaments. I've taken my 5 year old to a handful. I've harped all along that winning isn't the most important thing and that all he has to do to make me proud is try hard and do his best.
The first tournament was a little rough as later in the year a lot of these boys have had a lot of matches...and in that one there were teams of boys from a few states away, including Kansas boys. He came really close to winning one but fell short. I was really proud of how hard he tried, never stopped or gave up. Wrestling technique can be learned....heart cannot. The thing that surprised me the most was how much he hates losing. Hated it.
Second tournament was much better...wasn't nervous if the activity and crowd and understood things better and went out like a little beast. It was so fun to see and a friend caught a video when he came off the mat...he was so proud. You saw the light switch to on. Beat an older boy in the 2nd and lost in the champ round by making a mistake with 8 seconds to go. I was really really proud of the effort, he said "I hate 2nd, it sucks ..." And didn't want his metal.
3rd tournament was a mix of wins and an ass whooping by a talented little boy.
I'm baffled by the kid because in practice he isn't really competitive...he definitely acts 5, but he is so much more aggressive and competitive in matches. I'm glad he hates losing and it makes him want to do more.....but I'm trying to figure out how to harness it.....I'm more interested in him having fun, working hard, learning one new thing each week....and act right after matches. We tach all of our boys to win/lose with class...if you try hard, hold your head up......and not only shake your opponents hand after but also his dad/coach.
Anyway....I think we're about done for the season and I'm keeping him out of the Aau state qualifiers. He's not ready and I want to stop for the year before it's not fun......we might go to some of the freestyle practices after high school state for fun and mat time.
Anyway..... Wrestling is awesome....and this is how you drive through a double leg!
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So awesome!
I'm loving the progression of my kid, and I'm really ready to see what he can do with some small group clinics this offseason when he's working on some very specific skills.
He's still not as driven toward improvement as he needs to be, but I'm seeing that attitude develop quite a bit. He's starting to step up as a leader on the team as well, keeping the other kids in line and encouraging others during conditioning.