Reality

One thing about kids. They always force us to look deeper into ourselves.

Gregory had an away tournament near Turtle Lake. It was a real learning experience for him. This was a tournament based solely on weight, not experience or grade level. The kids he wrestled were real good. They had all been wrestling for at least 4 years; one of them 10 years and had been to State.

Gregory took 3rd in the tournament and we are very proud of him. He was disappointed. He took 2nd in his first tournament and expected to either do that or better here. He received his 3rd place medal.

A short while after receiving his medal I looked at him and noticed something different. The colors on the ribbon of the medal that he was wearing around his neck were a different color than they had been half an hour earlier. They were now red and black (Stillwater colors).

I asked him what was going on with his medal.

G: I'm wearing my 2nd place medal from the Stillwater tournament.

M: Why

G: It is 2nd place. It is better.

M: Gregory, you are at this tournament, you should wear the medal you earned here. Not one you earned from another tournament.

G: It is better. I don't want to be 3rd place. I'm going to wear 2nd place. Now I am 2nd place.

So is that how it works? No matter what place he gets, he can keep that 2nd place medal in his bag and whenever he gets anything less than 2nd place he can pull it out, put the other one away, wear 2nd place and now he's in 2nd place? He never has to face reality?

Don't wear reality. Don't face reality.

A 10 year old at a wrestling tournament is not alone. I know I have seen this, and personally experience it, in many things worn other than a medal at a wrestling tournament. Lack of reality and living in yesteryear is often witnessed in shoe stores, clothing stores, and my own closet.

I don't know how many times I have been in the shoe department and watched as the attendant measures someone's feet...........you will need a size 8. No, I am a size 7. I have never been a size 8. It says size 8. Please get me a size 7, I am a size 7. Size 7 doesn't fit, she squeezes and molds, walks around with a limp. Something is wrong with this shoe. I am a size 7 and it doesn't fit right.

How many of us try to fit into a size small shirt when we really wear a medium. How many of us try on or wear a pair of pants or a dress that is a size or so too small. If that is the size we can get on.......have on.......that is the size we are. Regardless of how we look or feel. We were that size once, and because we have squeezed and stuffed ourselves in it again, we are that size today too! We don't want to be 3rd place........we want to be 2nd place..... and there we stand looking like idiots.........but we have on our 2nd place medal...........so that's what we are!

If only we could accept that it is o.k. to be 3rd place. We need to either be happy with 3rd place and enjoy it or if we really want to be 2nd place we need to do something different to make it happen. Work harder, make changes. Pretending we are in 2nd place, when we are in 3rd, doesn't make it a reality.

We all look like idiots when we try to be something we are not.

The real first place winner..............The one wearing the 50th place medal, but wearing it proudly and well!

Wrestling "Boxing" Results

Kyle has been suffering from bronchitis and wrestled for the first time in 2 weeks last Friday. The tournament was in Minnetonka.

I think Kyle and the kid he was wrestling were a bit confused. I think they thought it was a boxing match rather than a wrestling match.

It started by other kid giving a pretty good intentional blow to Kyle's left eye. So hard in fact, Kyle's vision turned blurry and he had a hard time clearing his head. Kyle got MAD. He attempted to drag and throw the kid into the chairs twice....once stopped by the ref......the other not. Several heal of the hand blows to each others faces later, followed by cradles, head locks, and hard knocks ended with the following match results:

Kyle one black and swollen eye, one bruised brow, blurred vision.
Other kid; 2 black eyes, swollen face, scraped forehead, bruised ego.

Winner of Fight: Kyle
Winner of Match: Kyle

Kyle spent the weekend sporting his new look that looked an awful lot like "Rocky".....after Apollo Creed. You remember them, they too were wrestlers :)

Maybe You Should Try It

Last night Fridley wrestled at Totino Grace. It is always a big match. Totino is the closest high school to Fridley. (For those of you from Rapid, it would be like Central and Stevens).

Fridley lost. It was a disappointing and frustrating night. Although Ivan had a great match last night. Got a pin in the 3rd period that was well-earned and very exciting!

Kyle.............didn't do so well. He went all 3 periods only to get pinned in the 3rd.

After the match I told him...............

you know Kyle............maybe you should try smiling.

It worked for Gregory!!

Wrestling Results

There has been so much going on the last few days I haven't had a chance yet to post the wrestling results for last week and the weekend!

Kyle:

He didn't have a great night last Thursday. Lost both matches, and rather quickly, to St. Thomas Academy and then Osseo. There were several reasons for his quick demise, the main factor; Kyle just wasn't in the "zone". I don't know where his head was (other than pinned on the mat :) )

(I wonder if my funky outfit set the tone for his evening). If it would have been Justin.......yes, most likely...........Kyle........not a chance.

Number one rule in wrestling........shake it off. The next match is a new match.

That has proved true time and time again for Kyle and Saturday was no different.

He wrestled great and took 2nd in the tournament of 10 schools!

I had to miss the tournament. Remember, I was meeting with that "cutest darn couple". I was planning on going to it after my meeting but it was only a Varsity tournament, so it was over earlier than expected. Instead I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with the team and watched them all play the shooting game (Kyle is really good) and hang out.

Sunday..................Gregory's FIRST live match and tournament!!


Could we have been more excited? I don't think so!!

We were all a bunch of lunatics. Poor Gregory with his entourage following behind him; Dave, Greg, Kyle, myself. Video cameras big and small, tapes and memory cards, cameras big and small, bags of extra batteries "just in case" and then the "unnecessary" items like wrestling shoes and head gear.

It was a fun tournament because it was in Stillwater. There were a lot of kids Gregory knew there from school in Stillwater. He looked quite popular hanging with the Stillwater crowd and then the New Richmond crowd.

Have I ever mentioned that wrestling is real big in Stillwater and New Richmond? It is. It is taken more seriously than hockey in Maple Grove and that is saying A LOT!!

Gregory's wrestling "team" consists of children from the ages of 2 thru 6th grade. There are about 48 kids in the club. 42 of them were at the Stillwater tournament. We were the largest club there. (Stillwater was second with pretty close to that).

Gregory weighed in at 82 pounds. I really think he is about the tallest kid on the team. When he learns to use it, the length of his body is going to be a huge advantage for him.

Well, we (I) took video. Horrible is an understatement. It is fine the first 10 seconds and then it is the mat. I was so excited..........how am I possibly to be expected to win this match for my son and keep him out of harm's way if I am looking thru a little viewer of a video camera!!

I swear, us parents, we really believe that our screaming and yelling; the sound of our voice alone, is going to pick that leg up, move that arm, turn that head, shoot, you name it, I think we truly believe we will win that match for them simply with our will and power of our voice.

Gregory gets very confused, and with good reason, we are yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling and he is looking at us like he is suppose to respond to us. He is out there on the mat trying to communicate back to us! No, Gregory, we are just yelling, never mind us, this is not a time for communication, JUST WRESTLE!!!

I have been on the wrestling team for many years. Kyle has wrestled since 4th grade and is now in 11th. At the beginning of my career I didn't have a clue what anything was called, what they were doing, or why they were awarded points. I have learned. I have learned what kind of moves work and don't work, when you should "look the other way", "arch your back", "shoot", "snap his head", "break him down", (I have recently learned the term "put their ear in their nose", which is otherwise known as "crossface", but in Gregory's wrestling they have to put it in terms the 2 year olds can understand (scary, huh?)). When I am screaming and yelling I usually know what I am screaming and yelling about (although in my nervousness I usually resort to GO KYLE!!)

The tournaments Gregory is in are for the 2 year olds thru 6th graders. Well, in this stage of the game, many of the parents are young and inexperienced. They haven't been on the wrestling team that long.

The things that come out of their mouths!! These people, most of them nicely dressed, polite, kind, wonderful parents, supportive. By every outward appearance good people. Until their child gets on the mat. (I am not excluded. I am right in there with them!!) The kids are out to have fun. The parents are ready for war. It is hillarious. I have this lovely mother and grandmother kneeling next to me on the mat. Ready for the whistle. We smile at each other. Comment on the others cute shirt or pretty necklace. The whistle blows. I begin with "Break him down". Well, they don't know what they are saying but think they should say something similar so out of their sweet, kind, loving mouths "Tear him down........break him.......BREAK HIM!!!!) Next, Kyle and I say "Gregory, Shoot!!". Next we hear out of their little mouths "shoot him...........shoot him........JACOB SHOOT HIM!!!!".

You can't even imagine what all you hear that day!

The end of the match. Whistle blows. Winner hand goes up. Shake of hands between wrestlers. Parents hug their wrestler. Shake of hands between wrestlers and parents, then parents and parents and then, "Where did you get your hair color done, I love it". "Oh and I wanted to ask you about those shoes!!" (that I seen hanging off the edge of the mat while you were encouraging your son to kill mine!!).

Number one rule in wrestling. Shake it off and move on. The parents are pros at it.

Before and after the match the sportsmanship you see between everyone really is wonderful. Gregory had an extremely hard match his last match. He had already wrestled 2 matches that were not easy and he went into his third tired and it was a real tough match. It was a wrestler that came from Kennedy, which is way south of the Twin Cities. You can figure when you see a wrestler in a tournament that is a long way from where they are from they are pretty good. This kid was good and in his 4th year of wrestling. He pinned his first two matches no problem. It was him and Gregory in the championship match for first and second place. He did not pin Gregory, which was a HUGE accomplishment on Gregory's part. It was a really hard match and very tiring and frustrating for Gregory. At the end of it he was wiped out. He came to me and had eyes pooling with tears he was doing everything possible to hold in, and then a couple escaped and trickled down his cheeks. Tears of disappointment, frustration and exhaustion. The little boy from Kennedy, who had just won the match, came up to Gregory and put his arm around him and asked if he was o.k. He then proceeded to tell Gregory he has been wrestling for 4 years and has already been in 10 tournaments just this year and Gregory is the only wrestler he hasn't pinned. He told Gregory he did a great job and was a really good wrestler. Gregory's tears dried up, a smile crept across his face and he said "Oh, so you're a pro". He went over to his dad and said "He's a pro dad, I did good". "When is the the next tournament?!".

See, shake it off.

Gregory had 2 pins!!! Yes, pins! He then lost his last match. He took 2nd place in his first tournament!!! He did fantastic and his entourage could not be prouder of him. Kyle was actually beaming (and those of you know, Kyle doesn't beam easily!). I don't know how many times he told Gregory he did a great job. Many times during Gregory's matches Kyle would look over at me with his head half cocked and the one eyebrow raised and say "he's actually pretty good". When he told Gregory that I thought we were going to have to scrape Gregory from the ceiling. Gregory getting a compliment from his big brother Kyle is a really big deal!

Gregory wore his medal to school on Monday. Showed it to everyone on the bus and used it for show and tell. He wore it again to run errands after school just in case someone in Walmart or EconoFoods might like to see it!

Here are a couple of videos. Everyone is of the opinion someone else should video tape while Gregory is wrestling. Although we were not the only ones screaming (the coach (yes he has a coach) and Dave were as well, you can only hear me and Kyle.

Gregory wrestled his first match with a smile on his face. Kyle is not of the opinion you can wrestle aggressively with a smile on your face. You will hear Kyle in one of the videos tell Gregory to stop smiling. (We would hate for him to be having fun :) )I told you......we are maniacs!

Go Kyle!

Seems to be what I say most the time he is wrestling.

My mom gave me a new little video camera for Christmas. It has a memory card so I can put the videos right on my computer in one step. That is quite a handy feature for me. The difficult part is getting familiar with the camera.

I seem to do much better with still photography. Perhaps it is that I use a large bulky camera, which I love. I used to use a video camera all the time when the kids were little. It was big and bulky and manageable for me. These small, teeny, tiny things I find more difficult.

I took some video last night of Kyle's match. I won't tell you the outcome, so you will have some suspense. If you can't figure it out by the poor videography, please let me know. It is something I need to practice with. The fact that they move around a lot on the mat and I keep losing them doesn't help either. So, please forgive me while I am learning. Hopefully, I will get much better real soon.

Also, if you could. There was a terrible accident last night at the wrestling meet. During the heavyweight match of Fridley vs. St. Thomas the Fridley wrestler, Justin, took the other wrestler down and got a pin. He was ecstatic. His first pin. As everyone was cheering and jumping up and down we noticed the St. Thomas wrestler in a great deal of pain and unable to get up off the mat. The weight of both the wrestlers had come down on his forearm during the pin and snapped his forearm in half. It is amazing how they go from being the "opponent" to a child in need in a blink of an eye. It was a horrible and helpless feeling to watch him there in so much pain. It seems like time stands still and everything moves in slow motion.

He was taken by ambulance and is going into surgery today to repair his shattered forearm. Please keep him in your prayers. Pray for his strength, courage and full recovery and also pray for Justin. Pray for his ability to forgive himself. He is taking it rather hard. Please keep all of our athletes and their safe participation in your prayers. It is so easy, in a blink of an eye, for any one of them to be hurt and we do need God to watch over them and keep them safe.

Spring Lake Park

They have a great wrestling team is about all I can say.

We didn't win a match. The t.v. crew was there filming and the DVD's are available for purchase for $20.00. Spring Lake Park parents may be lining up to get them, but I can guarantee you nobody from Fridley is!

It was a tough night. Kyle took his match kind of hard. But we want to focus on what he did right and not what he did wrong.

It's amazing how we can always come up with all kinds of things we do wrong or should have done differently, and we often really struggle to come up with what we do or did right. They are both equally important. What we do wrong so we can recognize and attempt to make changes and what we do right so we can give ourselves the acknowledgment and praise we deserve.

Team shot after a very disappointing night

Short video of the beginning of Kyle's match. He had a great shoot. Unfortunately, it went out of bounds.

In the program there was a poem printed that I think all parents need to be reminded of and remember:

That's My boy Down There!

Please don't curse that boy down there;
He is my son, you see;
He's only just a boy you know,
He means the world to me.

I did not raise my son, dear fan,
For you to call him names;
He may not be a super-star
But these are high school games.

So please don't knock those boys down there,
They do the best they can;
They've never tried to lose a match
They're boys and you're a fan.

This game belongs to them, you see,
You're really just a guest;
They do not need a fan that gripes,
They need the very best.

If you have nothing nice to say,
Please leave the boys alone,
And, if you've forgotten your manners,
Then please just stay at home.

So please don't curse those boys down there,
Each one's a parent's son.
And win or lose or tie, you see,
To us, they're number one!!!

Wrestling Results

Kyle had a great weekend of wrestling. He was soooo tired yesterday. He said it was like being in a fight. That when you are in it....you don't feel a thing, but afterwards, everything hurts. He bit his tongue really bad during one of his matches on Saturday. Just about bit thru it on one side. It is quite swollen and painful for him.

Friday:

Kyle started the day off 4 pounds over his weight. He spent the day running stairs, sweating, not eating, not drinking. He managed to make weight. He won both matches. His first match with Chisago Lakes was very exciting. He nearly had a pin early on in the match, then his opponent began to bleed and time-out was called. Then they went all three periods. Kyle won 8 to 6. He was so exhausted, because of lack of hydration.

Other than total exhaustion, he looked great on Friday. He is feeling really good about this season!

Two points that one him his match

Saturday:
Was an 8 team tournament hosted by Fridley. Kyle won everything except the championship match. In the second period he got a take down and then went too high and was flipped over and pinned. He took 2nd place in the tournament.

Good job Kyle!

Second best out of 8 schools!

Fridley vs. Spring Lake Park on Thursday night at Spring Lake Park and a tournament in St. James, Minnesota this weekend. Will be another busy weekend!

Go Tigers!

The Credit Belongs to the Man Who is Actually in the Arena

Wrestling season starts tonight!

We begin with Fridley (Gregory won't have a tournament until January).

Fridley home vs. Chisago Lakes and Benilde-St. Margaret's

Tomorrow we have an Invitational at Fridley:

Irondale
Hopkins
Minneapolis Washburn
Mound-Westonka
Minneapolis Henry
North
Champlin Park

We were in the wrestling room last night for practices and the following hangs on the wall there and I wanted to share:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt