Though the winter months are some of the coldest, when I think of them it warms my heart. From the start of wrestling season till the end, my weekends were full of tournaments all over the state. I spent hours on buses and at practices and meets with these boys and I wouldn’t trade those times for anything.
After spending four years with an amazing team it broke my heart to have to leave them behind, but I realized that they taught me things I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
It was always inspiring to sit mat side and watch these boys put everything they had into their matches. Most people watch them and think that they’ve waited this moment to give it their all, while I would sit and recall the hours of practice that they had given just as much effort before this.
The very first thing my wrestlers taught me was that determination is the key to getting what you want. If there is no determination or drive behind your actions you will never achieve your goals. I watched boys stay determined all season long just to end up being state champions, and that was the best feeling in the world. I’ve held that lesson with me in everything I do now, knowing that their determination got them their state champion makes me feel like I can do anything.
Along with determination, they taught me that a loss only makes you appreciate a win even more. Everyone has off days; even our best wrestlers would lose every once in a while. Though they would be down on themselves for a short amount of time, they would always brush it off and focus on the next match. They would always move forward realizing they couldn’t change that last match but they can make their next match go how they want it to.
There were times in practice where the boys had wrestle-offs to determine who would be wrestling varsity for that weight class. Whoever would end up winning or losing was always supportive of the other and taught me that friendly competition is healthy. Competition within a team only makes the boys work harder and learn each others strengths and weaknesses if they ever need to help each other in the future.
My favorite thing I was taught by these wrestlers was that if you work hard, you can play hard. I think I can speak on behalf of all my fellow managers in saying that any time with your wrestlers is a good time.
They would always find time to have fun, whether it be singing to terrible songs during warm ups or playing awful games on the bus, they would never fail to make me smile. Even when we didn’t have to be together, and had weekends off we always found ourselves hanging out with at least one other member of our team.
Having fun was just as important as getting work done and I loved every second of it.
The last thing that my wrestlers taught me is what I believe to be most important. They taught me that your team isn’t just your team; they’re your family.
No matter what is happening outside of practice you can always count on your team to have your back and be there for you. They’re there to lift you up when you’re feeling down and to tease you whenever they get the chance. When I refer to family when talking about this team I mean the whole team; wrestlers, coaches and managers we always stick together.
Although I no longer get to spend every day with these boys and am no longer a part of the team, the great thing about wrestling is that you are forever a part of the family. I love these boys more than they will ever know and am so lucky to have had them by my side.
Thank you for teaching me all these things without even knowing it, you are all amazing.
