Wamego Wrestling Invitational

This is going to be short and sweet and to the point.  We moved andrew down to 73 by having him eat better and run lots in play of course.  He had only been .8-1 lb over so it wasn't very hard.  We had hoped that this would help him be with kids of more of his level.  Unfortunately that is not how it played out but I am happy that he ended the season of tournaments on a decent note.  Not a win, but lots of good things happened that i think will bolster his confidence.  We plan on continuing to practice and we are not totally saying the Rock Creek tournament is out of the picture but more than likely Wamego is our last for this wrestling season.

Here is his first match.  I was working the tournament since it is our home tournament, so I didn't get to get close till the last match.  He actually tried to bridge but didn't get up on his head enough and bridged himself into a pin.  Whoops.

Second match I missed because I was in the concession stand.  This kid rang his bell for sure.  He was not too happy about it and was pretty down post match.  I think he didn't give up and tried and that is all that counts for me.  He was outmatched skill wise for sure.

Last match was his best.  Kid was more on his skill level.  Yes, he made some mistakes that led to the kid getting some reversal points but he finally got some points to end the year on.

I am sure most parents would NOT be happy with their kid after the year we have had but I see little improvements every match that tell me he is listening, he is absorbing, he is trying.  Is wrestling his sport?  Maybe not, but I LOVE how hard he works in practice and I LOVE the conditioning he gets.  

I was going to base whether or not we stayed with this sport on this year but it's hard because I feel like this is really the first year he is really getting the whole concept.  I think we will try one more year and see if he can get a little bit more aggressive and confident.  Next year he will be the older part of 8 U and I think it is worth trying one more year.  

It has a been a tough season for him but I think we are finally seeing a somewhat coachable kid in practice.  My goal for this sport is longevity and no burn out so I am hoping we can accomplish this.  Onward and upward!  Till racing season :)