Yes, it's that season, and I'm happy. Now, before I go to much further, let me clarify that this is wrestling, not wrassling. There's a huge difference. Wrestling requires strategy, endurance and fitness, among other things. Wrassling requires some fitness, though not as much, ropes to jump off of and folding chairs to throw. Wrestling is a sport - wrassling is entertainment.
I'm sure some of you don't like wrestling, and that's an area where we'll just have to agree to disagree. I doubt, at this point, that I'll change your mind, and I can promise you won't change mine.
Anyway, wrestling.
Wrestling is a lonely sport - just you and your opponent in a circle for six minutes. Teammates can't pick you up if you make a mistake. Coaches can't sub someone else in for you. It's just you. You have to make your own adjustments on the fly, which means you have to be thinking and thinking ahead the whole time. There's no one to hide behind, no one to blame if things don't go the way you wanted. It's just you.
Concordia University here in Seward hosted its first home dual of the season tonight. I was there, camera in hand, documenting the action. I love watching wrestlers who know what they're doing, and Concordia has a team full of them this year. A couple are kids I covered in high school, which really makes me happy. I like it when local kids go to area colleges where I'll get to see them compete again. Selfish, I know, but there it is. It's fun to watch kids develop in the competitive arena, to see their skills improve and to see that translate into success.
I've been around wrestling my whole life. My dad was a coach, and my parents were actually at a dual the night before I was born. Franklin (where we lived) hosted a meet every January, and we were there in the stands every year. I remember going to practices with Dad occasionally and watching the kids work out, honing their skills and learning new ones. I remember seeing them crawl under the mats to sweat off those last couple pounds or running the halls in vinyls or even shaving their heads to make weight. And no, that didn't seem strange to me. That's just how it was then.
Today, wrestling coaches are much more conscious of how cutting dramatic amounts of weight can negatively impact an athlete. There are plans designed to help wrestlers safely reach their optimum weight. That's a good thing for the sport.
The high school season hasn't started yet. It won't until the first week in December. But then the season's three months will fly by and the next thing you know it will be time for the state tournament.
Bring it on.
