As a wrestling parent, I find it hard to communicate with outsiders about the sport my son participates in. So many people just don't understand the level of commitment it takes for my child to be able to succeed at a sport that he truly loves. Best stated by a youth wrestler I know: "Wrestling is not a sport, it is more of a lifestyle."
For a teenage boy with a raging metabolism to alter his eating style in order to be in the correct weight class is an almost unimaginable thing. I truly believe that my son's body digests and metabolizes food before he even eats it. It seems that no matter what he eats, he is always hungry. However, when it is time for a big tournament, he will cut back his calories, drink only water, and practice/exercise until he is at the proper weight for his tournament. Imagine a teenage boy eating yogurt for breakfast, a turkey wrap for lunch, and grilled chicken and salad for dinner. That is all he eats for the day. If you have a teenager, you totally understand how unthinkable this concept is. He truly understands how food affects your body and what is good and what is not good for you.
Next let's talk about the practice. He practices for about 2 hours a day four days a week during the offseason. These practices usually result in his clothes being soaked and him so tired he comes home and goes straight to bed. The sessions are two hours of intense conditioning, drilling, and intense live wrestling. The other days he is running or riding his bicycle to help stay in shape. He goes to camps and clinics as often as he can in order to ensure that he is staying on top of his skills. He is already looking at how to put himself in the best position to get a college scholarship for wrestling. Living in the south, that is not an easy task.
Schoolwork! He misses a large amount of school due to high school tournaments. However, then we have to consider national tournaments that he attends. We must attend these tournaments and do well if he wants to wrestle at the next level (which he does). So he will miss about 8 to 10 days of school for those tournaments. SO...now we are missing school and we must keep our grades up in order to qualify for those scholarships we were talking about.
No wonder so many people who compete in the sport of wrestling go on to be successful people. If you can manage all of this while in high school, real life should be a breeze. So the next time you hear someone say their child is a wrestler, remember all of the things these student athletes must do in order to be successful.
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