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Nice Article about high school wrestling

RMC

By RMC
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RMC

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This article is from the Albany (Ga.) Herald.

 

Pride, tears on the mat

 

SCOTT CHANCEY

 

You know, it's sad that high school wrestlers sometimes don't get the respect and admiration they deserve. A few people even make fun of the sport.

 

Then again, it's human nature to ridicule what you don't understand. Once you understand all that goes into being a high school wrestler, ridiculing them would be the last thing on your mind.

 

All you have to do is watch a high school wrestling match to realize the blood, sweat and tears that are poured into the preparations. I was reminded of that earlier in the week. For the first time in quite a while, I covered high school wrestling during Tuesday's Albany city championship at Westover.

 

There are the cries of anguish when a player is caught up in a hold. There is the resounding thump of the official's hand as it slams to the mat signifying a pin. And there is the joyous shout of a wrestler as he rises up from a quick pin or dramatic overtime victory.

 

There are no shoulder pads in wrestling. There are no helmets. And hey, even though you're wrestling on a pad, it still hurts when your opponent slams you to the mat.

 

In many ways, wrestling is the perfect sport. The perfection is in the parity.

 

You see, the difference between wrestlers who go against each other is skill and desire. In all other aspects of the match, they're even.

 

You can't say you lost because your opponent was bigger. Size is such a big factor in football. Size is such a big factor in basketball. But in wrestling, having 14 separate weight classes takes care of that.

 

If you lost, you lost. No excuses. You either didn't have enough desire to win, or you didn't have enough discipline in practice.

 

The discipline. It's so important.

 

There's hardly a sport that requires the discipline that wrestling does. You have to do this, you have to do that. From jumping rope to running laps to lifting weights and doing sit-ups, you have to do it all. Knowing a scale is waiting for you on the morning of each tournament to see if you can compete in your weight class for the day, the discipline extends to the food table.

 

If a teenager can adhere to this, class work is hardly a challenge. Most wrestlers I've interviewed have at least a 3.0 GPA.

 

And the wrestlers know there's a difference between doing it and overdoing it while training. It's all about sensibly doing what needs to be done to stay within your weight class and stay on top of your performance. The Georgia High School Association team dual state championships are Feb. 6-7, the traditional area tournaments are Feb. 13-14, and the state meets in that category are Feb. 20-21.

 

I promise you, for those who don't think high school wrestling is a real sport, just watch how these athletes train and watch them compete. If you do, you will take on a greater appreciation for the challenges and successes of these athletes.

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