- 2018 Match Highlights #4
Personal Statement
I have been wrestling for 6 years now and it is truly my favorite thing to do. I was brought up to JV in eighth grade and I had only been wrestling for a year at that point and trust me I was scared! I love challenging myself to do more and be more so I was ready for the road ahead. It turned out that I had a good season for an eighth grader on JV. I had a positive record and I took second at the JV Section 9 Tournament. I was excited for my freshman year. I knew my coach was going to put me on varsity and I was ecstatic. The day he told me that I was the man at 285 and that I was the guy he needed for the varsity lineup I was so overjoyed. Looking back at it now I wasn't truly ready for that spot. My freshman season didn't go well. I had a positive record of 14 wins but 11 loses. I couldn't even qualify for the Varsity Section Tournament. I didn't let this break me though. At the end of the season, I knew that it was time for me to get ready and my sophomore year. Getting ready for my sophomore wrestling season was brutal. No camps had heavyweights and everyone looked down at me. All they saw was some fat kid who wasn't ready or good enough for that varsity lineup. Going into my sophomore year season I wasn't confident and I was at my wits end. I had lost myself. I had lost what made me a good wrestler in the first place. I lost my heart and passion for the sport. By the end of my sophomore year season I had a negative record of 11 wins and 15 loses. I also didn't go to sections that year for the second year in a row. I was so broken and beaten down by the sport. I kept blaming myself because I wasn't good enough. I had a choice either I pack it in and quit the sport that was killing me or I use my pain and anger to become great and come back with a vengeance. I decide to use my anger and pain to keep pressing forward. I used my anger and pain to keep fighting. To keep moving forward, I needed a goal to work towards. A thought popped into my head, Sections. I had been denied the opportunity to prove myself at the sections for two years in a row. I thought to myself, that it is time for me to go to sections, and win the whole thing. So, the whole summer before my junior year season my dad and I trained hard to get me into better shape. I reviewed new moves and fixed old mistakes to become smarter. I'm not the biggest guy in my weight class but it didn't mean I couldn't be smarter, faster, and stronger than the rest. So I worked and grinded. I took all the anger I felt and the pain that I felt and laid it all on the mat my junior year. My junior year was a turning point for me in wrestling and in life. It showed me if you work hard and keep evolving and growing you will get where you want to be. I finished the year with a record of 31 wins and 10 loses. I did make it to sections and I took second which also awarded me the MIP(Most Improved Player) award for the section. I also won other tournaments throughout the season. My junior year changed my life forever. I now work harder than I have ever and I'm so excited about my future in wrestling and in life; because of my new mindset. Never give up. Never surrender. Always believe in your heart and will.
