How High School Wrestling Has Changed My Life and Outlook (WHS Orange & Black)

Sports Column (**1st Column)
Written By: Matt Rider

I am a 10th grade wrestler. Whether you are an athletic person or not, you should try to get involved with a school sport or a school activity (school club or play).

Anyway, you can learn a lot of important values like dedication, responsibility, fellowship, determination, and hard work from the activities in our school. If you are planning to go to college, being in a school sport or school activity will look very good on your college application.

I am a first year wrestler. At the first few wrestling practice, I did not have a clue about wrestling, but I have great coaches and teammates that were willing to teach me wrestling moves I needed to know in certain times of wrestling matches.

I am not saying that high school wrestling or any sport you start is going to be a cake walk. I had to go through off-season conditioning and weights, practices and run stair laps. I lost a total of nine pounds to go where I needed to be as a wrestler this year. Fellow students, you don't exactly know what a wrestler does everyday after school and Saturday mornings. High school wrestlers have to watch what they eat, so they can make weight for a wrestling match. When I say high school wrestlers have to make weight for wrestling matches, they have to stay at or lose enough weight so when they weigh in before a match or meet, they are able to wrestle in their weight class.

First year's (for any sport or activity) will be difficult. Just remember, be friendly to all of your coaches and teammates, and be a good sport (you win some, you lose some). At first, I didn't fit in with the high school wrestling team. There is an adjustment period to fit in with any new sport or team. Although I don't like to admit it, it was hard for me ot adjust to my new wrestling team and the sport, but I did it. If you make a mistake your first time, you can learn from that mistake and get better. Do not expect to walk into your new sport and dominate your new sport. IT WON'T HAPPEN!!!

I think this wrestling experience is cool in a lot of ways. One way is I get to have the privilege of going and wrestling in high schools inside and outside the county during the wrestling season. Another cool thing that goes along with being a WHS wrestler is you get your locker decorated.

I've learned that if I continue to work hard in wrestling, I will eventually get to start a high school Varsity wrestling match. If I start five or more Varsity wrestling matches, win or lose, I will receive a wrestling letter for that year to put on my letter jacket. To continue in wrestling, I have to get good grades throughout my high school career. If I don't get good grades, I cannot continue to wrestle for WHS until I get my grades up. Fortunately, I am a good student and I get good grades. Grades are more important than wrestling for WHS.

So, I ask you, when you look back at your high school career, what will you think? If you at least try to get involved in a high school sport you won't regret it at all. It could change your life. You will always have great memories to look back on whenever you want. Great memories not just of that year, not just memories of that school sport, you will always have memories of friends you made while you played that sport. You will also have great memories of great teammates, coaches, fans, and opponents.