The commitment. Hard work. Dedication. The cardio. Wrist play. Sprawls. Shark tank. Tournaments. Practice. Stairs. Proving myself.

My team was trash but my first year wrestling junior year I wrestled off for 138 LB varsity captain and learned for a 132 LB 5-4 little wrecking ball stud who placed 3rd in states.

One coach who was a #2 runner at 132 up for New England called me a natural. One coach was a 220 NE champ. I had boxed growing up and always enjoyed watching MMA. I saw how well well established wrestlers succeed and it drew me to the sport.

The sport is special from all levels from youth pee wees to NCAA and even olympics. I grew up in a chaotic household and used wrestling to achieve something for myself.

With no help from family pushing me just myself with my own hobby my first year I got a record of 14-7 with 11 pins for varsity in a very tough 138 lb class.

The thing that I like most about it and I always enjoyed it was how humbling experience the sport really is to people giving it all on the mat to edge the other opponent and get the W.

I was decent for my skill level and experience and then I realized I wrestled a kid who came in second in New England and he techd me strictly through his knowledge and fluidity of the sport. Even if you relied on strength these guys look at it like a chess game and there knowledge and skill set is fluid in what they do. There is so many levels in which one can achieve if they continue to better themselves.

You could look at it as being disheartening when you lose a tournament early or you could see the kid who beat you move up to the next rank and see how he weighs against someone who made it that far. It’s just so much humble respect at different levels that I never saw with other sports .

I quickly realized if I wasn’t going to be the best I will try to get my moment in which I felt like I achieved something. My coach was a New England champion at heavyweight who one everything but didn’t have a very successful time as a coach because of the sports popularity at my school.

His big win was one in he wished wanted to be against the rival school which always beat us. We had a few weight class is missing so we lost in terms of points but that night for the matches me wrestled my team went out there. I invited my dad to the one and only match and was rather nervous going into it.

I’ll never forget it was the third. And when I was going for a cradle the kid roll me over and I fell back on my shoulders after being up by little points but being in control for the most part. He was a skinny but extremely strong Asian kid who was determined to win.

I got up from this position and manage not to get pinned but realized I might’ve lost four or five back points!! After hearing his fans in team go crazy I got in referees position on the bottom and looked at my coaches as a frantically realized that I was down on the scoreboard.

My dad who never celebrated during any of my sports games playing baseball growing up even told me till this day he wanted to jump out of his seat and go let’s go you got this! But stayed quiet.

I realized my dad was here I was down by five points with 40 seconds left and wasn’t gonna win on the scorecard. I shifted on my butt from referees position rolled over and broke the grip to a single leg. I got up real quick in the matter of 15-20 seconds hit a single leg right into a half Nelson pin position.

I’d say there was about 20 seconds left And I could hear my team screaming everyone was tuned in because i floor the script after he did it to me when I was a favorite at first. I give that kid props till this day but I felt my right arm go under his neck and I placed all my body weight on his front body.

Right when I saw the ref jump on his belly to look for a pin I knew I had it. The kid for damn hard and I give him props but I grabbed a W with about eight seconds left. My 265 pound coach jumped up in the air like a little kid in the back of his ankles hit his ass lol

I ran over it and dapped up my whole team and then showed respect to him and his coaches. After the event his coaches who they saw me wrestle earlier that year at a shark tank makes practice at a school told my dad how good of a wrestler I was.

My sister was there too and I feel she low-key wanted to see me lose LOL I came from a neglected household emotionally but I put my all out there to achieve something and that was a big enough achievement for me.

You guys probably made it much further in your careers but to me that was what made wrestling worth it. Thanks for listening to my rant but God damn what an amazing support that I will forever remember being a part of.

The level of skill that sport reaches per person is wild to me till this day these were just kids in New England let alone the states in America that move on to college wrestling and then on and then on. Hell of a sport!! Glad I did it!!!