Personal Narrative “Today can be the day of my first wrestling match, I absolutely hope I win , what if I don't and It's embarrassing? I’m overthinking it, I’ll be fine, I just need to use the knowledge and skills I’ve learned from the past couple months.” I thought to myself as I walked to my sixth period class which was wrestling. It was the third week into the wrestling season and the first two league duels I defaulted because there was no one in my weight class. As I arrived in the wrestling room, everyone was optimistic and talking about the varsity wrestlers from Katella high. I was nervous thinking about the all the people that were going to see me wrestle including my parents. After we were all seated the coaches announced that there would be a wrestle off for the varsity 126 lbs spot. I was my first year of wrestling and as I saw to varsity wrestlers wrestle in a high intensity match it was overwhelming and I thought to myself if I was ready for my first match. It was six o'clock in the afternoon in the school gym, I had just finished weighing out at 113 lbs. I went to the stands where my team was sitting and waiting. I asked …show more content…
I first stared down my opponent as I walked to the center of the mat. I glanced at him I got the feeling that I was probably stronger than him so I knew I would need to make the first move and go strong in the beginning. We got to the center of the mat and the referee gave the signal to shake hands and at that moment I knew I was ready. I isolated my mind from who was around me and only saw my opponent in front of me. I started getting angry in my mind and thought to myself “It's either going to be him or me who we be victorious.”. As we shook each others hand, I squeezed my hand as hard as I could and can feel that he did too. The whistle blew, our first instinct was to lock arms and get a feel for each other and test our
Of the 258,000 athletes that wrestle in high school, only 7,408 are able to continue their career as a wrestler in college (NCAA 1). 2.7% of wrestlers are faced with multiple adversities from weight gain, to the long seven minutes of nonstop action on the mat. Although the seven minutes go by quick when spectating, when you’re on the mat it seems never ending. A lot of work goes behind one's success on the mat. To be successful in college wrestling one must cut weight efficiently, lift weights, and warm up effectively before every match.
When we first arrived I’d thought we’d taken a wrong turn and went to a traveling gypsy convention by mistake. The whole field outside the school was filled with tents of various sizes and colors. 200 wrestlers, about thirty of which were girls, filtered about the area. As my soon-to-be teammates and I headed to the first practice, anxiety gnawed at my stomach like a dog with a bone (FL). I wanted to impress everybody, and prove that I could make it in this sport. Before we started, the coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back all right.” he told me. I smiled and nodded. At least one person was looking out for me.
From the first day of practice, I knew that wrestling would change my life. Today I am going to talk about two different cultural identities that run in my family. One of them is wrestling and the other is a German cultural background. These two aspects are part of daily life to all members of my family.
I was watching the action at the heart of the club. This is where the more experienced judokas practiced, all of them looking fluent in every move they pulled off. Nobody ever made a mistake by the look of it. There was an older boy, around sixteen, nonchalantly throwing people to the ground, it seemed as if it was as easy as breathing to him. That is what I wanted to be able to do, not necessarily with judo, but with interacting. My stomach groaned harder and harder the longer I watched, I was terrified. I was really nervous stepping on the mat, knowing how I would get thrown on my back as soon as I did. The instructor introduced me to the rest of the class, I wanted to be sick but continued on anyways. Looking back, I did act strangely, even though everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming I still didn’t want to be a part of it. To this day I wonder why I was awkward in social in social situations, it confuses me, but it was a major problem to me back then. When I was asked to pair up with someone a shiver crawled its way up my spine. I looked about panicking about who I was going to pair up with, no-one was to be seen but a boy of my size. A thin boy with two of his front teeth missing, it didn’t stop him smiling from ear to ear though. The instructor told me to grip his collar and pivot. The fact that I actually put my hands on him confuses me to this day, it felt weird and uncomfortable and at the time I hated
But somehow he was different - true athletes always are For though he cursed, and bled, and sweat, he prided in the scar. They told him to win like a man, no matter what the cost; So many times he ventured forth; so many times he lost. And when they turned around, and said "Its OK son; you tried," He clenched his headgear in his fist, and like a man, he cried. But from his tears came anger; then, when it ceased to spin, the wrestler rose again, determined that the next time, he would win.
...defensively, so, I couldn't. I finally got in on his leg with 30 seconds left in the period. I took every last bit of strength in my body and drove him back. It was a take down right by the out of bounds line, then, slam! As I was taking him down, my hands broke loose and we both fell to our sides. Before I realized we weren't out of bounds, Petro rolled on top of me, getting the two points I just worked for. The whistle blew, and it was over. Petro won with a 3-1 decision over Mayberry. I had nothing to say at the moment except that I was proud of myself and deep down I knew I won that match. After going through all that I went through I now know that I can do anything if I wan it bad enough. I will return to wrestling as a senior this year and I am setting my goal to be a state placer again! Not to be cocky, but being a state champion is on the top of my list too.
Every day I felt the Sweat dripping down from my face, heart banging against my chest while punches come “bang, bang, bang”. That was an everyday experience for me at Franklin Smedley Elementary School, the kids no taller than five feet, embracing the eye of the tiger every day on my face, and I would ball up wishing I had some courage, some wisdom, some knowledge of confidence, self-defense. Days, weeks, months, even years went past with this repetitive taste of salt from the sweat and search for oxygen as my heart continued to beat faster and faster. In the entire school, I had one friend named Nicholas Whales, who just joined boxing in Northeast Philadelphia. The Jack Costello Boxing Club. Costello’s.. This experience had a positive impact because it was what made me want to start boxing, and it’s what gave me the drive to what to succeed. Also, allowed me to unleash a drive in boxing that I never thought I have
Ever since the previous season I had my standards set high. I had placed fifth, which was all right for the time being, but I knew as time went on I needed to push myself and increase my level of wrestling. I decided that I would do whatever it took, through thick and thin. I traveled to small local tournaments in Colorado, and a couple out-of-state tournaments, I even traveled to Delaware. It didn't really matter how I did at these tournaments because it was just all practice until February. So, I lifted and wrestled just about every chance I got. It was all in preparation for one match, six minutes.
When I was a Freshman, I was curious about the sport of Wrestling. When I tried out for it, I was eager to learn more about it. It is not just rolling around on the mat it is a form of combat using grappling techniques such as throws, takedowns, pins, holds, and joint locks. In addition into this sport, there are a variety of ways to use these grappling techniques. Wrestling has many rich memories of it is history with a variety of wrestling styles and rules.
Wrestling, one the world’s oldest sport, is the newest sport to the athletic program. Head Coach Danny Nolan, with the help of his father, Coach Kevin Nolan, and his brother Coach Mike Nolan instruct four seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, and five freshman in the sport of wrestling.
As a seventeen year old kid in the spring of my Junior year in high school, I largely considered myself to be an adult. I could easily cook or clean for myself when needed, I could drive, and I was for the most part mentally mature enough as well. However, one quality that eluded me from adulthood was the fact that I evaded any unwanted responsibilities. Like most kids my age with a similar background, selective attention was an issue. The aspects or issues I cared about, I really cared about.
As the season progressed, competition started getting fiercer. I was up against girls running at a 5A level, yet, I was able to hold my own. Finally there came a tiny light at the end of the tunnel; it seemed as though I was getting closer and closer to accomplishing my goal. Along with my undefeated title came a huge target painted on my back. I religiously checked "Rocky Preps" every day to see if the competition was gaining on me. It seemed that every time I had improved, there was someone right behind me, running their personal best too. I trained during the weeks before regionals like I had never trained before. Each day my stomach became more twisted with knots that looped around every part of my stomach. I don't think I had ever been that nervous in my whole life.
The gate opened and I was in. This was just like every morning, I did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen. After filling up my water bottle and stuffing everything into a locker, I was ready to go. I walked into the weight room, scattered with people’s scrunched faces as they pushed their weights.
My opponent’s name was John Doe. There were other competitors at the tournament, but they had never posed any threat to my title. For as long as I had competed in this tournament, I had easily taken the black belt championship in my division. John, however, was the most phenomenal martial artist I had ever had the honor of witnessing at my young age of thirteen. And he was in my division. Although he was the same rank, age, size, and weight as I, he surpassed me in almost every aspect of our training. His feet were lightning, and his hands were virtually invisible in their agile swiftness. He wielded the power of a bear while appearing no larger than I. His form and techniques were executed with near perfection. Although I had never defeated his flawlessness before, victory did not seem unattainable. For even though he was extraordinary, he was not much more talented than I. I am not saying that he was not skilled or even that he was not more skilled than I, for he most certainly was, but just not much more than I. I still had one hope, however little, of vanquishing this incredible adversary, for John had one weakness: he was lazy. He didn’t enjoy practicing long hours or working hard. He didn’t have to. Nevertheless, I had found my passage to triumph.