In kindergarten, I was the bottom of my class for gross motor skills. Nana told me that I couldn't walk across a flat board on the ground without falling. She signed me up for Taekwando and gymnastics.
It really helped. I started to become much more coordinated and I learned a lot about being disciplined. I stuck with Taekwando for the next 10 years.
When we moved to Texas, Pop introduced me to team sports. I played t-ball, baseball, and basketball for several years. I tried soccer one year and bowling another, but neither stuck. My brothers, sisters, and I started a tree climbing club and practiced tricks on roller skates, as well. Whatever the sport I learned fairly quickly, but I was never the best. I learned less about how to be a superstar and more about how to be part of a team.
It should be noted: Pop practiced with me throughout all the different sports I tried. We'd play catch in the yard and I always loved when he threw the ball straight up to simulate a pop fly. I want to do the same thing for Shane whatever sport he's interested in.
We moved back to Virginia after 5th grade. Nana tried signing my siblings and I for swim team to make friends. None of us liked the early wake-up calls. We didn't sign up the following summer. Pop worked a lot more and went on frequent business trips to Europe. There were no more organized sports. I stuck with Taekwando, rode bikes, played neighborhood football, frisbee wars, hide and go seek in the dark, and explored the woods and creek instead. Honestly, I spent a lot more time outside and active than I realized as a young teenager.
Wrestling did not get a hold on me until ninth grade. I took a unit on it in PE during 7th grade and it intrigued me. I tried to tackle Pop, but he tied me in a pretzel. I tried to jump on Uncle Kevin's back and ended up with a bruised rib from a bear hug. It was pretty much laid to rest until a friend, Larry, and I decided to go to the wrestling interest meeting after school one day. I don't really remember what first led me there. It could have been a desire to be connected; To have some sort of worthwhile high school memory outside of classes. Perhaps I just wanted to support a friend. Or maybe I wanted to get a letter jacket and I knew none of the other sports really interested me. I remember the crappy desks and the health room, but not what was said.
Pop was surprised when I told him. I did not expect him to be so supportive or so enthusiastic. That I do remember. I never noticed or realized he even liked wrestling. It turned out he wrestled in high school, too (though it made sense how he manhandled me so easily in 7th grade). I had thought I was on a new path. Pop became my biggest fan. He made sure I got my physical, wrestling shoes, and whatever else I needed. He picked me up from practice and went to all of my matches he could. He recorded and reviewed footage with me. I did not always see eye to eye with him, but I knew he loved and supported me.
Nana bet me $50 I wouldn't survive the very first season. She probably thought it was a pretty safe bet that first week I came home from practice as a freshman. There were wrestlers throwing up in trash cans from exertion and I literally crawled up the stairs one night. I was beat. I was hurting. I was exhausted and I wondered "Why?" Nana's bet helped, though. I've always been competitive, and I wanted to prove her wrong more badly than I wanted to curl up and die.
It was a great experience for me. It pushed me beyond my limits. I learned, I grew and I will never be in that sort of shape again. There are still days where I think "I survived wrestling, so I can survive this." I was something of a natural at wrestling, too. I made varsity my second year (it helped I was small!). I sometimes wonder how I would have done if I'd started earlier and worked out in the off-season. As it was, I followed my normal recipe. I was decent but never the best. The highest I placed was 6th in Regionals. In the end, I believe God used wrestling to build up my confidence and strengthen my backbone. I think it can do that for anyone who survives the season! I did not try to wrestle in college. Wrestling was an important event in my life, but it was not meant to be my life.
Throughout all this time, I occasionally snowboarded, played paintball, and climbed up many things I was not supposed to. I discovered Brazilian Jiu Jitsu after I graduated college, but gave it up shortly before I got married. I wrote about my flirtation with the SCA and then a year ago with Muay Thai.
I really enjoy being active and learning something. I'm looking forward to being a coach and hopefully passing some of that on. I'm looking even more forward to seeing what sort of sports Shane will be interested in. I want to support him like Pop supported me.
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