Tournament day. We were up early 5:30 and moving. I tried to keep the kids asleep as long as possible. I put them to bed on Friday in their clothes for today, so we could make the tradsition from bed to car quick, and hopefully they could still be asleep. They woke up but they were still groggy.
We got to Mifflinburg right when the rest of the team did. We opted to not be part of the caravan this year. A few extra minutes of sleep sounded better. We checked in and got a great seat in the bleachers. We opted for all the way up that way we had the wall behind us. It is better when you are trying to keep kids in their seats.
Wrestling started at about 9:30. The first match was over quickly. But with every match he got better. What more can you ask for. By the last 2 matches he was no longer getting pinned. He lost on points, but he was not getting pinned.
Wrestling at these things is very hard. I would not want to do it. I love that my son wants to do it. When I am there, I try to see things through his eyes. Imagine being 7, being woken up early, driven an hour without breakfast, to go to a strange school, where there are hundreds of people you never met, all there to watch you wrestle. When after waiting for 2 hours for the party to start, there is suddenly chaos and now you are following a parent out there on to a mat to wait and watch the other matches till your number is up. As you watch you see other kids winning, lossing, parents and coaches yelling or cheering, you watch other kids get hurt, you watch other kids cry and you know that coming up soon, it is your turn. Will you disappoint? Will you prevail? Will you get hurt? What will daddy say? Can I possibly make every one happy? What will it be like to have my hand raised?
I am sitting there with Gryffan on my lap, and I can feel his little heart beating a mile a minute. I know that he is nervous. His first match, he goes out there, and he gets pinned right away. He looks up to see me. My reaction at this point is critical to the way the rest of the day will go. Imagine all those things going through your mind and looking up after your match and seeing a dissapproving face. It would be heartbreaking, wouldn’t it. I look into my sons eyes, and smile, you did a good job! Am I dissapointed that he lost in 15 seconds, a little, am I disappointed that he went out there, no way! He faced his fears, he went out there and he did it. I could not have been prouder. The first match is always rough, it would be for any person. I hate when people yell at their child for lossing a match. What can that accomplish? At 7 is it the end of the world that they did not win a match? Is any college going to look at their record and say nope you can not be here because you did not win one match when you were 7. What is more important, a trophy on your wall or a child and his well being? Sports parents get me mad!
I have no good pictures of Gryffan on the mat. I am thinking that it puts to much pressure on him, if he knows that I am waiting for a photo op. Lexy came with us to the tournament and had a lot of fun on the stands. There are lots of little siblings her age from the wrestling team.
Lexy and Kyle
relaxing between matches
The best part of the day came at the end. Gryffan had to wrestle a boy from Mt Carmel, a boy who is his friend and is also in his class. We are all walking out to the car, and he turns to his friend and says, “Ramsey the next time we wrestle, it will be for revenge!” OMG I love this boy! At 7 they see life as a comic book! He is not dwelling on his loss today, but looking foward to the next time!
