Everybody in life faces challenges and obstacles which would cause others to back down and submit. At the end of 8th grade I weighed 260 lbs and had dreams bigger than my stomach. My life changed dramatically in the middle of my eighth grade year when I met my school's wrestling coach Tony Scaparo. Little did I know that when I shook his hand and heard what wrestling was all about it would change my life. I also did not know that my parents would fight me tooth and nail until they saw how happy wrestling made me and how I excelled at it.
I Grew up in a household with a family that loves each other unconditionally. My family is also known to be very good basketball players and I played for most of my childhood and early adolescence. Although I played basketball and was a decent player I wasn't really happy playing so I was okay with switching from basketball to wrestling during my eighth grade year. Although my parents thought differently, they would not let me wrestle. We fought tooth and nail and I regret saying but I gave in and continued playing basketball my eighth grade year.
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I knew in my heart that it wasn't for me, and I also knew that becoming a varsity wrestler was no easy feat. Not knowing where to start or what to do to lose weight and get in shape I started my journey to become a wrestler at the YMCA weight room. Within my first 20 minutes there a highschooler approached me and introduced himself to me saying with a smile “ Hi i'm John and I can tell you're new to weightlifting”. After talking to John I later learned that he was wrestler on the team himself. He taught me not only to be strong physically but how to be strong mentally. As my muscles grew so did my self confidence and my need to
I knew the choice between the two would come eventually, but I thought that it would be a much easier choice. I ended choosing to continue in wrestling, and cut my basketball career short. I soon became one of the best wrestlers in my class. I won all but a few matches throughout my junior high wrestling career. I felt like I was on top of the world.
I have many things that I love in this life, one of those things is wrestling. I have been wrestling for seven years and I have developed quite the passion and love for it. Wrestling has always been an interesting sport for me. Growing up in Oregon I watched my uncles wrestle in high school. I watched both of them win their state tournament in their respective weight classes, this is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. One of them went on to wrestle division one, I thought this was the coolest thing in the world. I looked up to my uncles and wanted to be just like them. I did not always wrestle though. The process of pursing my dream as of becoming a wrestler started of with basketball, then went to a rocky start, then being on Worland High School wrestling team.
Before I started cheering, both of my parents never knew how much goes into being a cheerleader. Though soccer was the sport I grew up playing, I ended up quitting to try out for cheerleading in seventh grade. I made the squad that year and I immediately became attached to cheerleading, though my parents did not know how to react exactly. Of course they were happy for me since it was something that I wanted to do, but it was not soccer. My dad did not consider cheerleading to be a sport in the beginning, claiming that “there is no team quality to cheering.” It was safe to say that he did not necessarily like that I quit soccer to take up cheering since he did not consider cheerleading to be a real sport. I have learned that going against tradition and conformity is difficult, but is worth it in the end.
It then started to get harder and each day was a different workout to help me and my teammates improve. I was at a point where all I could do was attend school, go to practice and go home. Each day I was beyond tired. At a point of time I felt like giving up and going back to my regular life, and regular schedule. As the coach started to notice how I felt, he pulled me to the side and started to question what was going on. I explained, but everything I said was not a good enough reason. My coach told me, “If this is what you really want you won’t give up, no matter how hard it may get you will overcome it.” That day I learned a valuable lesson, to never give up.
Growing up my parents ran a little lake on the outskirts of my hometown of Shelbina here in northeast Missouri. I was the "tough" one out of my family by the time I was in the ninth grade I could use two weed eaters at the same time and pick up the back end of a golf cart. At 5'3 and wearing size 16 I was big girl and was often made fun of by my peers. I wanted to be something other than the "fat girl" at school. So I became stronger than an ox and used that to my advantage. My high school coach seen me one day bench pressing a picnic table and begged me to join the weightlifting program. I excelled at the class and became known as "Pipes" I went from being the chunky girl to being the girl that was respected for my bench pressing and squats. My coach believed in me and that was all I needed to continue to do my best. That year I made a C average except for weightlifting where I got an A and earned the respect from my peers and my coach.
Neither my parents nor I had that desire for myself; therefore not one sport was more central than the other. Academic success stood as the most valuable compared to athletic success. That environment placed less pressure for me to train with greater intensity and focus when it came to competitive sports. Sports were extra-curricular activities as opposed to a full-time job and the pathway to the subsequent level. I absolutely benefitted from playing multiple sports throughout my youth. I have participated in soccer, basketball, football, track & field, wrestling, and even taekwondo. Competing in all these sports developed me into a better athlete and enhanced my fundamental movement skills that are necessary for all sports. In addition, it gave me multiple perspectives that I might not have had otherwise. This improved my ability to be a teammate and instilled in me a more competitive nature. Although different sports brought different demands, the growth of confidence remained the same. I never suffered from burnout during my youth, nor did I detest my experience. Ultimately, participating in multiple sports gave me time to decide where my passion lied and what I preferred to play. As a result, my participation in high school sports was limited to only football and
Naturally, I faced the competition of other gymnasts, however, meets were not where my most valuable lessons were learned. The impact was greater in times I wanted to quit, and didn’t. For instance, my flyway, a skill I acquired as a child, became impossible for me to execute as a teenager. Each time I attempted to perform it, I froze, fear lingering in my mind. Frustrated, I contemplated abandoning my passion, yet, due to my persistence, I overcame the obstacle. I found quitting would never provide me the satisfaction I hungered for. Gymnastics also challenged my body. I suffered more injuries than the average gymnast with broken feet, fingers, toes, and elbows, a concussion, and two stress fractures in two years. My final injury, a torn labrum, resulted in hip surgery, six months of physical therapy, and the death of my college gymnastics dream. Through disaster emerged strength to cope with every roadblock I encounter. All of my life I had worked towards that goal, and with the lift of a scalpel, it was shattered. Thankfully, the qualities gymnastics has given me has transferred to every aspect of my life including my academic career. I have put in just as much effort in the classroom as I have in the
I had little to no motivation for a while and thought that maybe wrestling wasn’t the sport for me. I had shown promise in practice but as soon as I got on the mat for a tournament or duel I just drew a blank. I wasn’t executing any of the techniques I had learned after so many repetitive drills. I wasn’t the only one that had faced such miserable losses but it felt like it. My teammates helped me through my rut by giving me additional advice during practice and being in my corner while I wrestled matches. It was a great feeling knowing that I had people who had my back whenever I needed help. The wrestling team was a close knit group that dealt with all our problems together. We worked hard and played hard together till none of us could go any further. We were each other’s motivation, rivals, and family on and off the mat. If I had any doubts about a match my team thought the exact opposite and made sure that I understood why they believed so. But what made us a strong unit was the fact that we had similar goals and values. None of us wanted to lose and planned to make it past districts. We all wanted to take home hardware not only for our own self recognition but also to bring back a trophy to put on our principal’s desk who just so happened to love the wrestling program about as much as our team. All of us valued the effort that was put into every early morning practice so no one looked down on each other. The connection we had as a team made my experience wrestling all the more worth
What does wrestling and wrestling in Section V mean to me? Well, wrestling has become my life these past few years, ever since I began wrestling in seventh grade. I was in sixth grade when my gym teacher and future coach (Scott Freischlag) told me I should wrestle. From that very moment on, my life changed forever. Sure, being a wrestler has had its ups and downs, but there's no greater sport than wrestling. A sport that really shows the hardwork and dedication that you put in. I have been fortunate enough to be a wrestler in Section V, one of the toughest sections in New York. This section has given me the resources to become the best wrestler I can become. Section V is one of the only sections in New York that has strong D1 and D2 wrestling,
My mom forcing me to cheer was one of the best things that has happened to me because it has caused me to figure out my direction in life after high school. Cheer led me to discover that I want to become a pediatrician because I can help kids and impact their
When I was eleven years old I made a decision that changed my life forever. Ever since I was three years old I did gymnastics and I loved it. My dream was to become really good and win the olympics and become a world medalist. But this dream quickly was changed. After my eleventh birthday, I was starting to realize I didn 't want to do gymnastics anymore. I told my mom and she was heartbroken but let me do what I wanted, so I quit. Once I quit I decided I wanted to try something else, cheerleading. My mom was thrilled and found a allstar gym in sumner called React.. She emailed the coach but I already missed tryouts. The coach said I could come to practice and see if they needed me and if I would like it. I instantly fell in love and wanted to join. The coach liked me and loved that I could tumble. I made the team that night and my life hasn 't been the same since.
Wrestling also helped me make friends that I see often and has given me a sport that I finally enjoy since I literally despise all other sports such as football, baseball, basketball, and so on.
I was introduced to weight lifting at an early age and started lifting weights seriously in the sixth grade. Weightlifting mentally relaxes me and although it sounds crazy, weight lifting calms me and is very therapeutic. Whether my day is happy, stressful or depressing, I find pleasure in the consistency and routine that the weight lifting room provides. When I was around six or seven years of age, I would curiously watch my grandpa bench press at his house. I remember thinking that this sport was very manly and cool looking. My cousin competed in powerlifting and during his visits to my grandpa’s house, I observed him work out with the heavy weights; this almost certainly shaped my interest in the sport. My personal goal is to be as strong as I possibly can be. During my years of weight lifting, I have discovered that this sport is important to personal health, allows positive networking and motivation and also builds my self-confidence.
I felt alone. I did not want to spend my high school experience playing a sport I did not enjoy. It took me learning about the struggles and plight of people like homosexuals, people of color and women, who are often stereotyped, to feel more comfortable in my own skin. I am more than just a sport I play. Once I realized this, I acted against.
However, I did not enjoy the feeling of losing. I realized I wanted to become a better athlete; to be bigger, faster, and stronger. In order to achieve my goal, I began my research. Initially, I started with my father. Considering he's a 6' 3" 210 pound man, his background in strength and sports checks out as a credible source.