Page 20
The INDEPENDENT, November 5, 2009
Is wrestling a team sport? Coach discusses team aspect of sport
From page 11
Wrestling is hard, unbeliev-
ably hard. You want blood,
sweat and tears? You’ll get
them in wrestling, guaranteed.
If you ask a wrestler “why do
you wrestle?” don’t be offended
if the response is “because you
can’t.” Well, my friend, that’s
wrestling. If you can see the
logic in this then you may just
be a wrestler at heart.
The Independent has given
me the honor and privilege of
presenting a short series of es-
says on wrestling over the
course of this winter sports
season. The concept of these
essays is not to tell or teach the
readers about wrestling, but is
focused on understanding
wrestling as, well, a way of be-
ing. So, before this turns into an
essay of its own…I hope you
enjoy this first essay and thank
you for your time:
The Team Aspect Of
Wrestling
Is wrestling a team sport?
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Yes, it is; and No, it isn’t. On the
mat, during competition? No.
Not really. Off the mat? Yes, but
in ways that are different than
other sports.
When you are competing on
the mat you’re just one, the
world is gone and you’re just
one. You may have coaches in
your corner, but the decisions
are still made by you and no
one else. You decide 95 per-
cent of what takes place during
competition. There is no team
out there to back you up if you
make a mistake; you are on
your own. And you own all the
consequences of any mistake
you make. The answer to this?
Work hard in practice, learn
what the mistakes are and don't
make them in competition.
As a sport, wrestling accepts
all people, but not all people
can accept wrestling. Other
sports choose to eliminate
members who are seen as
weak or lacking the required
skill set, this is called a “cut”.
Wrestling does just the oppo-
site, it forces a person to make
his own decision, choose to im-
prove or choose to quit; the
people who choose the latter
are called quitters. There is
only one varsity spot and there
are no substitutions. So,
wrestling attracts those who
are not “qualified” to play other
sports and those individualists
who choose wrestling. Individu-
alists are not known for their
team commitment.
The “team” part of wrestling
takes place away from the
competition. It takes place in
the hearts of the individual
team members. Unlike the oth-
er sports that say a team is only
as strong as its weakest mem-
ber, in wrestling a team is only
as strong as its average mem-
ber. Therefore, if your average
team member is strong of will
and heart you will have a strong
team. People do not discover
heart and will overnight and all
of a sudden, “poof”, they are
good wrestlers. No, heart and
will are developed like any oth-
er skill. And the development
starts with a small decision that
says:
“Today, this time, from this
point forward I will no longer
make excuses,” or “today, this
time, from this point forward I
will not complain,” or “today,
this time, from this point for-
ward I will earn good grades,”
or “today, this time, from this
point forward I will not give up
or quit,” or “today, this time,
from this point forward I will al-
ways make weight,” or “today,
this time, from this point for-
ward I will (you fill in the blank).”
Once a decision has been
made, it is up to the individual
to figure out how to follow
through on that decision. A
team member will do whatever
it takes to support this decision;
whether it requires reading,
talking with coaches or team-
mates, seeking advice from re-
spected elders, or doing extra
work outside of the classroom
or wrestling room. It must be
understood that it will take time
to develop heart and will; it is a
continuous improvement pro-
cess of righteousness, perse-
verance, and discipline. Each
individual will develop at his or
her own rate, and that is more
than acceptable, as long as the
team member is making the ef-
fort to improve. All that is re-
quired is that a team member
work to be slightly above aver-
age compared to his team-
mates.
A person can verbalize that
a decision has been made yet
put forth no effort to realize the
rewards of that decision; the re-
sult of this is loss of team re-
spect and, more importantly,
self-respect. A person can
choose not to verbalize a deci-
sion and yet put forth no effort
to realize the rewards of that
decision; the result is still loss
of self-respect. The difference
is that once a person has ver-
balized a decision it is harder to
give up on it for fear of losing
the respect of teammates. Yet,
what many people fail to realize
is that if you don’t have self-re-
spect then you can’t have the
respect of others. This is be-
cause people make the mis-
take of holding the opinions of
other’s higher than their own.
The reality of the situation is
that your own opinion is more
powerful than any second party
opinion. It is crucial to realize
that when you are doing your
See Wrestling on page 21
Kiwanis close to starting Key Club here
S EE US FOR
H EATING O IL
D ECK & S HINGLE O IL
A NTI F REEZE
CALL
(503) 429-6606
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From page 11
and one community at a time. A
new club in Vernonia will further
the Kiwanis International mis-
sion of responding to global is-
sues while also serving the
needs of Vernonia Youth by
performing valuable service
projects.
Kiwanis clubs provide an ex-
cellent opportunity to meet oth-
er service-minded individuals
and network with business pro-
fessionals while making a di-
rect impact on the community
through volunteering. Area res-
idents are encouraged to join
the new Kiwanis Club and
make a difference for children
in the Vernonia community.
The first difference is the for-
mation of a Key Club at Ver-
nonia High School. This stu-
dent led service club will pro-
vide Vernonia students oppor-
tunities for leadership, commu-
nity service, and fun. To start a
new Key Club, $600 must be
raised. Some money was
raised by the Salmon BBQ at
the Salmon Festival, but atten-
dance was low and the goal
was not reached. Businesses
and individuals are asked to
help the Kiwanis Club sponsor
the Key Club by donations.
Make checks payable to the Ki-
wanis Club of St. Helens and
mail to 404 Chinook Ave., Asto-
ria, OR 97103. More informa-
tion about Key Club, the world’s
largest service club for high
school students can be found
at www.keyclub.org
By joining the Kiwanis Club
of Vernonia, members will be
joining the Kiwanis family,
which was organized in 1915.
There are now more than
600,000 members in 8,600
clubs, in more than 90 coun-
tries and geographical areas.
The Kiwanis family includes or-
ganizations for young people,
including Circle K, Key Club,
Key Leader, Builders Club, K-
Kids, Kiwanis Junior and Aktion
Club, who annually dedicate
more than six million volunteer
hours to strengthen communi-
ties and serve children.
To find out more about the
Kiwanis Club of Vernonia and
the Kiwanis family, contact Al-
ice Robinson at 360-560-3301
or robertsonalice@comcast.net
or Emil Nyberg 503-338-7400
or emilnyberg@msn.com or at-
tend the meeting.