Kurt decided to kick start the wrestling season this past Sunday at the Worthington-Kilbourne open tournament. Luke chose to sit this one out.
Kurt went 0-3 on the day, and wrestled better at beginning of matches than at the end. True indicator that its early in the season with better days ahead. This is a good warm-up for January when the season gets in full swing.
Match 1 against a familiar opponent from Upper Arlington. I love these guys smiling at each other at beginning of the match, battle it out, and end the match with mutual respect. These guys are good role models for others to follow and mature beyond their age.
This spring Kurt played Lacrosse. This is a fun game to watch with action all the time. Kurt is #77.
He opt'ed to play recreational league only, but received a pleasant surprise when his coach stopped by to ask if he would like to join the select team. Big honor for his coach to appreciate his effort and extend the invite. Kurt joined the team and held his own. Below is video of him playing on the select team.
USA wrestling hosted a Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling tournament today. Kurt has been wanting to try freestyle, so we made the 2 1/2 hour trip to Delta High School.
Kurt was entered in only the Freestyle tournament. His freestyle coach encouraged him to enter the Greco Roman tournament too to get more mat time. So, with 5 minutes of instruction on rules and some technique, Kurt was all set to tackle Olympic style of wrestling. You have to love his character, trying two new styles of wrestling that he barely practices, had fun doing it, and never lost his smile.
Kurt did not win a match today, but he had fun trying something new. He wrestled 4 matches in one hour, and then we were on our way home. Luke sat this one out.
On the way home, we stopped by Ford Street in Perrysburg on the Maumee river to check out the world famous walleye run. We saw lots of fishermen with limits of walleye, and Kurt was mad that we did not bring a fishing pole.
Next stop was Fort Meigs in Perrysburg to take in a history lesson that dovetailed with Kurt's class work. This was the first time I had walked through the fort and took in the history of this fort and its significance of the War of 1812.
Totally could not have asked for a better day. Tomorrow, Kurt has a double header in lacrosse, so look for another post soon.
Kurt and Luke wrestled in the Shadyside Pee Wee Wrestling tournament this weekend. Lots of familiar faces where it all started for me many years ago. Luke took 2nd; Kurt took 1st.
Kurt and Luke wrestled in the Russ Hellickson League Championship. Both wrestled really well and brought home top honors. They are building strong bonds with their teammates and many of their teammates had similar success.
Kurt and Luke both wrestled good matches this weekend at our last regular league meet #4 at Marysville.
Luke's Matches
Luke is a step ahead of competition at his age and weight, and he would benefit from more competitive matches. Luke is executing some new skills riding with legs and turning with tilts. He also ducked under a couple of head and arm attacks which is spectacular. Luke also makes his opponent earn every point, and this is very important.
Kurt's Matches
Kurt had really competitive matches again this weekend. You can tell from teh length of his videos. Kurt is learning the details necessary to win close matches by scoring at the end of a period and doing mat returns instead of letting his opponent have easy points. These lessons will pay dividends in tight matches down the road.
Olentangy Braves hosted the league meet this weekend at our high school. Both Kurt and Luke wrestled competitive matches. Luke won the two matches that he wrestled and Kurt went 2-1.
Our second league meet of the year was held at Upper Arlington High School. Again this week, Luke's competition was tough. He wrestled two very good matches against more agile and physical wrestlers. He does not give himself enough credit for how well he wrestled. He will learn to put on a poker face when adversity strikes. Experience is the best teacher for these instances, and, as a parent and coach, this can be tough to watch. To handle this situation, we talked about the good things he did and where he needs to improve. We will be looking for improvement in how he carries himself in similar situations in the coming weeks.
Kurt makes most wrestlers look like basketball players; he will always be competing against wrestlers that are taller than him. In each of his matches, he cradled his opponent, and in one instance right at the buzzer for a go ahead score. Coaches and parents have also complimented him on his demeanor and his cool nature.
Its been almost a month since we last wrestled, but we have been practicing three days a week, and the boys were ready to go. Luke is wrestling up an age group and getting more adequate competition. Luke had to work hard on mat returns. Kurt likes working on cradles and did a great job hopping sides with his half nelson.
