Yesterday, my 10 year-old son had his final wrestling tournament of the season. He had a really rough day. He went 0-5, yet I couldn’t be more proud.
For some reason, his head really wasn’t in it from the start of the day. He was easily pinned in his first four matches. I could tell, after the first match, that he was getting into his own head. He kept telling himself he was going to lose before he even stepped out on the mat. He just couldn’t snap out of it, and it was heart breaking. Over all, he had had a good season, and I wanted him to end on a high note. He just couldn’t exorcise the voices that were telling him he was going to lose. Then, he wrestled his final match….
He went out for his final match, and he fought. He fought hard. It was a real battle. His opponent was a little better than he was (at least on this day)—and my son knew that the kid had won his other matches. The kid attacked my son hard. He was relentless, but something lit up in my boy. Liam was poked in the eye, and his face and head were pushed and dropped onto the mat numerous times, but fought back. He wrestled hard. He wrestled really hard. He scored a reversal and a couple back points. He ultimately lost by a technical, though, when he got a bloody nose.
He may have lost, but, in my eyes, he was a champion. He beat the critical opponent—himself. He beat the demons in his head that were telling him he couldn’t win. It was one of those life lessons that wrestling often teaches so well. As I held his nose, trying to stop the blood, I beamed with pride.
Often, our toughest opponent is our self. We need to fight the negative voices in our head. We must not let ourselves be defeated before we start.
Liam had a choice going into his final match. He could wrestle hard and upset his opponent, he could wrestle hard and lose, or he could quit and lose the worst defeat. Something clicked in he 10 year-old mind, and he chose to go to battle. In the end, he was bloodied and did not win, but he was victorious. That’s a win in my book.
“The easiest thing to do in the world is pull the covers up over your head and go back to sleep.”—Dan Gable