WRESTLING POEMS

    What high school sport makes the demands on the individual that amateur wrestling does?  When a boy walks onto the mat, he stands alone.  No one will run interference, no one will pass him the ball when he is under the net, no one will catch a high fly if he makes a bad pitch.  He stands alone.  In other high school sports, where individual scores are kept, the contest is determined in time, distance, and height.  But in wrestling, the score is kept on a boy's ability to overcome an opponent in a hand to hand contest, where a two second interval at anytime can mean a loss or a win.  if an opponent gains an advantage, there will be no help, no substitute; there will be no time out and all can be lost in two seconds.  Yes, the boy stands alone.
    There is no place on a wrestling team for the show off, the halfhearted, or the weakling.  When the whistle blows, a boy puts his ability, his determination, and his courage on the line.
    We who are close to the young men on our high school wrestling teams have watched the range of human emotions from elation to heartbreak.
    We have seen coaches with tears running down their cheeks as they try to console a young man who has given his all . . yet lost.
    Wrestling is a tough, hard sport, a life like, it is the survival of the fittest.  The young men who enter and stay with the team know this.  They also know that the time comes and the whistle blows . . .

THEY STAND ALONE

Wrestling prepares a person to fight the game of life.
The wrestler is the one athlete that must meet his
opponent and do battle completely on his own; no one
can substitute: no time outs are possible.  He has no
one to check, screen, block, or assist him in any
way; there is no one to blame for his mistakes.
When he wins, he must show quiet pride and modesty.
When he loses, the responsibility is his.
Wrestling is a true sport.  In other sports, when
contact is made, they blow the whistle to stop the
action; in wrestling, when contact is made, we're just
getting started.  No other sport requires more sacrifice
then wrestling.  The individual, through self-denial,
offers more of his character than ever be
explained here.  It is something he carries with him
throughout life, and through every trial, test, and
tribulation.