Wrestling

It is the time of year when winter activities really start to heat up. This includes wrestling. Around this time there are multiple meets and tournaments a week. That means a lot of time consumption. But for what?

At a typical meet you are facing one or two schools. You have a junior varsity as well as a varsity team. The way they decide who will compete in each match is by their weight. The wrestlers have to either cut or gain to make weight. This can be harder than you think. Hours of dieting and running to sweat just to get to a weight to even be eligible for wrestling is extremely tolling on your body. If you fail to do so then you can not compete and the opposing team will receive a forfeit which is worth points.

Believe it or not, forfeits really add up and can make or break the way a meet can go. If you do not receive a forfeit, then you get to wrestle. People may think that this sport is gay or not hard, but let me tell you, they are wrong. The amount of knowledge, strategy, and strength this sport takes is unbelievable! These wrestlers are constantly in the weight room and reviewing pressure points, weakness areas, even previous matches on video so they can see where they went wrong. As I said before, it is extremely time consuming.

Once you wrestle there are a few things you can do. There are reversals, take downs, and pins. However there are different kinds of these, all worth different points. If you get out of a hold, you can get one point. If you take down an opponent, you get two points. There is a one shoulder pin that makes you receive three points, and a full on pin that makes you win the match. You generally have about two to three two minute periods that give you enough time to determine a winner.

If you do not get a pin, then you determine the winner by the amount of points they have at the end of the match. This can either be extremely close, or a wrestler can win by a landslide. If you lose, you lose. However, if you win you receive the amount of points you earned in your match for your team, and that total is how the winner of the meet is determined.

There is then a tournament which tends to include four or more teams and they tend to be all day events. You never know how these can go because it all depends on the number of wins your wrestler gets. A loss can be extremely devastating or angering to a team mate. They can try their hardest and still lose which is angering due to how much time and work they put into this sport.

Even though you still may think that your sport is better, you should give credit to these wrestlers for the amount of dedication they have for this sport. It takes a lot out of you.

-Sittin' on the mat, Hangin' from a clothesline