Wrestling

HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 16)

Blog 16 Week 3 Regular Season Freshman Year This last Monday night after another pleasant conversation at the front desk with Tony, the former state champ wrestler turned security guard, I headed into the school’s back gym to try to catch the last few minutes of Dakota’s practice. I noticed two things when I got …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 15)

Blog 15 Week 2 Regular Season Freshman Year   Rushed over to pick up Dakota tonight from wrestling practice. I figured I’d get to see the last ten minutes of this Monday night practice, but unfortunately, I missed it. Dang! I also missed out on finding time this past weekend to get a workout in …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 13)

Blog 13 Preseason Week 13 Tonight I took my time eating dinner. It’s my son, Dakota’s last night of preseason wrestling practice with Coach Knapp and Coach West at the KT KIDZ Wrestling Program in Rocky Hill, CT. It’s been one heck of a preseason where Dakota has had a huge uphill battle to face …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 12)

Blog 12 Preseason Week 12             Dang! It’s Monday night again, and Dakota and I haven’t done any drilling for wrestling at all since his last practice. We did manage to get to the gym to lift some weights over the weekend though. But, even though lifting is better than nothing, it’s still not …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 11)

Blog 11 Preseason Week 11             Monday’s 45-minute car ride to KT-KIDZ Wrestling was good. During it, I spent some time sharing some of my high school underclassman war stories on the varsity wrestling mat with Dakota. I’m trying to work on Dakota’s self-confidence and mental toughness because I know he’ll have a much …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 9)

Blog 9 Preseason Week 9             My wife and I are a little frustrated right now. When I feel like this, I try to remind myself that Dakota is still only 14-years old. And… it took me 48-years to become the man that I have slowly and sometimes painfully become today. Progress is like …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 8)

Blog 8 Preseason Week 8  Wow! This week is off to another crazy start. Dakota and I snuck in a quick drilling session with some instruction that quickly wore me out late Sunday night. After about 15 minutes, my shirt was soaked, and I felt exhausted. I was a bit concerned because I shouldn’t have …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 7)

Blog 7 Preseason Week 7             I notice for the first time tonight that the leaves here are really starting to change colors. It’s a cool Monday night on Columbus Day in early October in the northeast part of Connecticut or the quiet corner, where I live with my family. Things have been a …

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HITTING THE MAT: The Making of A State Champ or At Least A Good Man! (Blog 6)

Blog #6  Preseason Week 6   It’s Monday night again, and once again Dakota and I are back in the car heading to another pre-season wrestling practice after consuming another dinner in seven minutes or less. These pre-season days are so busy. As a matter of fact, all of these autumn back-to-school days are busy. …

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