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We started out the day in tears. Tears, and we hadn’t even arrived at the tournament yet.
I’m not going to win. I don’t want to wrestle today.
We talked about how not feeling confident can affect the way you wrestle, and how he was prepared because of the 2 hour a night, 5 night a week practices he has been attending for the past month. He is ready.
After he weighs in, he is crying again.
I don’t want to wrestle. I just want to watch.
His coach gets down to his level and says, “Just one. Just wrestle one match, and you can be done.”
Coach said I only have to wrestle one.
He did. He wrestled through his tears. I had to leave halfway through because it was heartbreaking to watch. He lost.
I’m done. Coach said I could be done.
That’s right. You go tell him that you’re done.
He comes back and says, Coach said I had to wrestle one more time. Just one more.
So he wrestles. He doesn’t cry this time, he just tears up during the short breaks. He loses again, but he tried. He gave it all he had, and scored some points.
A while later, he finds out that he somehow made it into the next round. One more match, and he went without a second thought.
The confidence that Jack gained this morning was amazing.
I tried to talk to Jack when he was upset, and all he did was cry more. Steve tried to talk to him, and that didn’t work much either.
But he listened to his coaches.
After some recent coaching issues with Michael, I can’t tell you how much these guys make me smile.
Jack ended up winning with a pin, which was exciting, but something made me smile even more than his win.
(Please excuse the blurry photos. My camera went a little crazy in this gym)
Like I said – the win was exciting. Exciting for us and for Jack. But even more than the win, Jack realized that he was part of a team that believed in him.
From tears in the morning to big smiles in the afternoon. We were so lucky to be able to show Jack that if he doesn’t give up, he will succeed. Those teaching moments don’t always happen so quickly.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are to see their hard work paying off. We had some happy (and confident!) kids here yesterday.
A great story. Glad it all turned out well. Having inspirational coaches does make a big difference to how you perform. As long as they see you are doing your best good coaches encourage you and dont expect you to win at all costs.
I agree, Trevor! The coaches make all of the difference!
Well, Jack may have started out in tears..but after reading this I ended up in tears!! Congrats to all of you..a wonderful lesson learned..
Me too! Every time I look at the photos I tear up.
Those are the coaches that we need to clone :) proud of him and his coaches…both are pretty rare and special.
I thought of you when I was writing the post, Kellyn :)
Damn you……that made me cry. That little body in that suit looking up at his coach nearly did me in.
I know, right? I cried every time I edited a photo or added one to the post!
Yay for both boys! I *love* the pictures of his coaches & Steve. I don’t know who looks more proud!
I’m telling you, it was almost better than the win :)
DadandJack. *That’s* the priceless photo. <3
I know, right?! Love that one.
Crazy lady, nah, proud mom. There wa a crying pregnant lady here after reading our post and watching the videos. Great job boys.
It was quite a day, lots of good tears :)
OMGOSH!! I almost cried reading this – the pictures of Steve & the Coaches are “priceless” – I’m so proud of Jack!!! I just want to kiss his face!!! CONGRATS TO A VERY BRAVE BOY!!
Thank you, Jennie! We are so lucky to have them, and super proud of Jack :) I’d send him over for a hug and a kiss, but we’ll wait until you are feeling better over there :)
I am so proud, how awesome! It’s not about winning, it’s about the falls you take and getting back up, a supportive family and a spirit of achievement, and it it is all there is your blog and beautifully written! Way to go Becca, Steve, Michael and Jack. Thanks for allowing me to hoot and holler right along side you. Yeah! I am so with you….. ;)
Thank you, Aunt Katie! I love you :)
I love this story! It makes me teary eyed thinking about my kids getting older and experiencing failure, support, fear, sadness, triumph, and pride. All the things that come with growing up. It’s a scary thought, but this helps me remember that we aren’t all alone raising our kids.
Great story, Becca. :)
It is a little scary, but days like this make it all worth it, Sharon :)
WOW! What a great post and a great day! Yay!
It was wonderful!!
Stop it. I cant be crying while reading my RSS feed!
Way to go Jack!
(That last photo with him in coach’s arms…priceless!)
I know, I know. I should have added a warning at the top. Good tears, though :)
So so happy Jack has such an amazing coach! Brought tears to my eyes! I couldn’t be any more prouder of the two of them! Most important though, is how proud they are of themselves!
The coaches are awesome – we are SO lucky. And they are SO excited. Jack even brought his medal to school today for show and tell :)
So sweet!!! Those pictures of Steve & the coaches cheering him on are absolutely priceless! :)
Love them!
Great, now I’m crying at my desk!
I am so proud of those 2 boys, and their parents for sticking with it.
Love you guys!
I get teary whenever I look at them! The boys are so excited about the tournament, and are looking forward to another one this weekend! We love you :)
Aww – way to go! What an awesome story and one that you cannot tell them…they have to learn it for themselves.
It was just so great to see that they learned it in a day – that never happens!
This is amazing! (Of course the story made my eyes get wet, but that’s par for the course!) I would not be very effective with this method of building confidence. As soon as the tears would start, I’d be taking them to the ice cream shop! I guess that’s why I’m the grandma and you are the mom! Great job parents, coaches and great job to the boys! :) Love you guys!
Yeah, Grandmas might interfere with the wrestling success a little… ;)
Can you believe it? Iam at a loss for words.
I can not. I am going to leave you to it and not pick on you this time. ;)
Those boys!! <3 I am totally crying at work reading this! So, so, SO proud of them!!!!
Don’t cry! We are super proud of them, too!!
OMG, I bawled like a baby! As the sister, cousin, and daughter of a huge wrestling family; this was worded and shown via pictures how rewarding this sport really can be! Titles, medals, and bragging rights are NOT just handed out! They are earned though blood, sweat, tears, pain, and dedication, and the hard work pays off to see the pride in the wrestler’s face when he or (she) wins or gives the match their all. Coaches who live for this sport and live on the mat are a true Blessing to the sport, so happy to hear your coach was there to lift your son up and give him the encouragement he needed! Thank you, thank you for writing this post!
Thank you SO much, Jenny. Your comment made my day :)