WHY SHOULD I WRESTLE?

March 2023
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Every person (male or female) that has been encouraged to participate in wrestling has asked themselves this question. When parents are encouraged to involve their children in wrestling, they too are asking why they should wrestle. Obviously the reason would be different depending on exactly who is asking the question. However, if you ask a wrestler or a parent of a wrestler, the answers are common.

Wrestlers will say “because it is Hard!” They say this as if they believe this is what everyone wants to hear and will make the new recruit sign up immediately. While in fact, anyone in their right mind would run away. Wrestlers seem to be very proud of how much they exercise to get in condition and become physically strong, the time they spend drilling moves to master the technique to out maneuver their opponent on the mat, and the stress they endure from managing the quality of foods they eat to maintain their desired weight and to acquire peak performance. They will complain about the coach. How he expects you to make all the practices, work very hard, and do your best. How he puts up with nothing and is more demanding than their own parents… making their parents seem like saints and the coach as the devil himself. If this has not run off the recruit, then they attempt to get the potential wrestler to sign up by selling them the excitement of competition. They explain how a wrestler’s win or loss is his or hers to claim because they will be competing one on one in front of hundreds to thousands of spectators where every move the wrestler makes will be judged by all watching. There is no one to blame for a loss but the reason for a win is solely theirs to claim.

Parents of wrestlers seem to be a little broader in their reasons why you should wrestle. Parents often will mention the benefits wrestling has for Physical Fitness but seem more interested in how wrestling creates Personal Growth & Development. They often claim it has made their child more self-confident, disciplined, and mentally tough. They boast on how it has improved their child’s Academics as well as their Behavior both at school and at home. Often parents seem to be fearful of their children getting bullied at school or outside of school. However, wrestling parents seem to feel that wrestling has provided their child with the Self-Defense they need and the Self -Control when to use it.

The interesting thing is what wrestlers and even their parents will say years after a wrestler is no longer wrestling. They talk about the Life Lessons, how it saved their life or their child’s life. They talk about how hard the coach made them work. They all wish they had worked harder and done more. Every once and a while they may mention a win they had or a medal they won. However, most of the time it is about adversity that they had to overcome in wrestling: making a weight, making the team, competing against a more seasoned wrestler and not getting pinned, or about how difficult the practices were. Another common topic is how they built Camaraderie with their team mates through practices and events. It is interesting how they will remember every hotel they stayed in but will not recall their own win-loss record. Out all of the things they will say about wrestling, the one thing they will not say is “I wish I had not done it.”