When I was growing up I didn’t play the more popular sports like baseball or football, I wrestled. Most average kids may not understand, Wrestling is intense. A person who wrestles is pitted against one person, not a team. On the mat, a wrestler is determined to win, he is a gladiator out to kill.

By the Seventh grade I was well into my novice wrestling career, and pretty good too. Winning match after match, I began to feel confidence, something I had never felt through sports before. There was something in my opponent’s face when I pinned him, that really let me know I had won. Not me and five other guys, just me. And I didn’t just make the ball go through the hoop more times, I had forced this person to the ground against all their will and strength, until they

Once it was all over I realized that I was able to conquer my fears only with the help of others. Through their support I was able to force myself to win. Although this was one of the most painful experiences in my life, it was definitely a positive one. I now understand that with reinforcement, you can overcome the impossible, and I’m a stronger person because of it.

In the days leading up to the match I really began to question the reasons for wrestling. Parts of me truly didn’t’ want to wrestle, big parts, and it occurred to me for the first time that I didn’t have to be here. Despite feelings of angst, the day came and I wrestled. My stomach felt like a blender was inside of it. I can still remember pacing back and fourth behind a set of bleachers, practicing moves in my mind. The opponent I envisioned was fast and skilled. When the match came, it was over quickly. I actually won, pinning my fellow novice in seconds. The following matches went similarly, and I was on to Sectionals! I had underestimated myself, but still felt even more nervous for the next tournament.

As the months moved forward, my new confidence began to fade. Spring was coming, and that meant Regionals. The Regional wrestling tournament is an elimination style tournament for all of the wrestlers in your region (about the size of a county.) If you won this tournament, you would go to a larger tournament called Sectionals, where all the winners of the regions would match each other. Finally, if you still won, you would go on to wrestle in the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation State Tournament. The winner of this tournament is proclaimed the best wrestler in the entire state, for his weight class. The prospect that my winning record qualified me for thi

Some topics in this essay:
Wrestling Running, , Regionals Regional, Federation Tournament, weight class, wrestling tournament, won tournament, coach aside, stop trying,