ROVIN’
AND RAVIN’ WITH MIKE
Presented by Michael Segers, Brought to you by Peanut.org
Well, once again, you caught me away from the Internet. This time, I
leave my beloved space at Peanut.org in the very capable hands of
Lieutenant-Colonel Wayne Kirkbride, graduate of West Point, who retired from the
U. S. Army and brought ROTC, wrestling, and so much more to Worth County High
School, to Sylvester and to Worth County. When he arrived on the scintillating
Sylvester scene a few years ago, some of us jumped to our etiquette books to
find the proper way to use the proper military terminology to address him, but I
want to give you a simple rule. When Col. Kirkbride is involved, the title of
choice is friend. He is a good man, a great teacher, and always a fascinating
companion. If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting LTC Wayne Kirkbride,
here is your opportunity. Welcome, Colonel, the first time, but I hope, not the
last. - Mike
Copyright
© 1999 by Wayne Kirkbride, all rights reserved
To
the majority of the people who equate wrestling with what happens Monday night
on the WWF or other such organizations, I would say, give high school wrestling
a chance. I am convinced that once you see a high school wrestling match, you
will never settle for anything less.
Of course, I am
writing this with my rose-colored glasses because wrestling has given me so
much. I started in 9th grade as a 95 pound student who was too little
to play football (although in 9th grade I did make a 50 yard kickoff
return) and at 5’ 2", I was too short to play basketball. I grew all the
way to 105 pounds by my junior year and was at 108 when I graduated from high
school. I am using the masculine pronoun in this article, but I have to say that
many women are beginning to wrestle and are doing quite well.
So, what does
wrestling do? It matches you up with an opponent of your same weight, and all
the excuses go out the window. If you lose, it is not because the catcher
dropped the ball or because the quarterback fumbled on the one yard line. It is
because you were beaten, man-to-man (or woman-to-woman). And when you win, it is
because you were in better shape, knew how to use your strengths, and were the
better athlete that evening.
Wrestling makes us
all equals. Or should I say, it enables every athlete to use his skills to
maximum capability. A short wrestler needs to work in to reduce the leverage of
a taller opponent. That taller opponent has so much leverage that he can
complete a move with much less effort if he can put his fulcrum in the correct
place.
Wrestling is not
over until it is over. While most matches are decided by a few points, there are
cases in which the opponent gets pinned or is beaten by 15 points. When either
of the latter two happen, the match is stopped immediately. There are cases when
a wrestler is behind by 14 points, and he turns around and pins his opponent.
These come-from-behind victories are rare in all sports. Who can slip in a
100-meter sprint and still win? Who can come from 10 points down in basketball
with 30 seconds left? Who can slip and fall off the balance beam and still win
in gymnastics? Only in wrestling can a determined soul come from behind to claim
a victory if he is willing to wrestle hard enough.
Each wrestler
competes for himself and for his own school. When you watch athletics at it
purest form, look to the sports in which there are no opportunities to compete
on the professional level. In these sports—gymnastics, softball, wrestling,
swimming, track—you will find students who are interested in graduating with a
degree and with competing for the love of sport. These sports are much different
from football and basketball in which the athletes drop out of college to go
professional and end up with neither a career nor a degree. However, you can
have a love affair with these other sports. This love is contagious, and you
will enjoy watching the competition. If you don’t want to watch high school
wrestling, pick a sport, and come enjoy it. You will be glad that you did.
Check out http://amateurwrestle.miningco.com/msub2.htm for all kinds of links and information about amateur wrestling.