2007.12.24

Merry Christmas to all!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season. Be careful on the roads. Get plenty of rest. Be thankful for your time with family. Only God knows what the futures days, weeks, months have in store for us. Cherish these moments.

Mini-Mattis has not wrestled in three years. He doesn't remember anything about wrestling. At his normal wrestling practice, there are 30 kids and only two or three coaches. Mini-Mattis receives good instruction but very little one-on-one attention.

On Saturday, Mini-Mattis attended a youth wrestling camp hosted and run by our local high school team. It was a three-hour intense drill session with a lot of one-on-one time. I showed as the camp was concluding. The kids were broken up into pairs and going through live takedown drills.

I instantly noticed that Mini-Mattis was paired up with a BIG kid. By big, I do not mean fat. The kid was probably seven or eight inches taller than Mini-Mattis. He looked to be about twenty pounds heavier than Mini-Mattis. He looked a lot older than Mini-Mattis. So, here is the exchange that followed:

2007 Mini-Mattis Football Highlights - blocking, tackling, and scoring touchdowns. Mini-Mattis is versatile, in one game he played: center, quarterback, fullback, wing, tight-end, wide-receiver, linebacker, cornerback, and safety. In 2007, Mini-Mattis registered his first rushing touchdown, reception for 2pt conversion, sack, fumble recovery, and interception.

Me: "How old is that kid Mini-Mattis is wrestling?"

Coach: "Oh, he is a sixth grader."

(Mini-Mattis is 8 years old. Mini-Mattis is in third grade.)

Me: "Huh..."

Coach: "Mini-Mattis is doing fine. He is more than holding his own."

Me: "Ok. I just thought the kid looked a lot older than Mini-Mattis that is all. Is it that kids first year wrestling?"

Coach: "No, this is his third year."

Me: "Wow."

Assistant Coach: "Yeah, my son (same age as Mini-Mattis but entering his fourth year) doesn't like to wrestle Mini-Mattis. He says he is too rough."

So, I watched for about 15-minutes as they continued to drill. The coach was right. Mini-Mattis was fine. Mini-Mattis was winning half of the battles. Mini-Mattis was getting his share of takedowns. Mini-Mattis put the kid on his back a few times. Likewise, the kid took Mini-Mattis down and put him on his back.

I think it is very cool that Mini-Mattis held his own against a kid three or four years older, six or seven inches taller, twenty pounds heavier, and vastly more experienced.

Mini-Mattis did not succeed due to his technical skills. Mini-Mattis barely knows any of the moves. Mini-Mattis succeeded because of his heart - passion - desire.

The thing I came away most impressed with... Mini-Mattis kept his head up the whole time. Mini-Mattis stayed positive the whole time. Mini-Mattis was facing someone taller, stronger, heavier, and more experienced - it would have been very easy to make excuses and give up. It would have been easy to get frustrated and lose his temper.

It takes a lot of emotional maturity to face failure and persevere. It takes a special level of heart and passion to be EXCITED about the challenge of squaring off against someone taller, stronger, heavier, and more experienced.

As we walked to the car, Mini-Mattis excitedly told me about the challenges he had faced. That was a very cool moment.

It is so cliche and yet so true... it does not matter how many times we get knocked down, only how many times we get back up.