Wrestling Awards

Tonight my ES and I attended his Winter Sports Recognition Ceremony. I was remembering how difficult it was to focus on the program last year, when I had to bring MS and YS along. They were 4 and 2 at the time and really did not care one whit about what was going on in the program. They were, however, very fascinated by a kindergarten girl nearby who wanted to see MS's dog (this was back when he carried his stuffed dog, Max, everywhere). It was a challenge keeping them quiet. It was a challenge keeping them still. It was a challenge listening to any other awards besides the one being given to my own son.

This year was a blissful experience in comparison. I sat alone in the bleachers and heard every word. At the end, I was even able to take a few photos of the coaches and the team together and say a few words of appreciation to the head coach.

I'm not sure why my ES never smiles for pictures. He even has perfect teeth now - not necessary to wear his retainer during the day any more. He is in the center, back, of the group, the blond with the longest hair of the bunch.

When I begged him to smile, he cracked a grin for a few nanoseconds and I secured this blurry, off-centered photo:


The head coach is the bald man with his arm around one of the players in the right front. I cannot adequately express how grateful I am to this coach. He is a man of integrity and character, with a strong commitment to excellence. He prods his team members on to better behavior and team spirit. If one member isn't giving his all, the entire team works harder during practices. If a student gets in trouble during the school day with a teacher, the whole team does push ups while saying "Thank you, so-and-so!" If a student comes to practice with unfinished homework, he is required to sit and finish the homework before participating in the practice. This coach really shows the boys that he is interested in them as a total person, not just as an athlete on his particular team.

He presented my ES with the award for the best mental attitude, praising him for his solid grades, encouragement of teammates and positive attitude throughout the season. He also presented each wrestler with a $5 gift card to McDonalds, thanking them for a season giving up both pop and chocolate. Finally, he gave them each a green golf ball to remind them of some long, elaborate 45 minute joke that he tells every year on the bus (all the wrestlers groaned).

At the end of the distribution of the awards, the head coach had all the 8th grade wrestlers join in a huddle and invited any interested teammates, coaches or parents to join around the huddle for a send-off prayer. Several of the other mothers had tears in their eyes. It is very clear that the other parents share my high opinions of this coach. He is truly a great man doing a great service in the lives of these boys.

I am so thankful that he always goes above and beyond the call of duty for this team of wrestlers. We will miss him, when ES goes on to participate in the high school wrestling team next year. Hopefully, ES will continue to keep in contact with him and maybe go back to help the coach out from time to time.

Finally, we capped the night off with a sweet trip to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. ES is my partner in crime, when it comes to Blizzards, so we have been longing for this celebration. He gets the Brownie Batter Blizzard (his favorite) and I get the French Silk Pie Blizzard (my favorite). To quote the Black Eyed Peas (a group my little guys have recently discovered, strangely enough), "I had a feeling that tonight was gonna be a good night!"