Wrestling Parents: Chill.

Attention parents of wrestlers...can you PLEASE remember you
already had your shot? Your spotlight? Your time to shine?
This is now your child's turn and as much as your heart is out there,
with theirs, it is not you.
Okay? Freaking calm down.
Our oldest son is fifteen and started on the mats at age four.
My husband will say til the end of his days, that high school wrestling practice was harder than any college football practice he ever attended.
It's the best workout there is, not to mention, a sport where you can blame no one else for your loss. On the flip side, it's all you if you win.
There is no teammate to look over and point to....that's it.
Win or lose, it's because of the move you put out there, and the move you did to get out of the moves put on you at the same time.
Having said that, the energy level and giving it your all makes it a very passionate sport.
You leave it all on the mat so it can get crazy.
It's many dad's dream sport, (if they arent the type that say their son won't be rolling around with another male) because of the one on one pressure.
But as much as a mom may love it (it's my favorite), it's a double edged sword for us. We feel bad if our kid loses but if he beats someone, we feel bad for cheering, cause someone was beat.
The best is watching a mom while her son's out there.
You can pick her out from anyone because as soon as the whistle blows she looks like she is slowly turning into a pretzel.
Whatever moves her child is placed in, she twists and turns the same way. It's hysterical.
But as much as the excitement can get to you, as much as you want your kid to be the one getting his arm raised high at the end, parents, can you TRY to control yourselves?
It's happeneing at many kids sports across the country, wrestling isn't the only one, where moms and dads, living through their kids, are getting to be a little too much.
Where on certain days, I have truly caught myself staring for minutes on end, wondering why this parent can't see how he or she is acting, even a little?
At wrestling it seems worse.
Maybe because it's indoor and in such close quarters that with the echoing, it's 100 times more loud.
They are screaming like their kid is two years old, in the middle of the street, with a truck coming.
They are hitting the mat, slapping it twelve times in a row, so loud that even the ref yesterday looked up from the match.
We all feel the same way about our kids.
And I realize that maybe my high school son should have more pressure, he's getting up there and it's becoming more "big time", but the Youth teams? Come on.
Sometimes it makes me wonder if I should worry about children's home life after this?
I have witnessed losses where as the kid leaves the mat and walks toward the family, the father has walked away before the son makes it over there. Really? It's THAT huge to you?
I'm not saying, don't get hyper. I'm not saying there aren't moments I don't get passionate.
Believe me, you're talking to (with wrestling) a mom, who could use tums by the handful before my sons go out, and now all four are wrestling!
And my husband? He has to pee every five seconds, starting three matches before our kids'.
It's nerveracking, for all of us.
And yes, you feel part of it, cause it's part of YOU out there, but again, NOT YOU.
I just wish, there could be a parent/child connection, safe enough for all of us to feel, love, hope for, express, and then have faith in.
If your kid wins, that's great.
You review what they did, congratulate them, and create some new moves for next time.
If they lose, you're disappointed. Maybe pissed.
But you review, hug them and create some new moves for next time.
I was never an athlete and I'm learning about all of it as I go.
But it doesnt take having been one, to know what kind of parent I want
to BE to one.
Don't be fairweathered and nuts-
Your time has come and gone, and your role now is audience and support.
Please don't embarass yourself (or your loved ones)and chill.