(1).png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
Wrestling Season begins
This will be our seventh year attending middle school wrestling: first three years with Joshua (they could begin in 6th grade then) and now four more years with Eli (by which time they could begin in 5th grade). With occasional wrestling breaking out in the living room since he was barely as tall as the dearly-departed dog-beast, Eli has had a good bit of time to learn. And learn he has! Last year, devoted readers may recall, the boy was Eastern Maine Regional Champion and came in a close second in the state. This year, Eli’s hoping to do at least as well if not better! He’s off to a good start…
Yesterday marked his first meet of the season (he had the stomach flu for the first meet). He had three regular matches and one “exhibition” match. He won four matches. In the first period. ALL by pins. Two of the four in 12 seconds or less. Ahem. Glad I’m not facing him on a wrestling mat!
For his first match of the season, Eli (in red, on the right) faced a boy from Bath. He let the kid grab his ankle/leg at the start, so it took a moment to get his bearings and decide to dominate.
The meet was….erg…. in the Western Region. The Pine Tree Wrestling League (to the dismay of many parents) has decided to expand the regular season meets across regional lines to give the boys more experience. That is good. Driving on twisty turny two lane snowy roads, well…not so much fun. It was a good two hours each way to Dirigo from our home! At least the nasty weather ended early enough for the roads to be mostly plowed/cleared.
The boys moved out of bounds, came back to the center, and Eli went after the win. Here, he is pinning the kid--the aim is to win. The best win (in terms of points for the team) is a "win by fall" or "pin" where you get the opponent's shoulders on the mat. The ref is down on the mat to get a straight-on view to make sure both shoulders are down before the welcome (if you are the one doing the pinning, and not the one being pinned) slap on the mat to indicate pin! Match over! Opposing coach is now looking glumly resigned. Mama-Smile!
At Eli’s mid-weight-range the competition tends to fall into two groups: really good—really competitive, and rank beginners. When your kids are young or somewhat plumpish, it is disconcerting (to say the least, for moms, kids, coaches), to see some very muscular and skilled 7th or 8th grader walk onto the mat looking determined. For those who aren’t intimately familiar with wrestling: kids are grouped by age (in this case 5th-8th, next will be high school) and by weight class. In our league, it is (in pounds) 75, 82, 89, 96, 103, 110, 117, 124, 131, 138, 145, 155, 170, 190, 210, 240. And yes, there really are middle school boys in the 210 and 240 range. So a 131-pounder can be lean and strong or small and plumpish. Guess who wins, especially with experience.
This dear boy in blue didn't stand a chance. Took all of ten seconds for Eli to grab him, get him to the mat, onto his shoulders, and the win called by the ref. In a RARE event, I managed to get the ref holding up Eli's hand for the win.
And an even more rare photo, Eli with dad (asst. coach) and True Bragg, a Maine State Champion in high school and head coach:
Eli and coaches (dad on left, sitting, and True on right, teammates behind)
When teams meet up, there are often “defaults” where only one team has a kid in a given weight class. At regular season meets there will often be “exhibition” matches to give the kids more opportunities to wrestle. These are good for learning and bragging rights, but don’t count toward the kids season-end standings as they go into regionals and states. Eli wrestled Spencer Vaughn from Dirigo again…. he wrestled him last year at states and pinned him. This year, Spencer is a weight class heavier than Eli, but since he, too, made States, it means he is a good wrestler. General rule of thumb is that it is harder to wrestle someone heavier as they have more muscle. But not always. And skill counts.
The Dirigo boy is arched up trying to keep his shoulder blades off the mat and avoid getting pinned. He did not succeed. Again, the refs need good knees to get up and down from being on the mat to see what body part is where!
Eli pinned him again! This photo was moments before the match was “win by Fall” for Eli! I must say, I DO like it when Eli wraps up the win promptly and it doesn’t come down to the final seconds of the final/third period! Next on the blogging list: painting the house and (get ready….) quilting…yes, I ‘ve actually done some quilting! Now Eli needs the laptop for homework, so those posts must wait.
February 27th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Congratulations to Eli! It sounds to me like he will go far again this year! I remember Middle and High school wrestling being really fun to watch. I went to school in New Jersey and I attended a few matches with my Dad back in the day. I really enjoyed it too. I recall that wrestling was big up in that part of the country but I don’t hear much about it here in Texas. Football seems to be the biggie down here. In any event, I wish Eli great success and please keep us updated!
D~~~~