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Wrestling
Wrestling…there really is no other sport like it…no other sport is its equal.
Wrestlers have no one who can carry them to victory…they have to do it on their own.
Likewise…wrestlers have no one to blame for their defeats…they have to bear that themselves.
Only the wrestler can push himself to give his very best…and only he knows, if he truly has.
His coaches can’t do it for him…his teammates can’t do it for him…his dad can’t do it for him…
and his girlfriend, certainly, can’t do it for him.
Credit belongs to those who continue to step on the mat…whose bodies have been bruised and battered…who have tasted both victory and defeat…
who continue along the path…knowing that it will cost them yet more.
A wrestler would rather earn it…than have it given to them!
There is no other sport that requires the depth of endurance, self-discipline, and perseverance...as does wrestling.
Sooner or later, wrestling will humble you…it will show you your limitations, as well as your potential.
It will reveal your strengths, and your weaknesses…it will build your confidence, while keeping you humble.
A wrestler is measured by how he responds to adversity and challenge not by how he looks in ease and comfort.
Most people stop when they get tired…a wrestler pushes himself past that point…
the best wrestlers push themselves to the place others thought they could never go.
Wrestling demands that you break through the wall…
it doesn’t let you go around it, under it, or climb over the top of it.
Your only choices are to break through it…stay where your at…or go home with your tail between your legs.
Those who fear failure will never become successful…wrestling allows one to conquer the fear of failure.
For those who wrestle…
it creates a resilience, a determination, and a resolve…that cannot be created by any other sport.
There really are no losers in wrestling…only those who never really wrestled.
In Wrestling:
It’s true…without blood, sweat, and tears…you’ll never be the wrestler…or the person…you could have been;
It doesn’t matter what kind of body you were given…it is what you do with your body that matters;
Empty pockets can’t hold anyone back…only empty hearts can do that;
It doesn’t matter who your daddy is…it matters who you are;
It’s not the shoes that matter…it’s the person in the shoes that matters;
Adversity weakens the weak…but strengthens the strong;
You have to learn how to lose before you will know how to win;
If you want to experience a rainbow…you have to be willing to go through the rain;
Many dream of becoming a champion…but a champion does something about it;
You learn quickly that nobody is going to give it to you;
Good luck seldom helps a wrestler…and a wrestler never depends upon it.
Wrestlers who have given their best…
are left with a sense of satisfaction, self-worth, and gratitude…regardless of the outcome.
A successful wrestler has gained the attributes of Focus and Intensity…
they will seldom leave him…as he moves forward in life.
The wrestler who trains to be a champion…doesn’t find it pleasant;
But he knows it will produce something that cannot be produced any other way.
There are no short-cuts in wrestling…only for those that don’t walk the full path.
Wrestling is a rough road…but if you stay on its path...it will take you to great heights!
Only those who have walked this road themselves…can really understand…how rough it really is.
Most people take the path of water…the path of least resistance.
The one who has really wrestled…has taken the path of greatest resistance.
But this path takes him places others will never go…allows him to see things others will never see…
to do things others will never do…and to be what others will never be.
As Olympic Champion, and wrestling legend, Dan Gable has said…
“After you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy!”
Kevin LaPlante
3-12-2012 |
