Andrew's Silver '08

It was once again time for Andrew's end-of-season wrestling tournament. Andrew had worked hard in practice and at home doing push ups (he can do almost 40 in a row now). He was hoping for a repeat of last year's gold medal. As usual, the tournament was emotionally charged, with parents shouting their support, moms with their hands against their faces, wrestlers with tears because the matches didn't go their way, wrestlers experiencing the joys of getting their arms raised in victory. Wrestling moms don't need to know the difference between an arm bar and an ankle pick to shout instructions. They shout anyway. It is kind of awkward to yell for your kid to win while the other kid's parents are right there yelling for theirs. It is hard to say exactly what it is that brings out so much emotion at these things. After all, there wasn't much at stake except the self esteems and developing self confidences of young boys (actually, these might be the greatest stakes). I think Heavenly Father might experience similar emotions when he watches us struggle through life sometimes. Anyway, Andrew wrestled very well in a competitive weight bracket and came away with 2nd place. This was a really good accomplishment, but not getting the gold was a huge disappointment for Andrew. There were tears. At one point Andrew almost had the kid on his back. That would have been a Gold medal for Andrew. When Andrew gets them turned, it takes too much out of his opponents to get back into the match if they escape the pin. I made the decision in the 2nd period for Andrew to choose "both up" or neutral. I should have had him choose top position and he likely would have turned the kid. We found out after the match that the kid is in 4th grade (Andrew is only in 2nd). That was some consolation. The kid also looked bigger than any of the other wrestlers in the bracket. Jennie wanted me to have the kid step on a scale, but we decided not to do something like that. This was a good wrestling season for Andrew. He has developed incredible balance for as young as he is and he's starting to use some of the advanced techniques that he is being taught. On the way home, Andrew asked if we could do some push ups when we got home. He has the heart of a champion!

Bronze, Silver, Gold:

Nacho, Silver, Grandma Debbie

Our Family plus Maylee:

Silver, Bronze (Andrew's friend Logan):

Silver & Gold:

Gold Medal match:

Grab his head and the Gold is yours, Andrew!

Working for a cradle:

Head & Arm throw:

Crossface!

Half!

Former & future state medalists: