3/5/21 First Wrestling Meet?

    I have to admit I had no knowledge of what was going to transpire during this first wrestling meet and honestly, Mijo was about as clueless.  All he knew was that he was supposed to be on campus at 4:00pm.  He had sort of volunteered me to help run the scoreboard or something, but I guess somebody else stepped in before I got there.  All I know is that I asked him to text me a time to return to campus, I dropped him off at 4:00pm and headed to the bank, not knowing if they were going to be charging to get in like they do for football games.  After hitting the ATM, I came home to wait the extra hour and a half, he told me to be there at 6:00pm.  At 5:40 or so, he calls me saying he needs to shave before 7:00pm or he won't be able to wrestle.  We had bought a new razor for him sometime in the fall, he just had not gotten around to doing it.  I remember even discussing it during the Christmas break and he just said "later".  Later came today as his coach put him up against a wall.  He admitted in the bathroom where we managed to take care of his "neck beard" that the coach had told him a couple of times during practice to shave, so this wasn't foisted on him last minute.

    The meet itself was quite small, it was Crockett, Anderson, and a third school.  Normally, the teams are up to 15 kids strong, but with Covid, few kids are participating this year.  Crockett has 4 boys but only 3 were present.  They had two girls but the other school did not have girls in their weight category, so they did not wrestle.  The matches are two minutes long with up to three rounds, although Baby A only did one round.  A couple of the matches went the full three rounds and it doesn't seem like much, but once they grapple and put themselves into weird holds on the floor, even two minutes is a long time.  I thought and we have been joking that the whole thing is "gay" (not being derogatory, just the best way to describe it), but it really isn't.  There is a lot of strength being displayed to maneuver an opponent into a position and then subdue him takes skill, patience and strength.

    Honestly, when Mijo fought, I wasn't sure if he won or lost.  They are supposed to put either a red or green wrap on their legs to identify them and then based on certain moves or holds, they get a point or two.  I don't see my boy as big and strong but out there competing, he is just a thick massive thing.  His skills are raw, he doesn't even know the names of the moves, and even he admitted he wasn't sure of he had won after it was over.  The other kid was taller and a big boy too, but I think Baby A was stronger and more aggressive.  He pushed the other kid out and kept him in the perimeter of the ring, like he was protecting the center as a lineman in football.

    It was funny, in the other matches, parents all around me were yelling different holds or moves to their kids, like go for the Smith pull or Johnson cradle, I don't know what they were yelling, but it seemed to mean something.  They would then all react in unison when something happened, so whatever the kid did on the floor was good.  All I know is that I need to learn a lot more about this sport.  The next meet is Saturday and five schools are going to be present.  Mijo already knows he is going to have two matches, so I hope it goes well.