Baby A just turned seventeen last week, a "man" to kids, maybe, but still very much a kid in the real world. Despite this, the coaches see him as a leader and he takes the role very responsibly without letting it get to his head. He never seems concerned with the opinions of others about him in the gym, he is mostly about getting better and helping his team in the best way he can.
The wrestling coaches designated him the team captain and that is fine with him. It mostly means he leads them out on the floor to warm up, and last night he was the one that greeted the team at the start of the meet when the referee calls them to the mat and start the match. All this is ceremonial and pretty much could be done by anyone. I know he gets chosen because he carries himself like a leader and doesn't show any negativity and is a constant positive influence on the rest of the team, these are things we can see just sitting with the team the past two events.
Last night, on the team chat, they were discussing the meet and some of the guys were feeling bad for having lost, as would be normal, and I guess maybe Mijo didn't think but just reacted and said "y'all would do better if you got stronger, you need to put more time in the gym." Well, the bulk of the team did not like this and they let him know, jumping on his shit in a way that made him feel like he had done something wrong.
About half the boys don't play football and I think that is the disconnect. The football players have been getting yelled at by the coaches for this and that since June, so for them to be told something matter of fact is not that big a deal and concerning strength and lifting weights, that is just part of being an athlete. I think Mijo just takes it for granted as part of his persona that he does believe in strength training, it makes him who he is.
I noticed some of our boys are great wrestlers, even the ones that lost had some great moves and went at it very aggressively, but then I could see that the muscle to finish the job wasn't there. These kids have experience and skill, some have been wrestling in leagues since third grade, but they are not putting in time in the weight room. Mijo does not have the years of experience, but he manages to survive on his strength. When he does get beat, it is kids that have skill and strength. Even during practice, he goes against some of these skilled teammates and he says they may get him into positions where they could beat him, but he usually just muscles them down to the mat and overpowers them. It helps that he is the heaviest wrestler.
I told him last night not to worry about the snapback he got, most of the kids were tired, probably hadn't eaten all day trying to make weight, and the most important part is that he didn't say anything insulting. What he said is probably true, everyone participating in a sport benefits from being stronger, if they are upset, it is because deep down they know this is true. The kids will still like and respect you, you did not say anything to be malicious, you were trying to help so don't worry about it. We shall see what comes of this.
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