*** Official Youth, High School, College and International Wrestling Thread ***

[Iowanian]

That's a good story.

In some ways I wish I'd had older brothers to help and push me, but as it is I was the oldest of this generation so I guess I set the bar. The younger boys definitely broke it,mincliding a qualifier this year. The next batch has the youth room full and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in a few years when this group starts through.

The sports anxiety is a tough thing to understand but I know it's real. We had a senior when I was a freshman that could sidestroke anyone in our room, including a state champ....but before meets he would vomit and wouldn't be able to get air on the mat....he ran out of gas and eventually quit....said it was just too stressful. He had the talent to have been great but that stuff just shut him down when the strap went on his ankle.

[rico]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

That's a good story.

In some ways I wish I'd had older brothers to help and push me, but as it is I was the oldest of this generation so I guess I set the bar. The younger boys definitely broke it,mincliding a qualifier this year. The next batch has the youth room full and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in a few years when this group starts through.

The sports anxiety is a tough thing to understand but I know it's real. We had a senior when I was a freshman that could sidestroke anyone in our room, including a state champ....but before meets he would vomit and wouldn't be able to get air on the mat....he ran out of gas and eventually quit....said it was just too stressful. He had the talent to have been great but that stuff just shut him down when the strap went on his ankle.

It was so frustrating...I'd be able to go balls to the wall for 2 hours every night in practice and not give up a single point the entire practice and not be winded...then during competition, if the match lasted to the 3rd period, I'd basically be just trying to hold on... Felt like my legs had cinder blocks chained to them...the noise, it sounded like how the outside of the public swimming pool sounds when you are swimming under water...only voice I could hear clearly was my dad's. It was awful...vomited publicly and I gave up a lot of big leads. I think it was a combination of not really liking performing in front of a group of people combined with a fear of failure, more specifically failing my dad. Wrestling parents need to be careful how much pressure they put on their kids from a young age, for that seed can be planted soon.

The one thing that used to just piss me right the hell off would be when someone would say after the match, "you lost because you didn't want it! The other guy wanted it more than you and you WANTED to lose! You wrestled to lose!" I'd think to myself, "BULLSHIT!!! I want to win more than anything!!! If I didn't, I wouldn't stress myself out the way I do!!!" No one really understood what was going on with me back then... They always blamed it on asthma. Nope...wasn't asthma...it was 100% anxiety. Some people don't realize how something can affect you mentally to the point where you are actually physically handicapped from it. So frustrating.

My biggest fear was that the two youngest brothers would experience it. They both have their occasional bouts with it, but not near the extent that I did...which I couldn't feel happier about.

Keep me posted on here about how your program is doing! Sounds like you've got something good in the works!!