Four Mats and Twelve Teams

Today I am grateful for air to breathe and a relaxing recliner to sit in (and often fall asleep in).

Four mats and 12 teams = a loud gym and lots of wrestling matches. Sam's wrestling team competed in a duals tournament yesterday. His team took second and Sam did well; winning his first match by forfeit and then pinning his next 3 opponents.

It gets a little busy and noisy, but it is exciting and intense in good ways too. You see the effort on the part of wrestlers during individual matches. You see and hear the encouragement and support from teammates and coaches. You witness true sportsmanship in numerous ways.

Darcy and I are still learning about how scoring works and the various techniques used by wrestlers, but we know far more than we used to.

We continue to appreciate Sam's involvement in wrestling. He is just in his third year, but he enjoys it and is motivated to work hard and improve. He has come a long way since beginning.
We are thankful to the coaching staff and the very solid program for wrestling that exists in our school district. 

I also appreciate sports that have such integral individual and team components. It is the best of both worlds in terms of the thrill and challenge of being part of a team. Each athlete has a role on the team, but also also has their own time to shine. I think it brings out the best in each athlete; to strive for a team they are proud to be part of, and to be able to pursue individual goals that will also help the team.

Four mats and twelve teams = a lot to appreciate.