Late Friday night, when things finally settled down around our house, my husband looked at me and asked how it felt to officially be a wrestling mom. Indeed, the time had finally come to attend a wrestling tournament for our six-year-old son, Jackson.
This is Jackson’s first year in the sport. He came home months ago and asked if he could try wrestling, which surprised me, but I want him to be able to try things, so we went for it. Our family does have a bit of a fondness for wrestling. I grew up watching my brothers wrestle and eventually learned to enjoy it. My husband is from Iowa, which is basically a Mecca for wrestling, so he’s a fan as well. That said, I’m not sure either of us pictured Jackson as a wrestler.
I’m also fairly sure Jackson didn’t fully understand what the sport entailed. While my husband watches wrestling recaps online, it’s not something we watch much at home. Once practice started, I think reality set in. At first, he may have thought it was just fighting, but he quickly learned there are rules about what you can and can’t do.
During the first month of practice, I was a little concerned. He would sometimes get weepy before practice and, according to his coaches, during practice. He admitted he was afraid of getting hurt. Still, there were moments when he really stepped up and seemed to enjoy it, especially when he learned you can take off your shirt during practice and show your muscles.
I knew a tournament was coming, though I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it thanks to my own nerves. I wasn’t worried about winning or losing; I just wanted him to have fun and try his best, which we repeated to him often in the days leading up to it.
The meet on Friday was in Webster and started after school, which worked out well. Because of his birthday, Jackson had to compete in the eight-and-under group, which made me a little nervous. There were only three other kids in his bracket, so he’d wrestle three times, manageable for a first go. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the number of kids and how everything worked. It was his first meet of any kind, and my first in years, though thankfully a phone app made the logistics easier.
Jackson got pinned in his first two matches and tried to leave the mat in tears both times, forgetting to shake his opponent’s hand. Between matches, we spent a lot of time encouraging him and talking about good sportsmanship. By the third match, I’m not sure he really wanted to continue, but we kept cheering him on and offering snacks.
That final match made us proud. He definitely lost, but he lasted three periods, didn’t get pinned and didn’t cry…much. He spent most of the match flat on his stomach but never gave up, even when he was on his back. He stayed, shook his opponent’s hand and listened as my husband gave him some pointers. I was especially impressed when the boy he wrestled from Webster came over afterward and told him he did a good job.
Jackson eventually stood on the podium with his fourth-place medal, absolutely beaming. He told everyone he earned it because his last match lasted so long, which is perfectly fine by me. He wore that medal around the house most of the weekend. I don’t know what his future in wrestling looks like, but I hope it continues. Even in this short time, it’s been a character-building experience, and win or lose, I’m proud of my little guy.
