Even though I have a deep connection to Missouri, having spent the majority of my youth there, I nevertheless live in Minnesota. And so last season I went to the Xcel Center to watch the finals of the Minnesota state wrestling tournament. It was there that I saw something very compelling – something I’ve seen […]
It was alumni night. It had been twelve years since I graced the mat at Apple Valley high school. I was excited to reconnect with some old teammates; and when I saw Phil walk through the doors, I was particularly excited. He was a late comer to the team, moving from small town Minnesota to […]
You’re my harshest critic. There are dreams and lofty goals of which I strive for, but you constantly plant seeds of doubt in my mind. It’s been a roller coaster since day one. Even though the highs have been many, the lows have been deep. And when I fall into the valley of despair, it’s […]
Let me admit from the outset that I come from a broken family. Domestic turmoil and subsequent divorce put to wraps my family situation as a young man. So even as I write this, I am not writing as one who necessarily continues to reap the benefits of the quality family experience I gained throughout […]
I wrote a piece a month or so ago titled “It’s not about you”. Within it is the suggestion that wrestling is not about each individual wrestler engaging the sport for purposes of obtaining lasting fulfillment, self-worth or grandeur. Instead, wrestling is a gift with which to engage. And as a gift, it’s meant to […]
To my former wrestling enemy. Let’s be honest, I didn’t like you and you didn’t like me. It wasn’t so much animosity as it was the mere fact that we served as obstacles to one another in the way of achieving gold medals. Let’s get this straight as well: When all was said and done […]
Life is crazy, isn’t it? Life itself is crazy at times, and taking a moment to think about life and the various twists and turns you have personally taken within it can be a crazy experience as well. I often tell people that my life would make for a great book. But as confident as […]
If I could do it all over again, I would take advantage of every practice. I would push myself to the limit…and then further each day. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t worry so much about winning but instead about enforcing my will upon my opponent, and let the winning take […]
As I walked off the mat and into the arena tunnel at the 2003 Minnesota state tournament, I felt a sense of relief. You see, the brackets were not seeded. So as the #1 ranked wrestler in the state with only one loss on my record coming from an opponent in Iowa earlier in the […]
It’s not about you. That’s right, this sport is not about you. For the vast majority of competitors who have committed to the sport of wrestling, there will always be someone better or someone who has simply accomplished more. There will always be phenoms on the rise, other wrestlers who obtain the focus and attention […]