2010 Mat Madness Book is out

The 2010 edition of Mat Madness is hot off the press! I published it with Lulu.com, a print-on-demand website. So, anyone can order a copy from Lulu. For people who want to buy one from me directly I have those too, you can save on shipping that way. Don't you love the new cover with the crazy picture of Wes putting in the banana split?! And yes, that's Trevor and Dave coaching. I was pretty happy with how well this photo fit the title. :)

For those of you who have not seen the previous edition, this is a book I self-published after a friend asked me to write down the answers to the basic questions people have about wrestling. I include several wrestling family stories as well, most of them humorous. This edition is updated to follow the revisions in the 2010-11 National Wrestling Federation Rule Book, and also includes a new chapter that made me cry again when I wrote it (that's usually a good sign).

The website is: www.lulu.com Search Mat Madness and it pops up.

As always, if you read this I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

Bittersweet and Bobbing

A flurry of emotions flooded me, none of them good.

Oozing over with anger and sadness at the State Wrestling Tournament in Columbus last weekend, I was fit to be tied, or smacked, or something.

My senior son, Wes, had lost his second match due to a foot injury in the first round. He was predicted to take 2nd and now his high school career was done. This was the first in nine years of four high school wrestling sons, that two of them qualified for State the same year. It held such promise!

I threw my stuff in the trunk (that required 5 slams to shut) and sat in the car for a long time trying to cool down before I headed back to the hotel in Nascar fashion. Doing quite well, I might add...with the Nascar part....I was northbound on 315 when I noticed something bobbing in my rear view mirror. You guessed it, the trunk lid. I couldn't safely pull over and nothing was in danger of falling out unless there was a half pipe around the corner. So I just kept clipping along with traffic while I pretended not to notice people staring and pointing. I just hoped my chocolate supply didn't bobble loose.

I grin now, but boy was I angry. At God. Yep, I usually go straight to the top for this stuff. I know He could have blessed Wes, but He didn't. Not in this way anyway. It made me seriously angry.

Dexter (sophomore) was 17 seconds away from being done in the tournament himself, and down by 3 points. I was starting to feel the tears of defeat when Dexter reversed the kid (2 points) and locked in his crazy wrenching tilt where he literally leverages his entire body on the kid until he turns him to his back - and it worked! He scored two more points in the last two seconds to win the match! This was a near heart attack I tell you. I bawled. I had friends and family crying. I had people who didn't even know me crying. It was an amazing victory for Dexter and he went on to place 7th in the state.

A bittersweet weekend to be sure.

Today a friend hit a point home for me, and I needed it. She said, (my paraphrase) "Shelley, sports teach life lessons, and the rewards they get later in life applying those lessons are the ones that matter."

I knew this, I really did. I wrote something like this in my wrestling book. The people they become, the commitment and work ethic they learn, this is what matters. I know. But somehow today when she said it, it was like I finally hit the ball that was pitched to me, and I smacked it out of the park.

OK God, I get it. I still don't really like it and I'll probably need reminded again, but I think I get it.

Keeping Track

The head count was complete. The wrestling team, the statisticians, and one extra fan bobbled in their seats, headed to the tournament early Saturday morning. They didn't even get around the country block when Coach's cell phone rang.

He saw that it was one of his wrestlers and thought the call was coming from the back of the bus.

"Dad, uh, you kind of left me at the school." Dexter said.

Turns out that one extra fan threw off that head count.

A couple weeks later Dexter was the first one home from an optional wrestling team ice cream time. A little while later I saw the other three vehicles file in the driveway, one right behind the other.

Everybody's home, I noted from my cozy chair by the window.

A short while later while Wes lounged on the couch wearing his brand new wrestling shoes, his phone rang. It was Coach/Dad.

Not everyone was home.

"Wes, you guys didn't leave me a car. Someone needs to come back and pick me up!"

"Rrrright." said Wes, making his way to the door.

Seven people. Seven cars. Sometimes seven cars that run. Sometimes we carpool. Sometimes for savings. Sometimes out of necessity. It gets confusing.

Glad God's keeping track of us!

Photo above from Medina Tournament: (l-r) Coach Trevor Lee, Westley Lee, Nick Goebel, Coach Dave Lee, Dexter Lee.

Laughing and Losing

Wrestling is an amazing sport.



If you don't know this about me, I live in the midst of wrestling, wrestlers, wrestling coaches, and ongoing wrestling conversations woven into the fabric of my daily life whether I like it or not. Six men live in this house with me, the one I'm married to is a head coach and absolutely passionate about the sport. This is admirable and respectable most of the time. :) Two of my four sons coach, two wrestle. Another of the boys' friends lives here, he too is a coach. All have wrestled, still wrestle. Twenty minutes ago, in the kitchen.



On Saturday six of us played our parts at an intense day of team duals. And here's where my blog story begins.



My high school senior, Wes, was wrestling an opponent who was illegally grabbing one Westley finger at a time when the ref couldn't see it. Wes was winning the match all along, but would scream out when this would happen. Wes began to get very angry and frustrated. The opponent smiled boldly in satisfaction. It was a flagrant display of bad sportsmanship. I saw his coach quietly signal him to stop, but he didn't seem able to bring the despicable grin under control. Coach talked with the ref about a separate questionable call as the Wes' temper began to flare. At one point during the match Wes yelled over at his Dad/coach, "He's laughing!"



"I don't care, he's losing!!" was Coach's response.



That made everybody grin. And Wes applied more aggressive grit than usual to pinning the joker, which he did in the third period with a move something like that pictured (photo from earlier in the season, Wes in blue). Later Wes told me that while he was pinning him, the kid was pinching Wes' butt. Classy.



These situations can get me flaring in the stands. Thankfully I was able to keep decent sportsmanslike composure. Even while demonstrating the illegal one finger move on an opposing team fan who was complaining about the "whining coach" who kept talking to the ref. That was a high point in my day.



I couldn't get the "I don't care, he's losing!!" phrase out of my head though. It was funny but it got me thinking about other things, as usual.



I've got this image of God coaching me in my constant wrestling match with the enemy of my soul, and I'm yelling things like, "He's lying!" "He's cheating!"



And God calmly says, "It's OK, he's losing."