A modern GBU

Over the years, I have formed many relationships with the young men that have wrestled for me. My boys as I think of them have given me many great memories, and plenty of not so great ones also. For a couple of seasons, I wrote a Good Bad & Ugly summary when I returned from a trip to capture some of those memories. Today was a good one. I attended Eddie M. and Dawn's wedding. It was exactly what you would have expected from two such great people. They make a great couple, both of them have big hearts so I know there will never be any lack of love in their household. From the time they started dating in my yearbook class it was obvious that they were soul mates. It was good to see many other members of the wrestling family there, and as always a lot of story telling went on. The past year has been difficult. We lost Boo. That is one of the most difficult times I've had in my life, and definitely the most difficult that I've had as a coach. We came just short of our goal of a state title, TWICE. Some of the wrestlers made poor choices, and it cost them some of their dreams. Just this weekend I was disappointed by one of the wrestlers I put a tremendous amount of trust in. With me there is really only one thing that is automatic deal breaker, and that is dishonesty. BUT... as I watched Eddie and Dawn say their vowels, I was reminded again of why I love what I do so much. I have seen so many succeed when others thought they would fail. I have seen the joy of someone grasping that brass ring they thought they would Never get. I have felt the deepest sorrow, when the season is over and they were just a little short. That is life. Joy and pain, the ups and the downs. Not a week goes by that I don't walk among the clouds, and trod through the valleys. Most of the time the path seems to wind along a hilly trail somewhere in between. I've spoke to a couple of my wrestlers about keeping a blog for the season. A chance to vent some thoughts, give some insight into what goes on in their head, that brings about what we see on the mat, so I've decided to keep one myself. I'll share some of the moments from my warrior family, as I see them. These will be my thoughts, so as usual sometimes they will make you laugh, like when Eddie paused to think about what he was doing when the Preacher said, "And to use all your Worldly goods..." during the ceremony, sometimes they may make you sad, like when I have to talk about problems or setbacks, like jarred dislocating his knee in practice this week, But hopefully they all will make you think, and give you a little insight into what a great gift it is to be part of the Warrior family. So I'll keep this blog as a modern G.B.U. and I'll sign off with this reminder, If you don't understand or get something in the GBU, it's probably because you weren't there.