Wrestling is mostly seen as a raw show of strength, technique, and sometimes talent. But for those who step onto the mat, it’s much more than just a sport. Everybody has someone they highly respect in their life, leaders in their life. My Coach Travis always told us after practice that “[wrestling is] bigger than that”. Being a successful wrestler means to become an embodiment of resilience, discipline, and have the zeal to grow, both on and off the mat.

At its foundation, wrestling demands discipline like many other sports. Each practice, each drill, and each match is an opportunity to hone your technique, improve your conditioning, and push past your limits. The training can be very grueling, involving long hours of intense physical work, but it’s the mentality that sets wrestlers apart from other sports. A motto I always follow is “push yourself to death, then defy it”. Last off-season, I spent a lot of time surpassing my limits by drilling good repetitions, taking care of my body, and my mind. Success is earned through hard work and mental toughness. Just talent alone in this sport won’t get you far. A wrestler’s journey is filled with challenges, setbacks, and moments of doubt, but the determination to keep going– even when the odds are stacked against them– defines the true spirit of a wrestler. This is a mindset that Coach Travis has instilled in all his wrestlers.

Wrestling gives life lessons that are invaluable, many of the lessons going far beyond the sport itself. Dan Gable, a world renowned wrestler states “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy”. Which is true because It builds character, confidence, and an understanding of the importance of responsibility. Unlike team sports, where athletes can sometimes or maybe even have to rely on their teammates, wrestling is a solo endeavor. That’s what even made me start wrestling: wanting to achieve my own victories after being on losing teams since the fifth grade. Knowing everything was on me when the whistle blows, it’s just me, and my heart vs my opponents. The outcome of the match rests solely on the individual. This level of independence creates a sense of personal ownership over one’s success and failure. After I started wrestling,- Wrestlers learn to analyze their mistakes, accept them, and use them as stepping stones to improve.

Though the sports mentality is just as crucial as hard work. A wrestler’s ability to remain focused, stay calm under pressure, and strategize during a match is what often separates the good from the great. Mental resilience becomes just as crucial as physical endurance. Wrestlers are constantly adapting to discomfort no matter if it’s physical fatigue. Just imagine using every muscle in your body for six minutes straight, then going into one minute of overtime, the burning muscles, the heavy taste of pennies from the iron in your blood, the burning twisted up knot in your chest all during those final moments of the match. I find it glorious, but those moments of discomfort bring immense growth and strength.

Now as far as community, being a wrestler also means being part of a quality over quantity type of community. While wrestling is an individual sport, there’s a unique brotherhood among wrestlers, fans, coaches, and even families. For the wrestlers, the shared experiences of sweat, pain, blood and triumph form unbreakable bonds between athletes. I still have a rival till this very moment, we’ve been back to back, blow for blow since we were freshmen. Sometimes we may even leave practice with blood on our gym clothes, but there is always a brotherly hug shortly after. Imagine two war hungry vikings, having the most vicious brawl then laughing and hugging whilst covered in blood, that was me and my rival Vincent. We’ve been doing this for years now, both in Mixed Martial Arts, and in Wrestling. It doesn’t matter if it’s pushing each other through difficult workouts, celebrating victories together, beating each other up in practice or encouraging each other through losses, wrestlers understand what it means to lift one another up–emotionally but physically as well. That’s the uniqueness about the wrestling community.