Leaving it all on the Mat

Earlier this year, Jack started wrestling.  He was the smallest and nearly the youngest.  The first day he announced his favorite food was bacon (which it is not) and proceeded to tackle a kid twice his size during warm-up. Then once he discovered wrestling practice involved learning skills, he became a bit disgruntled.  It took some extensive dedication from Dad, who learned just as much about wresting as Jack, but it all clicked. 

This weekend, Jack went in for his first tournament.  He weighed in at 36.1 and was in the second smallest weight class.  Then he ended up the very first match, where he clearly had no idea what was going on.  Let's say it ended quickly.  With a bit of watching older kids, Jack came into his second match with a vengenance.  He came out of takedown and pinned his opponent in 1.25.  The smiles on his face were one of those parenting moments that will go down for us as the best.  He shook hands and wanted only one thing - to run across the mat and hug his dad. 

It got even better when he discovered medals were involved.  That 2nd place medal is hanging with pride.