How Wrestling Shaped My Life

Connor Soukup

“This is a sport (wrestling) that has turned many boys into men and many men into leaders. And it is a sport in which you can be a giant regardless of how big you are.”- Carl Albert, former Speaker of the House

    Many people believe wrestling to be a cruel or dangerous sport. Or that it’s for people who are troubled. This isn’t just false, but people who wrestle tend to be more developed mentally and physically than any other sport. Wrestling has been widely misunderstood for generations. It isn’t any more your backyard sport as soccer or football. Wrestling matches require various equipment and referees. It is a very organized sport that is appreciated by many types of athletes. 

    Wrestling is known as one of the oldest sports in history. Referenced in the Iliad and depicted in 15,000-year-old cave drawings in France. Early Egyptian and Babylonian reliefs show wrestlers using most of the holds known in the present-day sport. This fact  can be off putting to some people. Thinking that since it is old it is wrong and barbaric because of its heritage being around when gladiator arenas, lion or bull fighting, and other sports of that nature. It is actually won of the tamer sports, having evolved over time to be more safe and more responsible. 

    My experience with wrestling has shaped my life. I started wrestling in third grade at a local high school. My older brother was on varsity wrestling team there and It was my goal to one day make the varsity team in the many years to come when I would be in high school. That goal was deserted when I changed schools in sixth grade. I joined my new schools wrestling team at The Fenn School in concord MA, I started on the middle school team which I quickly didn’t feel like I belonged. I was wrestling first time wrestlers when I had already been wrestling for three years prior. I couldn’t practice the moves I liked and I felt like wasn’t reaching my potential. It wasn’t until my next year that I got to try out for the varsity team at Fenn. I worked hard and was determined to work my very best and learn the most from the experience. My first couple of matches on varsity went pretty well. The coach put me up against new wrestlers who I got to practice my new moves on. When the season progressed I started going up against harder and harder opponents. I started losing and I felt really bad for myself. I was going from winning most of my matches to winning few of them. I became discouraged and was ready to give up. It wasn’t until I realized the reason I loved wrestling. It was because of hardships and vicissitude that came with it. Because you need to experience sadness and failure to appreciate success and happiness. It is one of the main reasons why I love sports. You gain strength from your failures and it shapes you as a person. I have become who I am today because of wrestling.