I read an article titled God's Harvest. It was by Dieter F. Uchdorf. It struck me as very applicable to our wresting team. He starts with a story of a woman named Christa. Christa was the owner of a small seed company. She had customers that would buy her seeds and then expect to reap the harvest. She received a complaint that the seeds she had provided did not produce, even though they were guaranteed to do so. But come to find out the person who bought the seeds never planted the seeds for fear of getting their hands dirty. This is like some of those on our team. They are afraid of working toward their goal of making the Varsity team, qualifying for State, placing at State, or even being a State Champion. They expect to reap the fruit of the harvest, yet have not practiced, lifted, conditioned, and anything else that may get their hands dirty.
The next complaint Christa received was from a customer that had planted the seeds, nourished the soil, provided adequate water and sunlight, and everything else they should have done to reap a harvest. With further questioning, Christa found that they had only planted the seeds one week prior. One week! Do we as wrestlers feel like we can lift 2 weeks in the summer, condition the week before State, maybe even stay after practice a few times during the year and that will be enough. It takes not only effort but time. I have heard wrestlers mention that they have drilled the new move multiple times, but it does not work in a live situation. They get frustrated having only drilled the move a few times. Cael Sanderson used to drill moves hundreds of times each day, after practice was over. Can we expect to reap the rewards after only putting in a few hours of practice.
The third complaint that Christa received was someone who was reaping a harvest, but not the desired harvest. They had planted, watered, nourished, and waited for the harvest to come, which it did come. But they were expecting pumpkins and got zucchini. They were upset because of this. But upon further research, Christa acknowledged that they had indeed purchased zucchini seeds. The customers thought that if they planted zucchini seeds in a pumpkin patch that they would somehow come out as pumpkins. I think as wrestlers we sometimes put in the time practicing, watching technique videos, running, lifting and doing all that we see needs to be done. Yet we are shocked when we reap losses instead of wins. Could it be that we were using a system of training and preparation that would not reap the desired fruit.
Wrestling is different than some of the other sports. It take more discipline, motivation and mental and physical toughness. It requires one to focus on nutrition, endurance, flexibility, speed, strength, technique, and all around athleticism. Wrestling is not for everyone, yet anyone can do it. To reach the top of the podium takes many, many hours of practice in all of the above mentioned areas. It is a science and art. Not all programs are created equal.
I hope that our wrestlers and their parents will buy into the seeds that we are planting. We are trying to give each wrestler the opportunity to excel both on and off the mat. We expect them to put in hours of work. We also hope that they will trust the coaches involved in the program. We invite all of you to buy in. Put in the time, effort, and maintain the determination and we will accomplish great things and reap the harvest.
