Proud Dad...My Son Won 3rd State Championship!

gt350mike · 02-11-2009, 09:30 AM

About 12 years ago my son decided to hang up his hockey skates (after 2 yrs) and take wrestling. I never thought much about wrestling other than I had several friends in HS that were decent (some wrestled in college) but both of my boys enjoyed the sport because they're quick learners (must have got that from their mom). Fast-forward to this weekend my son wrestled in his last state tournament and won the 125 lbs class in 6A! It’s a major accomplishment because nobody from his HS has ever won 3x and it’s a great way to cap off his HS wrestling career.
This weekend we're flying to D.C. to talk with American University and I'm hoping he decides to sign with their wrestling program. The head coach has done a great job building the program to a point where not only they're competitive with other Div I schools (this year they beat Navy for the first time in school history), but he has three to five wrestlers that are ranked nationally. If he signs a wrestling scholarship with AU it should help pay for room/board, but the other reason I'm proud of him is because last week he received a four year scholarship offer from the Army that will cover the tuition and books! He's a smart kid and I'm really proud of that his hard work has opened multiple doors for him.........he's even trying to leverage me (and his mom) on upgrading his 88 944 (all original with 108k) to an early 90's 911. Although "it ain't gonna happen" he does have some valid points in his "presentation". I told him he deserves to have the upgrade, but I reminded him that we all “deserve” better things, but rarely get them!

One more point.....I know Alabama isn't the wrestling Mecca like the Oklahoma or Iowa, but the HS programs w/in the state have stepped-up the competition and as a result of their training (and the wrestler's determination) the state is producing some great wrestlers! Here are a few photos from the tournament (My son has the dark curly hair...not the red-head!).

This shot is great because the kid that he wrestled was such an A-Hole to everyone.....he even shoved my son at the end of the match!

The Gaijin · 02-11-2009, 10:33 AM

Congratulations Mike.

My nephew said HS football was like "girl scouts" compared to wrestling!

Always made me laugh..

VincentVega · 02-11-2009, 10:37 AM

Very cool

While I was shooting foul shots and running ladders, the crazy wrestling team seems to always be running around with trash bags and sweater on. Lot's of respect for the crazy wrestlers.

Good luck to your boy

gassy · 02-11-2009, 10:58 AM

that's great. kudos

pwd72s · 02-11-2009, 11:07 AM

Kudos to your son...but more kudos to you & his mom for raising him.

The punks and the badassed kids seem to get the negative publicity. Thanks for the reminder that good kids are out there as well.

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

Very cool. I tried out for the HS wrestling team as a sophomore but didn't get past the 3rd week of practice. Hard core folks there

vash · vash's Garage

how long is that lens? great shots. those wrestlers are tough guys. gut checks..oooff.

i didnt last. congrats.

BGCarrera32 · 02-11-2009, 11:52 AM

Very cool and tough sport. If you do it right, its like a 3 minute fight for your life.

Buckterrier · 02-11-2009, 11:56 AM

Congratulations Mike and son. That's awesome!! I wrestled in HS. I remember the coach telling us you expend more energy in a 6 minute wrestling match than if you played every play, (offense & defense), of a football game.

Rot 911 · 02-11-2009, 11:58 AM

Congratulations I can tell you are a proud dad and rightfully so!

Kaliv · Kaliv's Garage

Thats awesome. I wrestled the low weight classes throughout high school and college as well. I'm hoping my son will follow in the tradition. My dad wrestled in college but not high school...farmer life and all. The sport never really gets recognition until someone they know goes a long way. Congratulations!

Burnin' oil · 02-11-2009, 01:04 PM

That is absolutely awesome. Congratulations.

When I was at the Univ. Of Wyoming, I had friends that knew who the wrestlers were and when we went to the bars, we stayed the heck away from them. Crazy people with no understanding of the meaning of "Ow, that hurts, you're breaking my spine."

carambola · carambola's Garage

Keep your hips up!

Burnin' oil · 02-11-2009, 01:29 PM

Video. Yeah, baby!

http://highschoolsports.al.com/videoplayer/1160/jake-henson-wins-6a-125s/

vash · vash's Garage

is it true that there are strategic means of distracting your opponent? fingers in "places". stuff like that.. pinching?

MOMO3.2 · 02-11-2009, 01:53 PM

Mike:

Congratulations!!!

I imagine you are one proud Papa. Wrestling is BAD TO THE BONE. Your son is obviously one tough, dedicated, and athletically gifted young man. I wish him the best of luck!!!

Not to bragg, but my son-in-law was a Ca state finalist @ 125 lbs and he won the league title (a very tough league) in the 100 & 200 meters. He beat NFL running back Mike Bass in both events. Pretty fast for a white kid...

Anyway, Well done.

Mike

billybek · billybek's Garage

I just watched the video! He had a great match and it was fun watching it.
I wrestled in 59 kg or 130 lbs and it brought back some memories of how challenging the sport is both physically and mentally. I always have been impressed by the speed and strength of the lighter weight classes.
Congrats! My wife just told me (she is a prof) that the American University is an excellent school.

Seahawk · 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

i didnt last. congrats.

I didn't even try.

Congratulations to your son. What he has accomplished is quite something.

Just watched the video. Awesome.

gt350mike · 02-11-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

how long is that lens? great shots. those wrestlers are tough guys. gut checks..oooff.

i didnt last. congrats.

That lens is worth almost as much as my son's 944! The photo was posted by a photographer from the Birmingham Newspaper and I "think" it was a 400mm and he didn't use a flash.

Although I'm a proud owner of a Nikon D-50 with a Nikon 18-200mm VR lens, my shots are terrible!

gt350mike · 02-11-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Video. Yeah, baby!

http://highschoolsports.al.com/videoplayer/1160/jake-henson-wins-6a-125s/

Wow! I'm shocked that you found that clip!!! I thought about posting it but its almost 9 minutes long and its a very slow paced match......Q-Tip stalled most of the second period. The funny part about the clip is at the beginning; when they intro my son, he get's a nice cheer from the crowd. When they intro the other wrestler, its nothing but crickets! I'm not making this up....the kid is a first class butt-hole and nobody cares for him! I will try to post a photo taken of this guy tomorrow that will clearly demonstrate why his is loved so much!