on the mat

Last night God surprised me again.

We put boy #2 into the local youth wrestling program and I have been content, with the younger two boys, to sit on the side of the room, watching the coach put the 60-some kids through warm-up exercises. I've even been able to knit a bit. Last night I was not so lucky.

After giggling at my five-year-old and two-year-old as they tried to do the bicycle warm-up and windmills, we settled in as the boys got paired off to "wrestle" their partners. Last week my son was paired with a kid who seemed about as aggressive as a bull (a good pair I thought.) Turns out I was wrong. The two were supposed to be practicing a double-leg takedown on each other, switching off so each could learn it. Instead, this boy and my son were circling each other like two deer, waiting to do battle with their horns. Then, the other boy would make a mad dash at my son and try a takedown of force using only upper body strength. It didn't work well.

I noticed that this boy's parents were sitting directly across from the battling boys, but seemed be doing little to help out the situation. (Most of the others paired off had at least one parent or coach alongside, correcting mistakes.) After watching this go on for awhile and realizing that I was paying good money for my son to not learn the proper technique for a takedown, I left the two boys in the corner and crossed the room to be a coach.

I put the two face-to-face and explained what they needed to do: close together, fling the other's arms out, grab both legs, step-knee, right turn and drive him to the mat. Whew. But, it worked. They got at least a few "proper" takedowns in before it was time for the coach's demonstration of the next move. The other boy's family informed me that he just wasn't listening to them when they tried to explain what to do. (I almost snorted at that, but refrained from doing it aloud. I figured they just didn't know anything about wrestling.) I ran back to my corner to make sure the two other hooligans weren't causing any problems and found them trying to take each other down.

The next move was to flip the opponent over on his back while he was laying on his stomach using a half-nelson hold. (Under the armpit, over the head was drilled into all of our heads.) My son's partner had disappeared to get a drink of water. His father told me the boy's name and that he was a foster child (which explains why Dad was so much older than I expected) and that they were trying to get him interested in something. He came back and I was again on the mat trying to show the two boys what they were supposed to do. Get to the side. Arm under the armpit and over the head. Grab a leg and flip. Chest to chest with all your weight. On your toes! They got a few good moves in while I glanced over to see my other boys laying on top of each other. (Guess I'm getting free tuition for those two.)

Then the coaches wanted the boys to actually wrestle. This would have worked well, if the other kid was interested in wrestling and didn't seem to have a slight baby streak in him. They worked on taking each other down and I kept trying to get my son to finish off his moves, not just jump up right after a takedown. The other kid got bumped in the nose somehow and after that it was all downhill. Any time he got put into a position he didn't like, he'd grab his nose and say he got hit again. Once he got off the mat to give his dad a hug. I couldn't help but be a little frustrated that my son was not getting as much practice as some of the other kids who seemed to have a real desire to actually wrestle.

After practice was over, I was a sweaty hot mess. (Last time I wear long johns into the practice room - it's like 80 degrees inside.) I toyed with the idea of telling my son to try to switch partners next time (if it were possible.) But, felt immediately guilty about it.

Here's where the God part comes in. I recognized that He probably initiated this pairing off for a reason - both for my good, for my son's and for this boy's. I have no idea what his background is, but I have to give his foster parents credit for being willing to spend the money to get him involved in something, for showing him love and for just trying. I figured I should be able to do the same. It that means I have to be out of the mat learning wrestling moves right along with two little boys, so be it.

I've had weirder assignments.