When I began teaching at Timberlane Regional High School (Plaistow, NH) in 1996, I had no idea that Timberlane had a good--no, great--wrestling team. However the thought of going to watch a meet during my first year of teaching was out of the question. As described in a previous blog post, I was barely keeping my head above water as a new teacher--let alone even thinking about attending a wrestling match.
Yet, when my "sophomore" year of teaching rolled around and a few colleagues (Kim Varney, Sarah Schuster, and Patrick Scott) said they were going to one of the TRHS wrestling matches, I said I would tag along. Well if you've never been to a high school wrestling match, let me attempt to describe one. At first, one might say it's like a swim meet or track and field meet as athletes compete individually to score points for their team. However, in wrestling, you take on your opponent on a mat in the center of the gym--as if you are gladiators in the coliseum--fighting for your reputation, school pride, and wrestling family. And then consider TRHS wrestling is like the Friday Night Lights of any Texas high school football team. You have generations of families who have participated throughout the years. You hear the name Chooljian, Holder or Smith and you nod your head because you know they are wrestling legends. You have lots of students, teachers, families and community members crowding into the gym to cheer on the Timberlane Owls.
Going to the meet, I realized I had a bunch of students who were on the team. And when I saw one of my student wrestlers--one who had struggled academically just that day in the classroom-on the wrestling mat in front of a large crowd (again, think Friday Night Lights)--out there in the arena by himself taking on his opponent and putting his heart and soul on the mat--I developed a respect for that student that gave me the understanding that this sport is his lifeline in a lot of ways to his self-confidence, family, and school.
And what I appreciated as I got to know the TRHS wrestling team was their sense of family. Yes, there were indeed some actual brothers on the team, but the wrestlers were really a family of choice. They looked out for one another even though they were in a highly competitive sport.
I soon found myself tutoring some of the wrestlers after school--really trying to build some of their confidence in the classroom. At this time, I also discovered my interest in sports psychology; I realized there were so many ways I could motivate my student athletes through discussing sports and making some connections to the classroom. Simply by pointing out their achievements and skills they had developed on the wrestling mat, I could then show them how those same skills could be applied in the classroom. On the mat, wrestlers learned about individual accomplishments and failure, team support, courage, adaptability, self-awareness--life skills that they could take with them into the next stages of their lives. I noted that the vulnerability they may feel in the classroom is the same vulnerability they feel on the mat--they just choose to connect over that vulnerability on the mat with their fellow wrestlers. The same can be applied in the classroom. And fortunately, their head coaches Coach Choo and Coach Woody were and still are proponents of their wrestlers graduating high school and pursuing higher education.
Furthermore, when we talk about connection, there were a bunch of us teachers who would travel around with the student fans to cheer on the team--and when you are a young teacher starting out--to become a part of school culture really is important in creating a sense of belonging and identity for the teacher. The school spirit that was generated was contagious as it was fun to go to the meets and cheer on the team. The student section took on a life of its own as if the students were another member of the team.
I look back fondly on my memories of the few years I spent cheering on the TRHS wrestling team. Working with the wrestlers I learned a lot of my own life lessons that have helped me in both working with my students throughout my career and now as a parent of two children. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that at different times in our lives we literally and figuratively "wrestle" with connections whether it is with ourselves or others...and the best way to achieve connection is to risk being vulnerable with our loved ones for they really are our life teammates.
Listed below are some individual remembrances I have of TRHS wrestlers:
*I remember my colleague and friend Sarah Schuster had student wrestler Eric Doucette in class. Sarah started a sock board--every time Eric pinned his opponent he would pin up his black socks onto the bulletin board. You would think all of those socks would stink, but Eric pinned his opponents so fast that his socks didn't smell!
*I remember a couple of students commenting about a couple of the wrestlers and how disciplined they were with their nutrition, workouts, and choice not to drink/drug--the students said what losers the wrestlers were. When I overheard that conversation, I wanted to jump in--but instead another student did and said, "So these wrestlers that you are talking about--you're making fun of them for being healthy and belonging to a championship team? Why don't you ask yourselves who the real losers are."
*I remember heart to heart talks with student wrestler Anthony about life's up and downs and the courage it takes to believe in oneself.
*I vividly remember Jay Holder sitting in the cafeteria working diligently on his college essay for Boston University. Jay was a natural on the wrestling mat with an outstanding athletic career; however, he had to work long hours when it came to reading and writing. His determination, perseverance, and self-awareness were strengths of Jay's that helped him succeed in college and now in his career. Jay is now an assistant professor and the head wrestling coach of Springfield College.
*I remember striking the balance of praising and encouraging humility to Matt Smith in his freshmen year.
*I remember the get psyched music Eric Bradley listened to before he wrestled: "The Warrior" by Patty Smyth!
*I remember Ryan Holder winning his match and then telling me afterwards he lost his folder for our American Studies class. I can remember saying to Ryan, enjoy your win--we'll worry about your folder later!
*I remember how excited some of us teachers were when Coach Choo gave us gray fleece TRHS wrestling vests for supporting the team!
Please feel free to post your TRHS wrestling and any other related memories you wish to!
Disclaimer: In this post, I focused on TRHS wrestling, but I do plan on reflecting on other TRHS sports teams in future blogs!
I've learned a lot about vulnerability from the work of social worker Brene Brown. Here is the link to her widely watched TED talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability
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