As a coach, this is one of the toughest things we have to do: recognize wrestlers. It’s hard for me because after four years of coaching, with a program that expanded from 12 to 45, I still see every wrestler, I still see their contributions and yet I have to somehow now narrow down and recognize them in the one hour that I used to dedicate to twelve and now I have to do it for 45. The worst part, the worst part is when I fail to recognize someone.
This happens every year. After the banquet, days if not weeks, something will pop into my mind and I will suddenly realize that there’s a wrestler that I could have recognized for one thing or another. That there was someone who I recognized because of a recency bias or some other bias and did not recognize someone else equally and sometimes more deserving because of a blind spot because with 45 wrestlers, I can no longer give a speech the way I used to.
On top of it, is my clouded judgment. Sometimes I see so much potential in a wrestler and when they don’t meet it, it is hard for a coach to not feel it. It is important to remember that hitting potential is rare and often impossible. That it is often out of our control, their control and that for some, just showing up is a win. That for those who have trouble with family or with mental health, being committed to something and just coming in and not quitting took every ounce of their being.
For others, maybe they were just quiet, or maybe their wins were hidden by someone with bigger wins. Whatever it is, fact remains that we as coaches, will get far more things right on the mat and will always screw up at this one thing. Because just like our wrestlers, we can do all the right things and still lose. And when we walk off the mat at the end of the season, we have to be able to be like our wrestlers who look back and say: I might have lost but I hit that move, or I got out of that pin or I didn’t back down. We have to say, I did my best to pass on the lessons of this sport: work hard, help your partner and your team, and do your best to be a good person and know that you will fail and it still worth it to get up and try again. These are the the values that stay with them forever.
To my wrestlers that did not get recognized at the banquet, I want you to know that while I didn’t get to recognize you publicly, I see you. I saw all the work and effort you put into the program and into the sport. I saw the trust you gave me, the problems you shared with me. I was as proud as a father on your first win and I cried like your mom on your last loss. I will miss you and you will always be a part of me and this program. Your effort is never for nothing because what you cultivated while in our program will stay with you forever, and what you gave to the program will stay with us forever as well.
Henry-Wrestling 