Taylorsville Wrestling

One of the reasons I was hired on to teach at Taylorsville, unlicensed and all, was because I had been helping out with the wrestling team for the last couple of years. As Jerry Haslam, the current THS principal puts it "it's hard to find English teachers that can coach wrestling." I can only assume the inverse is true.

While the emphasis seems to be that I am more a wrestling coach hired on as an English teacher than the other way around, it's pretty obvious to me which one I consider to be my priority. If I have to choose, I would much prefer to be a crappy coach and an excellent English Teacher. I don't know how many people use wrestling into their sixties and seventies, but I know a couple of people who read and write.

Having said that, I really enjoy the wrestling team this year. We have about fifteen fewer wrestlers than we should have, but the ones we do have are good kids with solid work-ethics. We don't have the cancers we had last year. It pumps me up to see good technique and solid drilling; it spurs faith in the next generation to see them work hard.

I don't know what kind of record we'll have at year's end, but I have a feeling we'll have some great individual efforts in the end-of-season tournaments.

Weight watch...132 pounds after practice today. I'm hoping to get down to 125 and lean. My ability level is hovering at around 70% of my peak; I'm out of wrestling condition, but will force myself to 80% by mid-December. If I can hit 90% by season's end, I'll be happy.