This first weekend of December is always the date for The Cougar Classic. It is a weekend that showcases our winter sports teams: cheerleading, indoor women's soceer, men's basketball, and wrestling. Five out of the last seven years (including this year,of course), the first snow of the year has fallen on this weekend! Despite the complications that weather sometimes brings it is a great school spirit building weekend. There are always games and a pep rally. This year there was a sock hop as well--It was well worth chaperoning the dance to see one of our most macho basketball players in bunny socks!
The weekend is the result of many hours of planning and work by the Athletic Department. Led by Mike Naunton and including Heather Ganzman, Ashley Hanson, Drew Ganzzermiller, and a myriad of dedicated coaches, the group plans a weekend that provides competition, opportunity, and fun. Mike is always trying to find ways that the kids can have fun as well as play their sport. This year was a big success and I am grateful to this whole crew of dedicated Cougar devotees!
The mysterious winter sport that I am just beginning to appreciate is wrestling. This is only the second year we have had wrestling at Carmel and I must admit, though the kids loved it from the beginning, I was more than a little dubious. I wasn't a big fan of the uniforms and after seeing my first match last year, considered the entire event an injury generating nightmare. It seemed to me that at any second bones were going to break and muscles detach from their God given attachments! I have to admit I had no clue about scoring or skills, but I was frightened for the kids!
One strategy that Mike Naunton used to calm my anxious state was to introduce me to our coach,Tim Schoen. I was certainly impressed by Tim's wrestling credentials. Not only was he a champion wrestler himself in high school and college, he had coached teams that were ranked tops in the state. In 1999 he was recognized by the National High School Coaches Association as a Maryland State Coach of the Year. What settled my jangled nerves,though, was his calm demeaner and the way he spoke about our kids. He was appreciative of their effort, their determination to learn this new sport, and affirming of the good things they were doing in the rest of their lives--like doing well academically and taking leadership positions in the school. He was a Carmel kind of guy!
So, this is the second year of wrestling and I have just witnessed my third wrestling match. The second match was last week and I was lucky enough to sit next to one of the dad's who gave me a tutorial as we watched. I now understand the idea of pinning someone and the points you earn from throwing someone down and getting back up again. Obviously, I have a long way to go. The part I am beginning to like is the formal civility that is built into the sport. Every wrestler shakes hands with his opponent before and after every match and with the coaches after the match. The match itself is very focused and intense but the beginning and the end requires great self-control and sportsmanship too. I like that.
The other part that I really like is that wrestling gives everyone an opportunity. Because the matches go by weight and there are so many categories,kids of all sizes can be part of the team. Our smallest guy weighs only 103 lbs. and the biggest ones are problably over 200 lbs. That variation leaves lots of slots in the middle! I like this inclusive focus. What unites the guys has more to do with strength and determination than it does with size. I like that too.
So, I guess I have to say I am growing in my appreciation of wrestling. It is less a mystery but still a little frightening! I am glad we added this opportunity to our winter activities!
I am off to the last basketball game of the Cougar Classic weekend, the snow is falling,the cheerleaders are doing a super job, and there were no injuries at the wrestling match--which we won! Go Cougars!
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