Youth Wrestling

[M Richardson]

Maverick - Your dad is right. Your body is busy growing and needs fuel. Cutting weight isn't a good idea.
Going up in weight is always hard to do. However, when you wrestle guys bigger than you it makes you stronger. Remember, wrestling isn't really about winning and losing. It is about doing the very best that you can. I would rather have my wrestlers go all out and do the best they can and lose than have them be sloppy or lazy and get lucky with a win.
That was a great video - I hope you can post more so I can watch your progress.
The dog with the big tongue is Anne. She is 8 1/2 years old. She isn't my dog, she lives at a greyhound rescue that I am associated with. She is from a greyhound track in Guam that closed down about a year ago. When they closed the track a lot of the dogs were just let go to run the streets. A bunch of greyhound rescue services got together and managed to rescue several hundred of the dogs, who were flown to the United States, nursed back to health, and put up for adoption. Anne was really sick, but is healthy now and is one of the last dogs waiting for a home. The black dog is mine. His name is Cyrano (because of his really long nose). He is a big dog (with a big tongue, too!) weighing about 95 pounds. He can run really fast - up to 45 miles per hour. Well, maybe not that fast anymore. He is getting older and is retired from running.
The open wrestling practice should be a lot of fun. I hope your friend shows up. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

[Mavrick]

Hi Mr. Richardson, thank you for talking with me again. Are you and me the only people here? My Dad doesn't want me to post on other threads because he says I'm not old enough yet. He types for me so the words will be spelled right and he says he needs to watch what is on here. My Dad told me about Cyrano De Bergerac. He said he has been a fan of Cyrano since he was in high school because he has a big nose like my Dad. A movie called Roxanne was based on Cyrano too. My Dad says he will get it and we will watch it some day. Your Dog Cyrano is bigger than me. I think he can run faster than me too. Does he trip on his legs when he runs sometimes? Guam is in the Pacific ocean. My Dad was there when he was in the Marine Corps. Do you take care of stray dogs? You are a nice man.

I want to get better at wrestling. I need to get stronger and bigger so I wont be so small when I wrestle the big wrestlers. I exercised today and did 401 bends and thrusts. I think I can do 500. My Dad put a video of me doing 323 on youtube because he said no one would believe it unless they saw it. My Dad made a video of me when I wrestled last year and when I wrestled this year so I could see how much I improved. I was happy when I saw it. I thought I was a bad wrestler after I lost but now I think I am getting better. I hope I keep practicing and keep getting better. I want to win all the matches at Gopher State Nationals next year.

Here is the video my Dad made for me to cheer me up.



Thank you,

Maverick

[M Richardson]

Loved the video! It is really important to have a way to see how you are improving. (By the way, the same thing is true in school. That is why tests are so important - they give you a way to see how much you have learned. Tests are the "tournaments" for school.)
It is great that you are doing exercises. A lot of guys get caught up in wanting to build big upper bodies (arms and chest) and forget that real strength comes from the core - the middle of your body. Wrestlers really need strong abdomen and back. Have your dad show you some exercises for grip strength - that is really important too.
I love the movie Roxanne - and that is the name of our other greyhound, Cyrano's friend. Here is what SHE thinks she looks like:


Here is the way I usually think of her:



And here is what most other people see when they see her:

[Mavrick]

Thanks Mr. Richardson. Roxanne looks like a real princess. I'm in freestyle now and having a lot of fun. You're right about tests in school. I kept taking tests in school and getting better. I had a big test that said I am exceptional in school. Now I don't have to go to my extra reading class like I used to. My Dad says tests are part of a good system. He is a systems engineer. Last night I did the leg lace on my friend in wrestling practice. I'm getting better but my friends are getting better too so I still have to practice more. I like practicing the cradle and the leg lace. They are my favorite moves now. I'm going to practice the cradle all summer long so next wrestling season I'll be really goods at it.

Maverick

[Mavrick]

Here is a video of my Coach Ned Shuck at Augsburg Wrestling Academy in Minneapolis. I don't live in Minneapolis but I live close to there. Minneapolis is the one with the Metro Dome. It caved in during the winter because of snow. That was cool.

[Mavrick]

My Dad bought a wrestling mat for us and my sister and I wrestle and practice a lot. My sister and I are both in baseball now. It is our first time in baseball. We still practice wrestling. I hope to get better over the summer at wrestling. My Dad is teaching us the cradle series. He also taught us how to do a claw tilt from a crab ride and a cross wrist cheap tilt. We do the banana split but my sister likes that move more than I do. We pratice 8 ways to do a double leg takedown from a collar tie and tricep tie everyday. We always follow the takedowns with a half nelson pin every time. Every tilt is followed up with a leg turk pin in practice. We also do neck exercises and arching exercises every day.

[Laynerz]

Cool video. been reading your posts time to time, looks like you are improving a lot. Must be fun training at that Academy. Keep at it bud. You'll be a huge stud in High School if you keep it up

[Mavrick]

Thanks Laynerz. It is fun to wrestle at the Academy. I am sad today because my coach Ned Shuck will not be returning to the Academy. He got a job as the head coach for Heidelburg in Ohio. Those people at Heidelburg must be some very good people to deserve my coach. The Augsburg Wrestling Academy will still be going and Coach Swenson and Matzek will do some things to help but I'm not sure what or how much. My Dad said the fall season schedule will be posted soon. I miss my coach already. I hope Orlando Ponce and Jacob Saatzer come back to the Academy to coach. I like Jackson Mbombe too. I like all the Augsburg wrestlers. I'm going to practice even harder now because I'm mad I lost my coach. Do you have some youth wrestling stories you can share with me?

[Laynerz]

Coach Swenson seems likes a great coach, he's another guy you're lucky to be around. Are you wrestling in any Freestyle or Greco tournaments this summer?