My son's Wrestling season...

[sensei8]

Thank you, both.

Bob, Kendall has been coached on proper hip movement, but as you well know, when you get out there with another person trying to impose his will on you while you do the same to him, its possible to get out of position. That happened to Kendall, and the other kid took advantage of it.

As for the videos, I'm not sure if I'll be able to share many more or not. If I figure out how to do some transferring from our camera, I'll try. For now, though, I'll just try to run updates as well as I can.

Sounds great...everything! Thanks, Brian! I'll continue to look forward to updates from time to time!!

GO KENDALL AND KENNETH!!

[bushido_man96]

Kenneth competed on Sunday, 1/17/2016, at the Ellis Novice.

He lost his first two matches, against some kids with some more experience. He won his third match, with a pin. He did a good job of doing his stand-ups, but we have to work on the finish of getting loose and turned around. Also, keeping his hips lower. He ended up getting third place.

[sensei8]

Kenneth competed on Sunday, 1/17/2016, at the Ellis Novice.

He lost his first two matches, against some kids with some more experience. He won his third match, with a pin. He did a good job of doing his stand-ups, but we have to work on the finish of getting loose and turned around. Also, keeping his hips lower. He ended up getting third place.

Great job, Kenneth...AWESOME!! Hips starting to solidify, and btw, 3rd place is a respectful finish!!

Rock and roll, Kendall and Kenneth!!

[bushido_man96]

Thanks, Bob. I was able to get to practice with Kenneth on Monday, and tried to help him figure a few things out. He did some good things in practice, and I hope they start clicking for him more and more.

[sensei8]

The one thing that they both have in an advantage over the other boys is...YOU!! You're a solid tactician across the board in everything that they will do in practice and in competition; you've been there, and again, this isn't your first rodeo. The boys can tap into your knowledge and experience, which imho, is priceless!!

GO KENDALL AND KENNETH!!

[bushido_man96]

Thank you, Bob. Kenneth has been doing some good things in practices lately, and I really think that next year he will start putting things together a bit more. Kendall was helping with his double-leg takedowns, which are getting better, and breaking down the opponent from the referee's position is getting better, too.

This past weekend, 1/23/16, we took the boys to the Norton Invitational.

Kenneth had a rough go, going 0-2, but not without going after the boys he was competing against. The main thing for him is really getting the takedowns worked on. From there, some things will come together.

Kendall had a good day, going 3-0 and placing first. We saw some different competition, and so now we are starting to get a good idea of what subdistricts is going to shake out like. All three of the kids he wrestled were taller than him, and only one was lighter, being a 110 pounder. And he did a totally different move, too, using an arm throw to take all three of his opponents down. In his first match, he hit it pretty good, basically stepping behind and doing a sweep and using his hips to take them down. He almost got a pin in the first period, but it went into the second, where he did get a pin. In his second match, he hit the throw again (but this time not as clean), got some back points, but the kid got off his back, but Kendall got to the front and ran an Iowa twist into a pin. His third match started with the ugliest of his 4 arm throws, but he managed to muscle the bigger kid to the ground, where he got a pin.

It was a good meet for Kendall, but we talked about the throw he was doing, and Vicky mentioned that after the last match, she saw one of the opposing coaches talking to his assistant, and saying "three times," referring to the throws. So, Kendall knows these wrestlers will probably be ready for it next time, so we have to clean it up, drill it well, and also work on some alternatives for takedowns.

[bushido_man96]

We went to a big tournament in KS the weekend of 1/29/2016, the Salina Tournament of Champions.

Its always a huge tournament, and I heard there were 1500+ kids there this year. One of the things we like about going is that it is a very challenging tournament, and we usually end up seeing what some of the competition from the eastern side of the state looks like. Kendall got to see just that.

He competed in a 6 man round-robin format, so he wrestled everyone in the bracket. His first match was a tough loss in the second period, getting pinned. He was really frustrated with the loss, because in the first period, he thought, and I thought, he had the kid pinned. He had the kid on his back for a while, and I thought his shoulders were down for sure, but I guess the ref saw something different. But, we talked through it, and determined to not let that match break the day.

His second match was against a really tough opponent, probably one that could end up being a state placer. Kendall really wrestled him tough, and did a good job of working from the bottom. He got shut out in points, 5-0, but went all three periods and didn't get pinned. So at this point, he is 0-2 for the day.

Match 3, Kendall came out and got a win. He wasn't very aggressive on his feet, but he ended up getting a takedown and a pin, running one of his favorite go-to moves. This kid was 2-0 up to that point.

Match 4, Kendall got another win against another tough opponent. This kid, I watched early on, and saw that he really liked to ride an ankle, and really liked to twist the knee around as much as he could get away with. But Kendall was able to get out of the bottom from him in the second period, and got him turned and pinned, evening his record on the day at 2-2.

Match 5 was against another talented kid, and I really think Kendall just hasn't been aggressive enough on his stand-up wrestling lately, which costs him at times. He made it to the second period with the kid, and scored some points and did some good things, especially working off the bottom, but he ended up getting pinned in the second period, going 2-3 on the day.

So, although he was somewhat disappointed, he was close to going 3-2, and at the end of the day, he placed 3rd, a very respectable finish at a very tough tournament.

[sensei8]

3rd place....1500+ competitors...yeah...very respectable finish. Kendall has everything to be proud of across the board.

With every loss comes learning!

With every win comes learning!

Kendall is learning with every win and loss, and that is very important, especially at his age. Kendall...does your most favorite team, in your favorite major sport, win all of the time? No! Do they lose every time? No! Neither will you, and wherever you finish, know that you did your best. In that, I'm....

...very proud of you, Kendall...way to go!!

[bushido_man96]

Kendall and Kenneth both had good weekends this last week. Kendall had to do a best 2 out of 3 with the same kid, and now Kendall is 2-2 against the kid this year. Kendall ended up 1-2, with all the matches being close and low scoring. The third match went into 3 overtimes, and he was pretty gutted after losing.

Kenneth, had a good day at the novice tourney on Sunday. He went 2-2, and got third place, and also wrestled up two weight classes due to a sign-up mishap on our part. He weighed in at 51.8, and wrestled in the 58 lb class. All that aside, he did really well.

Will try to elaborate more when I have the time to.

[bushido_man96]

OK, its been a while, and I apologize. Kendall AHS been through subdistricts and districts now. At subs, it was best two out of three with one other kid, the kid he battled at the Plainville tourney, and went 1-2 against. At subs, he went out and beat this kid twice in a row, setting cradles and getting back points this time, and earning a number 1 cede at districts.

Districts was this past weekend, and it was an adventure. Kendall had a 1 cede, but a bye was given to another kid from the south district for some reason, so Kendall wrestled in the first round. Unfortunately, he got beat 6-0 and went to the back side of the bracket. So, after a few hours wait, and getting his mind set right, he wrestled his second match, and won the match, 5-1, just through sheer will, I think. He got turned over once, but they were out of bounds, so he caught a break. That win put him in the third/fourth place match, which meant he qualified for state, regardless of the outcome. But match three was against the kid from the Plainville and subdistricts meets. He went out and was aggressive, but was giving up some points, and struggled with getting a takedown. But in period three, he started on the top position, turned the kid a few times, and eventually pinned him!

It was a tough weekend, but he went out, worked hard, and took 3rd place and goes to state for the third year in a row. Its funny how things work out in wrestling, too; the kid that beat him in the first round didn't qualify, and a kid he beat 7-0 two weeks ago got 2nd place. And every kid he wrestled was a head taller than him. I'm so proud of him.