My son's Wrestling season...

[sensei8]

Even though Kendall didn't fair well, his learning curve from what I've seen on the videos thus far is increasing quite well. Yeah, he lost, but with lose comes much more victories on his long journey. Yeah his matches were tough but man, he's got it going on!! I'm very proud of him!!

Please keep the videos coming; they brighten my days!!

GO KENDALL!!

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the kind words, Bob. We keep working hard, trying to get better, and I think it is paying off.

Here is the next tourney, at Norton. This one ran an 8 man bracket, like Salina did.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjdX5vF6prY Unfortunately, he started this match with a headlock takedown. Fortunately, it worked for him. We have worked a lot at getting away from that move. He wasn't very clean in keeping the kid on his back, and we work on covering, too. But, he gets first round pin.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUstulLgmhE This match was against a kid Kendall had not wrestled before, but has since seen at every meet we've been to. He's a taller kid, seemed a bit thicker, too. Kendall tried a shot, but stayed to high up (didn't hit his knee), and got tangled in a headlock. Kendall was able to work it to his favor, but this kid was hard to hold down. He kept the headlock, and had a nice toss with it really, but couldn't finish with a pin. He got some good back points, but needed to clean up the pinning. He starts period 2 on top, and has trouble because he doesn't stay behind the elbows and ride the waist. He wants to do cradles, but needs to break them down to set them up. He did have a nice belly to back takedown, though. In the 3rd, he started on bottom, and got up decently, but had trouble breaking the grip. But, he was able to turn into the other kid when falling, coming out on top. Kendall got lots of back points in this match, but this kid was tough to hold down. Kendall ended up winning by technical fall, and didn't allow the kid to score any points.

Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X2-oNgrxE This was against a fellow club member, which is always tough to do. This kid likes to go right for the head, and stands up straight. I try to get Kendall to duck under and hit the takedowns, and sometimes he does. And sometimes, he trys to stand up and dance, instead (like this time) . He did get him taken down, but this kid is hard to pin, too. He is really strong, and rolls around a lot. I have been working on Kendall with "popping" up and over to get into a better position to run a half or reverse half, depending on how the kid rolls. Here, he just kind of crawls over him. I think we've got that figured out, now. He starts 2nd period on top, and he still gets high, in front of the elbows, and he can't hold strong kids down like that. More of the same in the 3rd. But, he doesn't get reversed, and makes it through for the win, taking first place.

[bushido_man96]

Ok, here we go. Ellis tournament, 2/8/14.

He had some ups and downs in these next two tourneys, and I am trying to get him to deal with defeat in a more graceful manner. Its tough going.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUIoe12As6g This kid is a tough customer, and he likes to throw headlocks. It tends to be his bread and butter. Kendall has been having an issue with the headlocks, and tries to stay in a headlock fight with a kid until he can shift their weight and take them down, or fall on them, which goes about 50/50, which isn't good. We've been working with him to stay out of headlocks, keeping low and shooting, to nullify the headlock attempts. You can see the tie up early on, and how he gets worried about what the hands are doing, instead of working to shuck them off and shoot. The other kid ends up ducking and hitting a single, but they got out of bounds and start over. Kendall had a good sprawl, and moved to the back to get his points, so a good start. But then he gets called for illegal hold, a full Nelson. He starts again on top, and doesn't control well from behind. He tried to set a half Nelson, but didn't move to that side, which we have worked on more.

Period 2 starts with Kendall on bottom, and a caution. What's funny is you hear my wife saying "fat man roll, Kendall," and when he reached for the elbow, that's what he was going for! On the restart, he has trouble getting up, I think mainly because the kid was heavy on him. A switch might have been better than a standup. But he did get a reversal and back points, but no pin.

Period 3 starts in neutral, and he jumps right for the head! But, he got him down and got two, but then got in a bad position trying to run a half Nelson from the side he wasn't on, and got rolled to his back. The kid sucked in a tight headlock on top, got back points, but Kendall escaped, and they went back to neutral. But he went into a headlock again, and the kid tossed him over, and that was the death knell for this match. Two for takedown, and then the back points, and that was it. Kendall was leading this match big time, by like 9 or 10 points, but the headlocks and near falls did him in.

So, we go work the back side of the bracket for 3rd.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW28zQgJR3k He did a little dancing here, but did finally kind of secure a takedown, although he could have shot a bit cleaner, he got his two, and some back points. But the kid was hard to stick. He kept trying to hold on to half Nelsons while standing, and it kept getting him into trouble. He got taken down and put on his back again, but did reverse for two.

Period 2 he starts on bottom. He escapes and eventually works a takedown, but the kid bellies out real good. He finishes the period with back points.

Period 3 he starts on top, breaks him down with an ankle grab, and rides to a half Nelson and gets nearfall points. He tends to ride a bit high, not getting chest to chest and getting his weight on the kids, which hurts him pinning at times. He also needs to scoop the head when he loses the half, which he does better now. He finishes this match out with a pin.

Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hQdHmyG4fk This one is against a fellow club member. He has had quite a few of them this year, at one point with 4 of them being in the same weight bracket. This kid likes to go to the head straight away, and isn't much for takedowns. Kendall took advantage, went low, and had a nice takedown. Kendall got some back points, but also called for locked hands. He was getting to where he was riding high, not behind the elbows, but we've worked on that, and hopefully got that taken care of now. Strong and smart guys can get away from that. I don't know where he got that far-side half-Nelson idea, but boy, it makes a mess of things.

Period 2, Kendall opted to start on top. The usual way to go is to start on bottom, reverse, get points, and then go, but, I don't mind at times when he opts for top position when he has a good lead and knows he can control well from the top. He did a good job of controlling, but didn't pull off any back points. This kid is tough to keep on his back, too.

Period 3, Kendall starts on top again. Kendall did get him rolled over, got some back points, but lost the half and didn't get the head scooped up. But it was a good points win.

Match 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdFfOymxRfA This was the third place match, against a tall, skinny kid we hadn't wrestled before. He got a good hold on a single leg, but the other kid secured his leg, and they kind of stalemated. Kendall was able to work to a good front position, and if he had known how to run an Iowa at that time, he had a good spot for it, but instead, he got reversed onto his back. He got back to his base, and got reversal.

Period 2, he starts on bottom. He tried a switch, but the kid went with him, but he kept working and moving, and got his reversal. He sucked the kid up tight this time, and pinned for the win, and took 3rd place!

I don't like for Kendall to lose, but there is something to be said about having to work the back side of a bracket to get 3rd place. He also gets to wrestle more matches.

For any wrestlers out there with advise, I'd love to hear it. I know he needs work on stuff, and we keep working together to improve, but I'm no wrestler, and any advise would be appreciated.

[bushido_man96]

Plainville tournament, 2/15/2014 (I think...)

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlY7OlU_xoY A rematch with the kid he lost to the previous week, who likes to headlock. He doesn't start well on the takedown, and you can see where he reaches back around to grab the leg. That's a no-no. He needs to reach inside the leg if he is going to reach, otherwise he gives up a half-Nelson to a savvy wrestler. But he fights back, reverses, and does a better job of switching sides. We made sure to practice that together. He gots called on an illegal hold again, when he switches he tends to run a half on each side, making an illegal full Nelson. When they reset, he tries to ride him from directly on top, not getting to a side, and that was a theme at this meet you will see again.

Period 2 starts with Kendall on bottom. He nails a really sweet switch (except for reaching on top instead of under the leg), and get 2 for reversal. He runs the half over, but loses it, and then ends up high trying to pin. He does a good job of switching sides when the kid is rolling, and ends up holding him for the pin. A great match, and he learned not to get tangled up in that headlock.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaMmnBgULs This match is against the kid Kendall beat by tech fall in Norton. He has vastly improved, too. This match is for 1st/2nd place. Kendall had a good sprawl, but then got into a headlock match with him (still not running the Iowa yet). Keeping hold of the head cost him, and the kid reversed. He had to fight off the half-Nelson for the rest of the period. He was in a bit of pain from that, too.

Period 2 started with Kendall choosing to go neutral. I don't recall the points here, but it was close, 2-1 or 3-1 or 0 for the other kid. More headlocking, but he made it work. I think he got 2 there, but was still down a point. He foiled a single leg, but then ended up running that standing half again, not keeping much control. When they reset, with Kendall on top, he had a cradle in his head, and wanted to run it. The problem is, its tough to run if he doesn't break them down first. We've remedied this by making sure he goes to a tight waist and ankle pick to break them down first, and riding behind the elbows so they can't post his hand and sit out.

Period 3 starts with Kendall on top, where he is usually pretty good with control. The kid ran a switch that he almost got, but Kendall stayed on the head. The kid did get one of Kendall's legs, and Kendall tried to get a leg to cradle, but couldn't with his leg trapped. Kendall just couldn't gain control to get back points, and the other kid ended up winning the match by a point, and Kendall got 2nd place.

Kendall was a real mess after this match, and trying to talk to him was a losing battle. We are working with him on trying to be a bit more graceful at losing. I did tell him I never saw someone get so upset for getting 2nd place. He didn't see the humor there.

[bushido_man96]

So after the Plainville tournament, we took a few weeks off. During that time, we practiced lots, at the gym on our own and with the club, and learned a few new things, including what they called the Iowa. Its great on a sprawl, or off a head snap. Kendall really likes it, and it has been a good technique for him, and you'll get to see it run a few times. He came back from the break kind of recharged and refreshed. I was a bit nervous about taking two weeks off prior to our local tournament, because it is one of the bigger ones in the state, with around 1300 kids coming, and typically brings in tough competition.

The next tournament we went to was our local club's tournament, the Western Kansas Classic, right here in Hays, KS, America. 3/8/2014.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-z1VL0bFIw At the beginning of this match, you get to see Kendall run the Iowa. He fights off a single leg attempt, then once he gets his leg free, he sets it in, and runs it off in a twisting motion. You can see how he gets one hand under and one hand over, then runs it with a twist. He is able to sink it in deep, and the way it runs puts his body in really good balanced position to hold for a pin. He does get the pin, in the first period. A good start, but a ways to go yet.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfJmSH6-VZ8 Its the same kid we have faced a few times already, the one from Phillipsburg that likes the headlocks. This kid is just tough. Kendall doesn't start great, letting the kid get to his back and 2 points. The kid does a really good job of controlling Kendall, too. Kendall starts to sit out, but isn't able to get free. Then, he reaches around the back (NOOOO!) while trying to switch, but it doesn't bite him too bad. He did manage to get up, and get a nice takedown (even though it had a headlock), but it went out of bounds and he didn't get points for it. He did get reversal points, though. On the reset, he almost nails a cradle, but ran out of time.

Period 2 Kendall starts on bottom. Now, I want to say this. There was a time last year when he would cringe and whine a bit when told to go on bottom. Now, he has improved enough that he knows he can get out most of the time, and get his points and reverse. This has been great improvement on his part. He ran a pretty good switch, and went fast, but didn't quite get it set, and ended up with the kid on top of him, which was bad...then the headlock takedown happened. To be honest, I don't know how Kendall didn't get pinned here, but he held his shoulders off, and fought for a loooong time, til the end of the period, to avoid the pin.

Period 3 starts from neutral position. I would guess this kid likes to start in neutral, where he can try to work a headlock, but that's just a guess. At any rate, that is what he tried to set up, but Kendall was able to turn it against him and get a takedown. Kendall got nearfall points from there, wasn't able to pin, but did win by points to move onto the final.

Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTL1dj-YfP4 This match was against a fellow club member, which was cool to see our club wrestling for 1st and 2nd in our local tourney. There were three Hays wrestlers in this bracket, too. Kendall starts with a single leg attempt that he doesn't finish, but he does get him down and gets his two points. He does do a good job of keeping him in the ring, knowing where he is at.

Period 2 starts with Kendall on top. He does a good job of breaking down, and runs a half over for a pin, taking 1st place at the home tournament! And a great showing for our club, going 1-2 in the bracket!

Next tourney up, sub-districts at Phillipsburg!

[bushido_man96]

During the week that we were waiting for sub-districts to come up, my wife and I were doing our best to figure up Kendall's won/loss record for the year. As near as we could figure, he was 20-4 going into sub-districts, which I thought he had done pretty darn well. The only tournament he had not placed at was the Salina Tournament of Champions.

So now, we head into the state run, which I am really excited about. Kendall, on the other hand, I can't tell if he has a pulse at times before a match. But, if that is a gift he has, to not get nervous, then I envy him for it. I think I get nervous enough for the both of us. My wife says I'm crazy. She might be right.

Phillipsburg North Sub-District 4, 3/15/2014

There were 4 kids in his group, so they did a round-robin format. The top 4 kids in each age/weight group qualify for Districts, so this format would basically decide the sceding for the Districts.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu_AjR0DT3A This was against a kid from Colby that we had not faced before. Kendall is on the right. He goes for a shot, but the kid gets a decent sprawl, and gets around on Kendall for 2. He had a sit-out going, but they went out of bounds and had to reset. He finished the first period only giving up the two points. He was able to stay pretty well based out, and prevent giving any back points.

Period 2 Kendall starts on bottom. He gets up and almost gets away after getting into position with a sit-out, but goes for the head and tries a takedown, but gets put down on bottom again. He didn't get out, but did prevent from getting scored on. He had a bit of an anger issue at the end of the period, his frustration showing. He was told to calm down, but he was a little upset.

Period 3, Kendall starts on top. Now, he does something a bit unorthodox. Instead of breaking the kid down from behind the elbows, he decides to swing clear out and run the Iowa. You can tell he likes the move. But the problem was that the other kid secured a leg, hurting his chance to run it over. He never did hit the Iowa, but he secured a headlock and rolled the kid over, getting 3 back points to win the match by a point, and nearly causing me a coranary in the process. I didn't think he had it, but a coach pointed out that he got what he needed.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLqRUF5DsPI This match was with a kid I had seen wrestle in Kendall's brackets before, but he hadn't wrestled him before. So, two unknowns in this tourney so far. This kid appeared quick, and had a pretty quick shot. Kendall starts on the right again. Kendall shot in quick, got to the back, and got him rolled over, even got in north/south position for a bit. This kid was squirmy, and hard to keep down, but Kendall held on for a pin.

Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV0NKcdEwKE This was the kid Kendall had wrestled several times before, who likes the headlock. Kendall stated with a quick shot and takedown, and then straight to earning back points. He ended up running an Iowa during the period, and got close to a pin, but didn't get it this period.

Period 2 Kendall starts on bottom. He tries to switch, but the kid stays with him, but he gets to his feet and gets an escape point. But, he gets caught up in the kid trying to sink a headlock. But, Kendall does something very smart, and shakes loose of the headlock, and ducks down and takes the kid down for two points. He then works for a pin from there.

So, Kendall went 3-0 at subs, and will have a number 1 scede at Districts the next week, and will wrestle the 4 scede from the south district. Sub-District champ, and onto the next step towards state. The top 4 from Districts go to state.

[bushido_man96]

District 4 Championships, 3/22/2014, Goodland, KS.

Kendall was supposed to a full 8 man bracket, but there were a few scratches, so he got a bye the first round.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acgkYVzBkP4 Against a familiar face, a kid he beat in a close match by 1 point the week before at subs. Kendall starts with an attempted takedown, but he has trouble taking this kid down. He sprawls out, and is able to secure one of Kendall's legs, which allows him to foil Kendall's takedown, and from there, he circles better, and gets around to the back for 2 points. Kendall fought to keep ahold of his leg, but just couldn't keep it secured. The other kid just gets around behind him. Period 1 ends without any more points being scored.

Period 2 starts with Kendall on top. The kids spreads his legs, and really makes it tough for Kendall to break him down. Kendall kind of stays on top behind him, instead of moving to the side, but, Kendall does get something done from there. He uses the kids position to put him into a cradle, and rolls him over. Briefly, I thought Kendall might end up pinning himself, because he rolled onto his own back, but was able to bridge it over to get the kid on his shoulders, and locked it in tight for a pin. It was the first time he set a cradle, and he had been wanting to do that for some time now.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNO_CUlnIQ Well, just watch this one. He shoots off the line like a shot from a gun, and covers to pin! I was almost sure he went before the whistle, but it looks like he didn't. If we could just get him to scoop the head a bit sooner in the process, he would probably lock his pins up faster.

With that win, Kendall qualified for the state tournament for the first time! We leave this Friday, and wrestle on Saturday and Sunday. He has a tough 16 man bracket waiting for him, with some of those kids from the Salina tournament in the bracket. Kendall was excited about qualifiying for state, and we've told him that we just want him to go out and give it his best effort out there. So long as he gives his best, we can't ask for anything more. I am convinced he is a much better wrestler now than he was at the Salina tournament. I feel confident that he will be able to go out and compete.

[sensei8]

Thanks for sharing all of the latest videos...AWESOME!! Congrats to Kendall for qualifying for State; he'll be just fine...nervous...but he'll be just fine!! Be safe on your travels, and to Kendall...I'M IN YOUR CORNER SIR!!

[Patrick]

Congrats.

Patrick

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the support, Bob and Patrick!

Here are the highlights from Kendall's Kids State Folkstyle Championships matches, 3/29 and 3/30/2014.

Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Czxr7PnO0 One of the coaches said he was really tight before this match. I think the parade of athletes that started it off really kind of overwhelmed him, with all the kids that were out on the floor, and everyone in the stands. It was a lot of people in one place, and he was looking to get off the floor and up to sit with us pretty quick. But, next year he'll know what to expect.

In this match, the other kid ties up his hands, then shoots and gets a leg. Kendall didn't get a sprawl off, and he didn't crossface or circle well enough to keep the kid to working to his back. After that, it was a matter of the other kid setting up a cradle and pinning him. He was pretty upset after the match, too, and we are trying to work with him on that matter.

So, match one down, with a loss. After a while, he cooled off and recovered, settled down. On to match two.

Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp1YVyuqo20 They tied up early, and the kid tried to take him down with a headlock, but Kendall kept a good base, and landed on top of him for some points. Kendall got high up on the kids shoulder, still trying to work the head I think, and the kid got close to rolling him over. They go out of bounds and reset, with Kendall back on top. He gets him broke down, eventually rolls him onto his back, and gets the pin, for his first state win! I was really proud of him, coming back after being so upset about the loss, and really working it hard.

I did see where had the ring been bigger, the other kid could have gotten a reversal and started to work on pinning Kendall, so that's something we need to try to address in the offseason.

He has a third match, be we have to get it uploaded, and will post it up as soon as I can.

EDIT: Ok, here we go, Kendall's third match at the state tourney:

Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=616Dww-7ET8 This kid was a bit taller than Kendall, and I'm not sure he isn't at the top of the age bracket either, but that's ok. Kendall did a pretty good job against him. And from what I was told, this kid goes to the "big" tourneys for the most part, so he's a solid wrestler. Kendall is aggressive and goes after the kid, but he isn't able to secure a leg for a takedown, and the other kid circles around to get two points. I don't recall if its in the first or the second period, but Kendall is down 0-4. He starts period two on bottom, and switches out and keeps working to get into a better position. He thought he really had the kid, but he had him out of bounds. He was upset about that, but that's ok. They got reset in neutral, and finally worked himself to a takedown. He did tie the points up, bringing it back 4-4. He starts the third period on top, and almost gets the kid broken down and tries to get to some back points, but he gets the head wrapped up, and is too high on him, and gets rolled over, and almost gets pinned. He doesn't get pinned, but ends up losing the match, 7-4 if I recall correctly.

He was very, very upset after that match, and I guess I can't blame him for that. He is very competitive, which is good and bad. After he finally got his emotions back in check, we talked about the weekend he had. I told him he did a great job, and had a great season. Another year in, he'll be stronger, he'll put things together more tightly, and he will improve. He just has to be willing to put the work in to get better, and hopefully, we will be doing that.