Culminating Blog Reflection

During my time spent with Carlo learning how to coach wrestling, I was able to adjust well because of my wrestling experience. To be a good coach you must be able to relate to the wrestlers you coach, and since I was young I was really able to help out the kids I coached. Being a teen myself like the wrestlers I had to coach, I was able to find the right kind of motivation that really inspired them to work harder. During tournaments I created fun ways to warm up before the matches started. I think that was very important because they're still kids so they need to have fun that way they're happy and enjoy the sport.

I think I gained a lot of knowledge not only about the sport but the kids coached. There was this one kid Lofi who was a 240 pounds in the beginning of the season and wanted to make it to 220 pounds. The problem with that was he would always put himself down, so everyday I would be by his side to motivate him and push him beyond his limits. Eventually he got the confidence to do it and he reached the weight 220 pounds. He thanked me because he said that I was his inspiration, which really touched me and made me feel good about myself that I had that kind of affect on him. I think my mind was really opened by Carlo because of his huge arsenal of moves that he had at his disposal. When I practiced with him I was able to learn some of those moves, which broadened my intellect as far as wrestling skills go. That really helped because I was able to teach the things I learned from Carlo to the wrestlers that I coached. 

I think the biggest challenge I had was dealing with my wrestlers losing a match. It wasn't so much as me being mad that they lost, but the way they handled the loss themselves. I wasn't sure how to deal with it so I had asked Carlo for advice on how he dealt with losses. He said that I have to make sure to tell them what they did wrong and make sure the loss wouldn't affect their next match. I overcame this when Luke a freshman had lost a match that he could have won. I told him the mistakes he had made in the match and that it's in the past now so he shouldn't dwell on it, but move on from it. Two weeks later he faced the same kid and beat him. That really built my confidence as a coach and made me way better from when I first started. 

CCS

On Friday and Saturday I went to the CCS wrestling tournament to participate and help coach my teammates alongside my mentor Carlo. I think that it was a fun and interesting experience just being a part of it. We had five wrestlers at the tournament including myself. Although not everyone won matches being able to coach them was a good feeling. They all worked hard and I'm pretty proud of them. Carlo taught me a lot this weekend like even if you lose, you can't dwell on it just keep moving forward. I think that was a good coaching tip that I picked up that I think is very inspirational. I ended up taking 5th place in the tournament which is pretty good, so I think I learned a lot from coach Carlo now that the season is over. 

Time logged for this session: 24 hours

Total time logged: 38 hours

Second post

On Saturday I helped coach alongside with my mentor/coach and wrestled at the PAL league tournament. It was pretty fun coaching my own teammates. I coached 2 matches that won and 2 that ended in losses but the experience was great. I then wrestled myself with my mentor Carlo as my coach and ended up taking 1st place which was a great feeling. This week I'll be meeting up with my mentor at El Camino High where CCS practice will be held. 

Time logged for this session: 12 hours

Total time logged: 14 hours

First Post

Today I met with my mentor Carlo at wrestling practice. The first thing I did was a warmup mile, then stretched out in the mat room. Afterwards we started to do wrestling drills and conditioning for 2 hours. The drills we worked on were takedowns and snap downs. It was very exhausting but I got through it. After that we started to work on pins such as arm bars and half nelsons. It was a very intense practice. The next time I see my mentor will be tomorrow at the South City vs Elco dual meet. I'm going to help coach the J.V. wrestlers and than I myself will wrestle. I'm a little nervous but I think I got this. 

Time logged for this session: 2 hrs 

Total time logged: 2 hrs

My career

The first career I want to do for my senior capstone project is a policeman. The second career is a fireman. My third career is joining the military. The major I would like to do is criminal law. My second choice be fire science. My last choice would be to do Army ROTC for officer training.