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.
