Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion Kids Folkstyle The First Time - Top Ten

As Garrett gets ready to start his freshman campaign, I couldn't help but think of his last nine years in Kids' Federation. On a drive to Kansas City a couple of days ago, I thought of:

1) The first time he wrestled a Novice tournament in Bonner Springs at age 6, he didn't want to go out on the mat his first match. He ends up going 3-0 and looked like a confident wrestler in his match in the finals.

2) The first time he wrestled an open tournament (age 8) at the Little Apple Classic, he went two and out. The thing that I remember most was staying at the Holidome after the tournament. Garrett takes in a gulp of water in the Hot Tub and throws up in it, closing it down for a couple of hours.

3) The first time he won an open match, one week later in Maize. The match before, he took a beating from Cody Calhoon 0-15.

4) The first time he wrestled at Subs the same year, he goes 3-2 and finishes as the alternate in 5th place. Along the way though, he wrestled his second match against Bryce Shoemaker. Down 0-4 after two periods, he gets pinned in the third to the eventual U8 58 pound State Champion that year. Those first two periods were the roughest two periods I saw him wrestle up to that point (mat burns to both cheeks, bloody lip, bloody nose). He wrestled Shoemaker a half dozen times after that, and Bryce dominated him every time, but he was a gentleman in doing so.

5) The first time Garrett qualified for Districts by finishing 4th at Subs, he gets stuck in the double chicken wing his second match by Jared Fiscus. Paden Lay put a beat down on him in the 3rd/4th place match. The four representatives to State in D1 that year: Cullen Hood, Bryce Shoemaker, Paden Lay and Jared Fiscus.

6) The first time he had a significant injury was after wrestling at the Effingham tournament a year later. He finished second to Shoemaker and we didn't know until the next day that he was hurt. A shoulder injury put him on the shelf for three weeks.

7) The first time he qualified for State at the age of 11, he started the season 0-11 in his first four tournaments. Wrestling U12 72 and weighing around 69.5 the entire season, he dropped to 68 for Subs. The notable thing about that State qualifying run: because of his record, he was seated 5th at Subs (out of 5) and finished 3rd at both Subs and Districts. Along the way, he took a beating from Cullen Hood, knocked off the #1 seed from D1 North Cameron Christian and beat Justus Seaton for the 3rd/4th place match at Districts by one after getting stuck by him the first match that same day.

8) The first time Garrett won a match at State was that same year. He had accomplished something his dad never did, winning a match at State. His second match of the tournament was against a solid wrestler by the name of Javier Vieyra, a match that he was down 0-5 after two periods before getting pinned in the 3rd. The funny memory about that season, I was on a phone interview with a reporter for the local paper about Garrett's unlikely run to State while my wife Debbie was in labor with our third son.

9) The first time he placed in a State tournament was last year at the Kansas Middle School Nationals State Tournament. He had an incredible run going 4-2 in a full 16 man bracket to finish 5th. Most notable were a 2-0 win against Lucas Lovvorn and a 5-0 win against Clint Rogers for 5th/6th after losing to him 0-2 in the second match of the tournament.

10) The first time he wrestled in an AAU tournament was also last year. After getting invited to represent Team Kansas at the Middle School Nationals in Indianola Iowa, Garrett had another incredible run. He wrestled kids from Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, North Carolina and Indiana finishing with a 7-1 record and a gold medal (5-0 in the alternate division, 2-1 filling in on the fourth team for Kansas).

Well, these were the thoughts on my drive to Kansas City a couple of days back. It has been a lot of fun and I hope that this year will bring many more great memories. I would like to hear about your wrestler's first time events. Share your memories with the forum, because before too long, they will just be your memories.

How do Dad's remember all of that stuff?

My memory of the Girard family is your blessed wife who traveled from Lawrence to Overland Park at least twice a week while you were overseas to get Garrett to practice. One night in particular it was snowing but it didn't matter. What a great example of being a Mom and putting your kids first!

Oh...and also the scouting you did online during your downtime overseas...look forward to 4 years in the high school ranks!

Sharon,

We gave Garrett options before I left, and he said he only wanted to wrestle for STA that year. I knew it would be a difficult task for Debbie to run him over to Overland Park. And you are right, she went above and beyond in many ways while I was overseas. As far as Dad's remembering that stuff, one of the few things that I am able to retain are the memories of wrestling. Garrett and Luke wrestled for the first and only time in a tournament that year. From my memory, Luke pinned him in the 2nd period. I have a feeling that they will meet again, possibly this year. Tell Luke I said hello. He is the most naturally gifted wrestler that I have ever had the honor to coach.

Ok Lee I'll give you one:

On my boys first novice Tourney at Bonnor Springs, we arrived late and met our coach at the door who said the boy was up in about 2 minutes. As we walked up to the main doors of the gym, my boy, who was 7 yrs old at the time, yeard the roar of kids and parents yelling from inside. Looking freaked out and scared he stopped short, with my arm on his back, and said matter of factually, "Dad. You know what. I was thinking maybe wrestlings not for me. I think I'll do something else." I hesitated for a quick second looking at him, but remembering as an old Paratrooper seeing guys stop in the door, I said, "We came this far son. Go" and pushed him through the door! A few minutes later he won a close OT match and jumped in my arms in happiness. Dennis Shoemaker, Bryce's dad, came up and told me he"d see me at the next tourney since it looked liked we were hooked. I always wonder how life would be a lot different if we would have turned around!