Life is about choices. Some parents will choose their kids over themselves, some will not. Some kids will choose basketball. Some will choose band. Today there are more choices than ever before! Some kids choose to be mediocre and a few choose to excel. It is no different than life. Some adults choose college some choose a job. But it is a choice. There are scholarships, grants, loans, part time jobs, etc. There are millions of untapped dollars. If you choose college whether it is at Baker, Ft. Hays, Johnson County, or KU you can find a way. The downside to every choice is that there is a sacrifice. Those who choose college athletics will have to work harder than those who do not just like those who do not. The sacrifices may seem unfair or even enormous but in my opinion the American Dream is still alive and well.
As far as elitist are concerned. I do not consider our family as such. The most money my father ever made in one year was $15,000! I paid my own way through Ft. Hays and I have worked my tail off since graduating. I choose to spend my money on wrestling with my boys. I don't spend it on alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, drugs, or other vices. We sacrifice vacation time to go to wrestling events and I always try to share these experiences with as many other wrestlers as possible. I lost count of the number of 15 passenger vans we have rented, the number of hotel rooms we have crammed five boys into, and the number of matches I have watched over these past eleven years. If you want something bad enough you just figure out a way to make it happen!
