A few things came to my mind when I was reading these comments on this subject.
First, this will be the first year my son has wrestled at the Salina Tournament of Champions. Although he has been a pretty good wrestler over the years, we have always wrestled somewhere closer to home (and somewhere I felt he could compete without taking a pounding). Don't get me wrong, he has wrestled numerous matches against kids who have won State multiple times and he has never backed down from the competition.
Second, I also think that it is great to see who is going to be wrestling at an upcoming tournament ahead of time. At this point, we rarely do anything extra as far as drilling harder on certain moves to try to beat or counter an opponent. We do talk about who will be there and how good they are. I think it helps him be better prepared mentally for the challenges he faces that weekend.
Third, I love watching tapes of my son's matches and analyzing the stuffing out of them. Whereas I could watch (and analyze) these tapes for hours, I am lucky to get him to watch them one time before he is ready to move on to something that peaks his interest a little more.
All of this being said, we look forward to making our first appearance in Salina. I am sure that it will be an excellent experience for both of us.
