Cutter....again

Here I go again, another blog about Cutter. He wrestled again yesterday. I am amazed at this little kid. He has a drive within him that is passionate, honest, and deep. This tournament... he made it to the championship bout. He had victory by pin fall his first two matches. I have to keep reminding myself he has only wrestled for 5 weeks and is 6 years old. The young boy he faced in the finals is the same boy that pinned Cutter in his first tournament in Lubbock. This kid has pinned everyone he has wrestled so far this year. Amazing is right. I was under the impression when we started this stuff that rookie meant a year or less in experience. That is not exactly accurate. It has more to do with their age. I still do not completely understand it all, how it works, but that is the way it is. Over the last 3 weeks of wrestling we have figured out that this kid has wrestled the 'tot' division for at least one season already, maybe 2. Explains why he is so good. Cutter was really getting nervous about his match. The winner got a trophy, which meant everything to Cutter at that moment in time. The match finally began and Cutter wrestled his heart out. He was almost pinned in the second round. The reason I mention it is because of the way he fought off being pinned. My son is apparently freakishly strong. I have watched other kids get in the same position and not work their way out of it. I certainly have not seen anyone do it to the boy he is wrestling. Somehow, from his back, Cutter was able to keep his shoulder from touching the mat and actually pushed the kid up enough to turn to his stomach. This move he did literally took him 15 seconds to pull off. That is a long time with someone squeezing your neck and laying on you. It was so impressive that all the people around me all were talking about it. His coach completely turned around in his chair and looked at me with a look of utter amazement. Unfortunately, Cutter ended up losing the match....on points. Cutter is the first kid this season who did not get pinned by this boy. And Cutter is also the only kid to go into the 3rd round with this boy. As a matter of fact, Cut is the only kid to go to a 3rd round period with this boy, and he has done it twice.
Cutter did a good job, but was very upset. He just couldn't help but cry. He wanted that trophy so bad. It was at that moment in his life the single biggest disappointment he has ever had. Emily and Wendy were at a basketball scrimmage and were driving across town as fast as they could to see him wrestle and got there right as Cutter and I sit down in the bleachers. As soon as Cutter saw his momma and sister he really lost it. It took him 15 minutes to calm down. He kept saying, "I really wanted that trophy." It was tough being a dad and seeing him so disappointed. I had to finally get in his face and tell him to get over it because he had one more match. Apparently, when you finish second, and you haven't wrestled the kid who got third, there is what is called a challenge match. We were packed up, jackets on, standing in line to get his medal and Coach John came up and told us we weren't done. This next kid is one of the boys who beat Cutter last week. Come to find out this is this boys third season to wrestle tots. Cutter got beat again. He finished 3rd place. Thankfully, Cutter was able to keep his emotions in check this time.
Once we got in the truck to leave, Cutter was still ticked off he did not win the trophy. I just told him to work harder and he will win one soon. Cutter has had 12 matches so far in his career. He is 6-6 and 2. All six wins are by pin fall. He has only been pinned 1 time. He has made two kids cry.
He has his eye on the prize. He will work hard in practice over the next few weeks until we wrestle in a tournament again. I am so proud of him for wanting to continue and work hard. Last night we were watching the video of his matches and I was showing him how to try to avoid being taken down and how to escape better. He wanted to practice those moves right then. So we did. He is determined.
I just thought, what if we all had his determination for whatever it is we do? A lot of great things would get done. I have known many people over my life who aren't willing to take a chance. Who aren't willing to fight back. So many people see failure as a final nail in the coffin. Failure is simply another stepping stone to success in my opinion. You can't have success without failure. There are many great things my dad and mom instilled in me growing up. One of those things was never giving up. Looks like Cutter is learning the same thing, or at least I hope he is.
Cutter may only be 6 years old, but he is paving his way through life learning lessons that will form him into the man he will finally become. These stepping stones he will face in his young life are going to happen. God will be there to guide him through them. I will help him avoid the avoidable, and manage the unavoidable. Losing a wrestling match is so not a big deal, but the path to finally winning a trophy?.....That is huge!!