Jonah's Week 14

Monday, February 2, 2015

I wrote the boys this week and told them about their younger brother Alec and his experiences on the wrestling team. All of the boys have wrestled and they have all cried over a loss here and there. Sometimes, I think that the crying is not such a bad thing because it means they are emotionally invested in what they are doing. They REALLY want to win for themselves and their teammates. BUT I wish that they wouldn't cry in front of their opponents! So after a rough match with Alec, he shed a few tears over the loss and I talked to him about taking the opportunity to learn as much as he can from every loss and win. And that loss is something that will happen his whole life so it's something that he has to learn to come to terms with.  The following is Jonah's advice to his younger brother on how to deal with losses on the mat...

Hey tell Alec to get over himself because there will always be somebody better than him, that's why we work out our hardest everyday so that we will be able to be better than we were the day before! Nobody wins every match and the earlier he accepts that he won't always be the best, the better! One of the reasons I worked out so hard everyday is because I knew that if I didn't then somebody would be better than me and I wouldn't be able to beat them. He can't let the team down on the day of competition. You let the team down everyday if you're not working out your very hardest. The result of everyday workouts is the performance you put out on competition days. If he was truly working out his hardest and still didn't win then it just means he needs to work out harder the next week! He didn't let anybody down unless he wasn't truly working out to the best of his ability. Tell him to keep his head up and leave everything on the mat!

So, after Jonah wrote, I waited and waited for him to send another letter about his week, but I think he forgot after he wrote this to Alec. As a mom, I have to say that wrestling has been  the best investment for my boys! This sport teaches them so much about life, endurance, hard work, dedication and commitment. I am so grateful for the teammates and coaches that have helped to shape them into the men they are today!Can't wait to see what he has to say on Monday!