Therin Wrestling

Therin wrestled in Holmen today and took 2nd. He is 10-4 for the season so far. I am feeling like we have a teenager already. He complains about having to wrestle so early and I swear it takes him a match to wake up and get with it. Maybe we have produced another night owl. I told him I feel the same way about running but there aren't a lot of races that start at night either. Becky has some good pictures from the La Crosse tournament on her flickr page and on her blog http://www.rechlife.com/.

Wrestling wrap up

Well, we finished the 2010-11 season on Saturday at a meet in Caledonia, MN. Practice has been over for two weeks but Therin was in fine form, crushing his competition (and they were very good wrestlers). Travis and I were a little shell shocked. Travis had taught Therin the 3/4 Nelson and Therin tried it in two of his matches but didn't have it quite tight enough. He finished the day in 1st with 2 pins and a win by a tech fall (16-0). It was impressive, a great way to end the season.



The tallest trophy yet. Grandma asked if we were going to need to build a shelf for Therin's trophies, at this rate, maybe a room!



Therin and his biggest fan. Kya is so supportive and proud of her brother. She enjoys going to his wrestling meets and never complains about the hours we spend at these tournaments. We all feel lucky she has such a great attitude about it!



After we got home, there was a package from the Cornell Coach, Mike Duroe, in the mailbox. I was so impressed and appreciative that he sent Therin the hat he promised and a note. It really makes an impression and motivates these little guys. I am excited to say the 2012 DIII Championships will be in La Crosse again next year; so, I'm hoping they put the clinic on again. We sent Coach Duroe a thank you note.



Therin finished the season 12-3 with 4 or 5 pins but as always we are most impressed with his hard working and humble attitude. Keep it up Bud!

2011 NCAA DIII Championships Youth Wrestling Clinic

I was very disappointed in the pictures I took. In every group picture I got, Therin was blocked by someone moving at exactly the right time....

Exhibit A: Someone's headgear up in Therin's face.


Coach Mike Duroe from Cornell with the kids.

Exhibit B: Therin behind UWL Coach Dave Malecek's leg.



Exhibit C: Didn't have a chance.





I was so excited to take advantage of the opportunity to do this clinic with top coaches from around the nation. Coach Mike Duroe of Cornell College took down Therin's address to send him a hat for guessing the correct number of national championships his team had won. I read in the newspaper that the DIII National Championships will be in La Crosse again next year; so hopefully, we'll have the opportunity to do it again and maybe study for any trivia questions! =)

Champ

Therin competed in a wrestling tournament in Tomah on Sunday. His first match was against a kid from Tomah who he lost to last weekend. Therin was a little nervous to wrestle him again but beat him by several points. He won his other two matches. I was even more nervous than usual because this was the first meet Travis was not at to coach Therin. I warmed up with Therin (which I had never done) and was amazed by the kid's power being only half my size. Sorry, there aren't more pictures but I had to record the matches for Dad and since I've had so much trouble loading a 30 second video, there's no way I'm trying one that's 5 minutes! Next weekend we head to Wausau and will wrestle at the Warrior Invitational.

Behind

Well, I am finally getting back to the blog this week. We have quite a few things to post about: a live video of Therin playing a song on his viola, Valentine's preparations and crafts, Wednesday afternoon skates, etc. Today, we went to Therin's first wrestling meet this season in Westby. All of Therin's matches were against tough opponents and the matches came down to the wire. He walked away with 3rd place and we were proud.




I am still battling my cold. We are dog sitting, Max, for the weekend. Tomorrow we are excited to watch the Packers in the NFC championships! Go Pack!

Check out this blog to see pictures from our visit to the McHenry's in the Cities January 8-9th. http://mcblogsblog.blogspot.com/

Cashton Wrestling Tournament

I think Travis and I were more proud of Therin's 2nd place finish today then we were of his 1st two weeks ago. We certainly saw a number of displays of very unsportsmanlike conduct from some of the other young wrestlers. Therin got two pins today and lost in a close match. When he leaves the mat, he leaves the victory or defeat on the mat-no tears, no gloating, just a lot of heart and determination and that's the way we like it. Good job Bud!

Therin's first wrestling tournament

This picture is to give you an idea of how well attended these wrestling tournaments are.


Therin trying to get his first pin in his first match in less than a minute.


This was Therin's second match. The kid from De Soto was very good and very technical but Therin was determined and just kept taking him down (scoring 2 points); the De Soto kid would escape (1 point) and Therin would take him down again and again. The matches were 3-1 minute periods and Therin was very tired at the end but victorious!


His last match and 2nd pin of the day.




After Therin was so successful, we joked that part of our strategy was looking very unsuspecting. All these little kids had wrestling shoes and a lot of them head gears (which we'll get Therin next year) but Therin looked like such a farmer-t-shirt under his singlet, colored socks, street shoes and no headgear. We were very proud. Now Travis is pumped to take Therin to another meet in Cashton or Caledonia the 20th of March.

Wrestling 101

Oh yes, this would be our basement and yes, we now have a wrestling mat in our basement. I'm sure there are some purchases I've made that Travis feels the same about but I'm not going to elaborate on how that is exactly. =)

Practicing their wrestling stance

Travis is quite determined to turn Therin into a wrestler. He has begun teaching him a few basic things. Unfortunately, I think Kya enjoys it more and last night asked to practice with her daddy. Travis yells, "Hit it!" and the kids drop to the floor on their bellies and try to get back up as fast as possible. It's quite entertaining.