“The person who loves walking will walk further than the person who loves the destination.” A person who loves the journey to success will achieve more than the person who stops once they reach their goals. As the winter sports season creeps its way closer, I have started to think more about my goals in wrestling. After an unsuccessful season last year, I have dedicated significant effort these last few months to ensure I am ready for this season. 

In March, I want to be able to look back and be proud of the work I put in, and the goals I accomplished. Othello’s lack of communication with his friends and family leads to Iago’s influences rooting itself deep in his mind. Without guidance from his close ones, he was turned against them and committed acts of violence towards them. Communication with my coaches and family is something I will focus on to fuel my success. Telling my coaches what aspect of wrestling I want to focus on will allow me to train to the best of my ability. Train smarter, not harder.

When I wrestled in my first tournament back in December of 2022, I was like a deer in the headlights. The idea of arriving early at another high school to wrestle against strangers was nerve-racking. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable is key to adapting to new situations. Just as Ahmaud Arbery faced racial discrimination from others in a prejudiced community, toning my anxiety down was only possible by making the competition a big part of my life. After a few weeks of competing every weekend, I was more comfortable with it. I became familiar with the process and was no longer scared to wrestle at tournaments. 

At many of these tournaments, I noticed how apparent the Dunning Krueger Effect was. In my opinion, there is no other sport where people know less and think they know more, than in the sport of wrestling. 

Often times at tournaments I hear parents trying to coach their kids and they will be yelling the most unhelpful, advice. Sometimes the advice is almost condescending. For example, when a wrestler is stuck underneath another and they cannot escape, I hear parents yell, “Just stand up!”. I find this funny because if this so-called “advice” was truly helpful, then wrestlers would be doing it. Now this ignorance is not because parents are stupid, but it is because many parents have not wrestled before. 

People who have never wrestled before aren’t even aware that they overestimate their or their wrestler’s capabilities in a match. These “unknown unknowns” in wrestling are caused by a lack of experience in the sport. People who have never wrestled before have never felt how hard it is to wrestle someone else for an entire six minutes.