A pep talk has a particular place and time. It’s not normal conversation, it’s communication on steroids. Listening to a pep talk gives two distinct reactions: Get hyped up, or tune out. A third response is understanding what all the noise is about. This is the one that takes special experiences. Like what, you ask?
ROBIN RICHARDS TO THE RESCUE
July 19, 2020 by
Robin Richards top row center. Image via teamusa.org I grew up in a small Oregon town that had one big team, the wrestling team. And I wasn’t a wrestler, not yet. Instead, I played ball, the usual ball. And not very well, which made me question if I’d ever be more than washed up at […]
WRESTLING WITH THE DEVIL, A SUN DEVIL, AND WINNING
January 19, 2020 by
Great wrestling stories are journeys, internally and externally. From The Odyssey, to Tom Sawyer, to Saving Private Ryan, a journey works to transport readers into the lives and times of those written about. Tonya Russo Hamilton joins the ranks of those who capture time and place and deliver a story flowing with streams of emotion.
HOW YOGA SLOWS TIME
January 25, 2019 by
What’s the first question? Does yoga really slow time down? Let me start with a strong ‘Hell yeah yoga slows the clock.’ But really? Does it slow time down? Imagine yourself in a strange situation, one with a calming reputation, and to no one’s surprise all you feel is stress trying to fit […]
WRESTLING WITH CANCER via Coping With Cancer Magazine
May 31, 2018 by
(The following is the text from Wrestling With Cancer. The article appears below.) Cancer and the sport of wrestling have at least one thing in common: there are situations you get in that you can’t easily get out of. At least wrestling has a final whistle to end the match. Cancer […]
DONALD TRUMP, JUST ANOTHER SMALL TOWN BOY?
April 11, 2018 by
By paying attention and listening harder, I’ve learned what it means when men are who they say they are, and when they aren’t. All gets strained through a small town filter of right and wrong, good and bad, the perceived values of small town life where everything happens on the front yard. […]
AUTHORITARIAN PARENT? WHAT OTHER KIND IS THERE
April 4, 2018 by
A scene from the movie Vision Quest shows Louden Swain’s buddy Kuch at home with his dad. Instead of a bonding moment of shared struggle, the dad slaps Kuch around, telling him he’ll never be nothing. Nothing. Wrestling might make him feel like a big shot, but he’ll still be nothing. […]
HOW HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING PAYS THE BILLS
July 6, 2017 by
No matter how you see the video of President Trump fighting a CNN bobble head, it’s not high school wrestling. It’s not Olympic wrestling. Is it yard wrestling? Not even. Instead it’s a demonstration of what happens when a man finds himself in a situation and wishes he’d been on a high school wrestling team. […]
EVERY SCRUB ATHLETE HAS THIS STORY
March 10, 2017 by
If you’ve got one, then you’re a scrub athlete. And that’s not a bad thing. Talking to college stars and professional athletes, one thing stands out: They’ve played a lot of games. Far too many for one moment to stand above the rest. Ask if they remember one game, one opponent, that […]
OREGON COACH RON FINLEY
July 6, 2016 by
Youth passes with the people important in our youth: Oregon Coach Ron Finley. How does anyone leave a small town? Some never do, and the towns are all better for it. Oregon Coach Ron Finley left Newberg on a wrestling mat and he never got off. The sports world is better for him. For some […]
