Resiliency (Original)

“Wrestle!” The announcer yelled.

A chill went down my spine when he said that. I sat on the bleachers cheering on the

CHHS wrestling team as they contended with one of our rival schools. Nostalgia swept over me

and it reminded me of when I wrestled for Copper Hills High School. Some of the team I

recognized, without a doubt, from the year before when I wrestled my sophomore year. Others,

were new to the program and just beginning to experience what life in wrestling was like.

Memories immediately began to flood in. I was reminded of all the experiences I had during my

short time on the wrestling team and I can still remember why I joined.

“You need to be involved in something.” My mom always said.

“High school is one of the most important times in your life and you’re gonna want to

have memories and experiences to look back on, especially when you get to be my age,” my

mom continued to say.

There was so much for me to get involved in during my sophomore year, and I felt so

much pressure. It got to the point where I just stopped caring if I got involved altogether and I

told myself that I would focus on my grades and nothing else. My mom, however, kept persisting

along with a few of my friends who were already enrolled in wrestling. I finally gave in and

decided to give wrestling a shot. It was December, nearing the halfway point in the season. One

day after one of the practices, I stopped by the wrestling room to see if I could talk with one of

the coaches about joining.

“Hey! What can I do for ya?” Coach Palmer asked.

 “Hi! I was just wondering if there was any room on the team for me to join.” I said

nervously.

“Well, it is pretty late into the season. Most of the boys here have already gone through

conditioning and competed in a few dual meets. You would be pretty behind,” he said, “but if

you’re willing to put in the work, we’d be more than happy to have you.”

“That would be great!” I responded.

“I’m Coach Palmer by the way!”

“I’m Malik, nice to meet you!”

From that moment on, Coach Palmer would be the one to train me and teach me all the

essential skills I needed to be successful in the wrestling program. I had two weeks to get into

shape for the first tournament that I would wrestle in.

My first tournament was on January 12, 2019. It was called the “Best Of The West”

tournament, kind of an intimidating title for a tournament, also considering that this would be my

first time ever actually wrestling in a match. I was very anxious. My team and I eventually got to

the tournament where we would weigh in, receive our bout numbers, and wait for our matches to

begin. I remember sitting on the bleachers with my head down, going through every possible

outcome of the coming match. My right leg was bouncing like crazy and I could hear my heart

beating through my ears. The time eventually came for me to report to the wrestling mat.

I arrived to the mat and that is where I saw my competition. A seasoned wrestler from a

private school in southern Utah. He was a little shorter than I was, but he looked very good at his

craft. He was very muscular, had spiked red hair, and had a sort of brute fierceness in his eyes.
The referee gave us each a colored ankle strap for score keeping. We lined up on the mat and got

into our neutral positions, shook hands, and then referee shouted, “Wrestle!”

Time seemed to slow down and I looked around me and saw my fellow wrestlers,

watching in anticipation to see how the greenie would do in his first match. Fear came over me

and it felt almost paralyzing. I knew I couldn’t match his strength so I relied on my amateur

technique to try and challenge him, but to no avail. He put me on my back with his arm in

between my shoulders and the mat. I knew that with his arm there, I still had a chance as one’s

shoulders must touch the mat for the ref to call a pin. Just then, the referee called the match and

said that I had been pinned by him.

I was frustrated and so was my coach as we both knew that the ref called an unjust pin. I

was discouraged, frustrated, and exhausted. I didn’t show it, however, because I did not want to

let Coach Palmer down. I went over to the bleachers and sat down. Reflecting on my decisions to

join the team and beating myself up for my bad performance, I felt ready to quit. Then,

something within me just clicked, like a light bulb turned on inside of me. It was in this moment

that I would learn a life lesson that I will hold dear until the end of my days. I learned how to get

back up. I learned resiliency, how to lose, and how to make a comeback. Because of this, I would

go on to win my second match and actually contend with a fairly skilled wrestler in my third

match. As I look back on this tournament and my experiences with wrestling as a whole, I am

filled with inspiration and nostalgia. Even though I do not wrestle anymore, I will still cherish

the memories and the lessons that I learned for the rest of my life. As I watch my fellow

classmates wrestle in dual meets and tournaments, I am reminded of the lessons that I learned on
the day of my first match. Lessons that I would, and continue to, apply in virtually every aspect

of my life from that day on.

Resiliency (Revised)

“Wrestle!” The announcer yelled.

A chill went down my spine when he said that. I sat on the bleachers cheering on the

Copper Hills High School wrestling team as they contended with one of our rival schools.

Nostalgia swept over me and I was reminded of when I wrestled for CHHS. Some of the team I

recognized, without a doubt, from when I wrestled during my sophomore year. Others were new

to the program and just beginning to experience what life in wrestling was like. Memories of the

5 a.m. runs, strict meal plans, daily practices, and weekly tournaments began to flood in. I was

reminded of all the experiences I had during my short time on the wrestling team and I can still

remember why I joined.

“You need to be involved in something.” My mom always said.

“High school is one of the most important times in your life and you’re gonna want to

have memories and experiences to look back on, especially when you get to be my age,” my

mom continued to say.

There was so much for me to get involved in during my sophomore year, and I felt so

much pressure. Eventually, I decided that I would just focus on my grades and nothing else. My

mom, however, persisted along with a few of my friends who were enrolled in the wrestling

program. I finally gave in and decided to give wrestling a shot. It was December, nearing the
halfway point in the season. One day after one of the practices, I stopped by the wrestling room

to see if I could talk with one of the coaches about joining.

“Hey! What can I do for you?” Coach Palmer asked.

“Hi! I was just wondering if there was any room on the team for me to join.” I said

nervously.

“Well, it is pretty late into the season. Most of the boys here have already gone through

conditioning and competed in a few dual meets. You would be pretty behind,” he said, “but if

you’re willing to put in the work, we’d be more than happy to have you.”

“That would be great!” I responded.

“I’m Coach Palmer.”

“I’m Malik, nice to meet you.”

From that moment on, Coach Palmer would be the one to train me in the fundamentals of

wrestling. I had two weeks to learn the basics and get conditioned for the first tournament I

would compete in. These two weeks were very uncomfortable and they pushed me far outside of

my comfort zone. In order to cut down to the weight class I would wrestle in, or “make weight”

as we called it, I would have to completely change the way I ate and exercised. Perhaps the most

vivid memory I have of these two weeks is all the running and sweating. I would wake up at 5

a.m. almost every day and go on runs around my neighborhood. It was wintertime as well so

running in multiple coats and pairs of sweats, in the dark, was the norm. Looking back, I didn’t

realize just how much this simple aspect of training would teach me and how it would change

my life. After all of this conditioning and training, both during practice and at home, the time

finally came for me to display what I had learned

 My first tournament was on January 12, 2018. It was called the “Best Of The West”

tournament. The title intimidated me a bit on top of the fact that this would be my first time ever

actually wrestling in a match. I was very anxious. My team and I eventually got to the

tournament where we would weigh in, receive our bout numbers, and wait for our matches to

begin. I remember sitting on the bleachers with my head down, going through every possible

outcome of the coming match. My right leg was bouncing like crazy and I could hear my heart

beating through my ears. The time eventually came for me to report to the wrestling mat.

I arrived to the mat and that is where I saw my competition. A seasoned wrestler from a

private school in southern Utah. He was a little shorter than I was, but he looked very good at his

craft. He was very muscular, had spiked red hair, and had a sort of brute fierceness in his eyes.

The referee gave us each a colored ankle strap for score keeping. We lined up on the mat and got

into our neutral positions, shook hands, and then referee shouted, “Wrestle!”

Time seemed to slow down and I looked around me and saw my fellow wrestlers,

watching in anticipation to see how the greenie would do in his first match. Fear came over me

and it felt almost paralyzing. I knew I couldn’t match his strength so I relied on my amateur

technique to try and challenge him, but to no avail. He put me on my back with his arm in

between my shoulders and the mat. I knew that with his arm there, I still had a chance as one’s

shoulders must touch the mat for the ref to call a pin. Just then, the referee called the match and

declared that I had been pinned.

I was frustrated and so was my coach as we both knew that the ref called an unjust pin. I

was discouraged, frustrated, and exhausted. I didn’t show it, however, because I did not want to

let Coach Palmer down. I threw my hoodie back on, went over to the bleachers, and sat down.
Reflecting on my decisions to join the team and beating myself up for my bad performance, I felt

ready to quit. I still had two matches left, so I decided that I would wrestle these and then be

done. Still feeling discouraged and unmotivated, I walked over to the mat where I would wrestle

my second match. At this point, my opponent had already defeated me because of how let down

I was. I sat on the bleachers next to the mat with my head down, waiting for them to call my

name. Just then, Coach Palmer came and sat down next to me.

“You see that kid over there?” He asked me as he pointed to my next opponent.

“Yes.” I replied.

“I have no doubt in my mind that you can beat him.” He said.

I looked at him in confusion.

“Did you not see my last match? I got destroyed.” I said frustratingly.

Coach Palmer then went on to teach me one of the most valuable lessons I have ever been

taught. These were not his exact words, but what I learned from him was that the past is in the

past. What happened cannot be undone, but what we learn from those experiences is what’s

gonna make all the difference in the long run. Sometimes things happen that are not within our

control, but it’s how you respond to these things that builds character. He told me to remember

what he had taught me, focus on doing my best, and have fun.

Now, more energetic than ever, I stood up ready to face my opponent. I was determined

to make Coach Palmer proud. My name was called, and it was time for me to wrestle my second

match. After about two rounds, I was able to overpower my opponent and put him to his back. I

put him in a half nelson, rolled him over, and applied as much pressure as possible to make both

his shoulders touch the mat. With my face close to the mat, I looked up a bit and I could see the
referee waiting for signs of a pin. I then used all the strength I had left to pin him and as I did, I

looked back up at the referee and he slapped the mat. I had won.

Exhausted, I got up and looked over at my Coach who was standing, clapping, and

cheering. I had done it. I shook my opponent’s hand and the referee raised my hand to show I

had won the match. This match alone may have not been the most significant in the tournament

overall, but it definitely was significant for myself. I walked back over to my Coach as he gave

me a hug saying,

“I told you you could do it!”

My third and final match was against a very experienced wrestler from Juan Diego. He

was much taller, stronger, and more muscular than I was. However, despite all this I lasted the

entire match without getting pinned. I lost by a mere 3 points. This was the end of the

tournament. The ride back home that night allowed me to reflect on the tournament and all that I

had learned. Sadly, I got really sick after this tournament so not only was it the first, it was also

my last. I was out for the rest of the season, and that marked the end of my wrestling career.

Now, here I was almost a year later. I was now involved in the Business and Marketing

program whilst juggling multiple college classes. This took up the majority of my time but I still

found time to go and watch a few of the dual meets and cheer on my friends. I missed wrestling

and I missed being with the team. Some of my closest friends that I have now were boys that I

wrestled with. Even though I was no longer in wrestling, the lessons I learned were still apart of

me. I’ve applied these lessons in so many aspects of my life and I continue to do so now. Many

of the lessons I learned have laid the foundation for much of my success since then. I went on to

compete nationally in DECA, passed all my college classes, and embraced an even more
ambitious workload during my senior year. Resiliency is the primary lesson that I learned. The

ability to get back up after a defeat or discouraging experience is a trait that I have constantly

been striving to improve. This experience as a whole has helped me to develop this trait and it

will continue to grow through my experiences to come.