We are Knight's Wrestling

I noticed that my last blog update was on November 9. Not that I have a huge cadre of followers, but I want to keep updating my blog so that people check every once and a while. But I do not want to blog so much that it bores people. It's quite a delicate balancing act that I have been neglecting recently.

Why?
I attribute it to the "Hole".

The "Hole" is wrestling season. If it sounds like I abhor wrestling season, that could not be further from the truth. I adore the opportunity I get to coach and be a part of a special sport and the role I play in lives of a couple dozen young men each year. I don't know how to do it right without committing lots of time and energy. College and Pro football coaches are notorious for coming into the office at 4:00 in the morning or just sleeping at their facilities because that is how hard they prepare for the next game. I feel like I do that on a smaller scale. My friends all know that I sort of fall off the face of the earth during wrestling. That's the "Hole".

As of now, we are carrying 30 wrestlers on our roster. It's a mixed bunch consisting of diverse backgrounds, talents and abilities. As a group, I really like my team. My assistant, John Williams, and I had, over the course of the last 8 months, monthly dinner meetings with our five rising seniors to build relationships and better model leadership. The hope is that they will responsibly assume leadership roles within the team.Our roster is quite different from the last few years. We lost a few returning starters to various things (academics, choices, NC School of Science and Math) but still have a strong nucleus. Our success will depend a lot on whether our young guys take to the coaching and how quickly they mature as wrestlers.

So far the season is off to a great start. We placed 6th at the Old Appalachian Invitational in Boone and finished 3rd yesterday at our own North Knight Invitational. We've been working hard to get them in shape and teaching technique. We've still got a long way to go, but we are getting tougher, better and closer as a team. We are Knights Wrestling!

Record Setting

One of my all time favorite football players is former San Francisco receiver Jerry Rice. The Hall of Famer hailed from tiny Mississippi Valley State University (Enrollment: 2500). Rice was widely considered too slow to be an elite NFL wide receiver. He went on to finish his 20 year career with 38 NFL records, including most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Enter Elon senior wideout Terrell Hudgins. Hudgins caught a 44 yard pass this past Saturday in Cullowhee to break Jerry Rice's FCS (formerly Division I-AA) record for career receiving yards. He is also the Division I all-time leader in receptions and FCS leader in 100 yard receiving games.

Here's the summary from Elonphoenix.com

Elon is a program on the rise. If they can beat Appalachian State at in Rhodes Stadium this week, then the program can truly say that they have arrived. Both teams are 6-0 in confernce play. A win would clinch, at worst, a share of the Southern Conference Championship and surely punch a ticket to the FCS playoffs. A win this week and then against Samford would break Appalachian's streak of four consecutive SoCon championships.

Go Phoenix!

Go Catie!

North Henderson High School has it's newest State Champion. Coming off a 5th place finish as a freshman last year and a 3rd place finish in the 800 at the state track meet, sophomore Catie Byrd ran 19:43.74 at Tanglewood to barely edge out Zatha Loewen from Topsail.

Here's the article:
North Henderson's Catie Byrd wins 2-A state title

Here we go again

It's dark outside. According to weather.com, sunset was at 5:35 this evening. I looked out and I believe the sun went down closer to 5:45. Nevertheless, daylight savings is over. Much to my chagrin, the sun is going to set earlier and my days are shorter. According to the comments to this post, Em says she hates waking up in the dark. Kate mostly agrees.

I like Daylight Savings Time because I like to play. I don't play in the morning. I play in the afternoons. The sun going down earlier means that I have less time to play. That's less time to ride my bike, play frisbee, hike and golf.

I tell people that I could live in Alaska despite the cold. While uncomfortable, that would not bother me that much. It's the dark that would get to me; the absence of daylight in the winters. I need the light. And though I incessantly seek the light, it is the light that searches and finds me.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Baby, baby, baby, light my way"