Wrestling...one more week!

Newt is wrestling the final season of his high school career and he has extended it one more week! Last weekend he took 1st in District 31 bringing his career record to 119-20 and last night he took 2nd in Region 8 after a tough (3-1) loss.

It was a crazy weekend full of ups and downs!

Thursday afternoon we got a call from the school athletic trainer saying Newt had been hit in the face when he collided with another kid's forehead in gym class and needed an x-ray to make sure nothing was broken. He had blown his nose and the side of his face had blown up. I rushed to the school, took one look at his face, and had a sinking feeling in my gut because I thought there was no way there wasn't something broken. The whole side of his face was huge with a couple cuts from the pressure of the blow. All the work he had put in all season (actually for the majority of his life) seemed to be gone in a blink of an eye.

We rushed to Urgent Care because I knew we'd get in fast there which we did. He got x-rays and the doctor had them read them then took them over to the radiologist because he wasn't sure. They decided nothing was broken so he could wrestle the next day. He iced on and off all evening. His eye grew black and blue. His brother dug in the equipment box at school and found a mask at the bottom of the box for him to attach to his head gear while wrestling...how he found it or who left it there, I have no idea. Strange because I was looking for one on the internet to order and could not find fast enough shipping to get it here on time.

The mask wasn't the greatest. Any time he got hit in the head or knocked his head on an opponent, it shifted, blocking his view but it was better than not being able to wrestle at all. Friday night he won his first match by tech fall (17-2) while watching the match on the mat next to him where his, most likely, toughest opponent was getting pinned after being caught in a head lock.

Moving on to the semi-final match Saturday morning, Newt controlled his opponent to a 16-2 win. He was now going on to States whether he won or lost in the finals! He had achieved his main goal for the season!

Under the lights at Regions...Good thing they got his good side!

The finals match was a tough one. His opponent kept knocking the mask pushing it down over his eyes. Early in the 1st period Newt asked the ref if he could exchange it for plain headgear so he could see to wrestle but the ref wouldn't allow it saying he had facial hair. (Newt's "facial hair" is about 4 little pieces of scruff that the head gear chin pad would cover.) Newt got taken down out of bounds in the last second of the 1st period when they were all tied up going out of bounds and Newt lost his whizzer as the buzzer sounded. In the 2nd and 3rd period each boy got an escape. The final score was 3-1.

Newt was in high spirits last night! It has always been his dream to wrestle in the State tournament!

Newt with his high school coaches!

One Hundred and ONE!

Last night Newt won his 100th high school wrestling match. I was glad he wrestled a decent wrestler and had a good match. He is only the 6th wrestler in the high school's history to break the 100 win mark and will join his Uncle Karl on the banner in the gym.

I was a proud Momma last night but more for what he did at the end of the match. This year a young man with autism joined the team and yesterday was his birthday. Newt wrestled him in a match with the ref coaching, the score kept on the board, and people cheering. He let the young man work his moves and win the match. It brought tears to a lot of eyes in the gym watching how excited he was after his hand was raised. He ran off the mat with his arms raised into the crowd of other wrestlers congratulating him and then they all sang Happy Birthday to him. I am so proud to have raised such a wonderful young man!

Weekend Ramblings....

This weekend Tinkerbell became a reindeer.

She wasn't happy becoming a reindeer but she liked her sweater without the hood.

Newt won his first three wrestling matches of the season becoming a 4X Pine Barren Tournament Champ! Woo Hoo!  Haley and I were able to watch 2 of his 3 matches then had to take off for New York City. We walked around the city for a little while then went to see her friend's quartet and orchestra concerts at a certain music school.

Haley eating a macaroon at Lincoln Center.  The only photo I took in NYC that came out. Ugh!

 After the classical concerts, we walked to the Irish Arts Center to see Mick Moloney's Irish Christmas Show. Mick was nice enough to invite Haley to play with them onstage at a certain part of the show. So, during his interview time....he always invites someone from the audience to be interviewed during his Christmas programs and after he finished interviewing an author, he had Haley up. He interviewed her a bit. She played a tune solo then went into another tune with the other two fiddlers in the show.
We were excited to just see the show. Mick not only has Celtic music, songs, and stories but also has people from other cultures demonstrate their traditions.

We went from the concert to a session a couple blocks away and stayed until Haley said she couldn't keep her eyes open...which was sometime around midnight. We drove to her fiddle teacher's house, stayed for the night, had a lesson in the morning and drove home.

Once home, Haley practiced her classical music then decided she wanted to learn how to make snowflakes so we looked up some instructions and came up with these...

Week in Review...

This weekend was the start of the St. Patrick's Day rush for my Irish musicians and the end of wrestling for my wrestler (well...for the school season anyway).

First, we spent all day Saturday watching Newt wrestle at Regions. He won his match on Friday night. Then he lost, won, and lost on Saturday. He placed 4th again this year by getting caught in a pin hold after an error on his part.

It was heartbreaking to see how upset he was. He did not show his disappointment on the mat....the boy who pinned him is a friend, but after leaving the mat, he took his loss hard. He had really hoped and worked to make it to the state tournament this year but it just wasn't to be. Next year will be his final chance to try.

Right after Newt finished and we got to talk to him, we took Haley and Dylan to their gig at an area church's St. Patrick's Day celebration. They started off the concert with a 20 minute set then later in the show joined the other performers for some tunes in a session-style format. It was a really nice performance/concert with a great crowd. The dancers were really good, too.

Sunday, the kids had their yearly gig at Cumberland County College. Two of the guys from the gig the night before had hired Haley and Dylan to play with them so the four of them sat on the stage taking turns playing duets and playing together. Mike and Bob play multiple instruments and sing traditional songs and songs they have composed. This was another really nice gig. The venue was nearly sold out and the crowd was great.

                             
                                                           Dylan playing bouzouki.

              I couldn't take any photos during the actual event but took these during sound check.

Haley has had a busy week. She played some Irish fiddle for a bereavement luncheon on Monday that was more an Irish celebration of a woman's life. The woman who had passed frequently came to hear Haley perform the past couple years so it was nice for Haley to be able to honor her in this way.

Tuesday, she joined some adult friends in a performance for an area nursing home. The adults did some ceili/set dancing and Haley played some fiddle tunes.

Today the kids spread some Irish culture for Philadelphia's City Council during their weekly council meeting. A few months ago we had met Councilman Kenney at a Plough and the Stars Sunday night session. Ritch and I happened to be sitting next to him and he was impressed with Haley sitting and playing with all the adults so started talking to us. He asked for a card and a couple weeks ago, we were contacted and asked if the kids would come perform.

Councilman Kenney's staff, especially Ms. Mahler, were very nice. They took the us around and showed us how city council works. We were able to see the beginning of a caucus and the start of the actual meeting. The kids did their performance then we were able to take a tour and go to the top of City Hall just underneath the huge statue of Willliam Penn. It was a beautiful day and we had a great view of the entire city.

The kids were later on the local news...they did a short blurb on their performance.

District Champ 2013!!!

 I love watching my son wrestle. It doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things whether he wins or loses. Of course I love to see all his hard work pay off with wins...but I am just as proud of him when he loses.

Newt has been around wrestling since he was 2 months old. I used to ride down to Annapolis to watch my brother's Naval Academy matches, most of which my tiny little son slept through...air horns, cheering, and all. We have pictures of him on his hands and knees on a wrestling mat from when he started crawling and I think he knew how to throw a half nelson before he could walk.

He started wrestling when he was 5 years old. It just seemed the natural thing for him to do. He was a tiny kid...never made it on a growth chart for age and was always a few pounds under the lowest weight class so football, baseball, or basketball just didn't seem right. He loved wresting practice and working out. At 5 years old he once told his coach, "Give me more push-ups to make me stronger, coach!" He always gave it his all and we hoped watching the older kids fooling around and groaning at extra activities wouldn't let him know certain things were not considered fun.

I tried to keep him away from pressure. I didn't allow him to cut weight. I took him to clubs and  tournaments. I did a lot of the coaching from 8 years until 8th grade. I was one of the few moms coaching her child on the mat. When he came off the mat, I hugged him whether he won or lost. When he hit 8th grade, he started lifting and putting on weight. We worried until then he'd be too small to wrestle in high school but he grew.

His first year in high school he had a great year. He wrestled with pneumonia (which I didn't know until after he'd finished wrestling for the day) and took 2nd at the Tri-County tournament losing by only 1 point in a bad ref call. He took 3rd in the District and, after a number of coincidences (one kid not making weight and another dislocating his shoulder), Newt took 4th in the Region. Last year he had another really good year. He was District Champ and placed 4th in the Region for real though his last match was a heart break for him since he lost to a boy he'd beaten earlier in the Region tournament.

This year started off rough. Newt sprained his ankle in one of the first practices and tried to continue wrestling through the pain but would come limping off the mat after every match whether he'd won or lost. By just before Christmas he could barely walk on it let alone wrestle so I took him to an orthopedist who did an MRI which showed a split in the ligament. Newt rested it for 2 weeks...you would have thought it nearly killed him but he did it. He then went back to practice and was undefeated for the rest of the year. He took 1st at Districts last Saturday!

He goes on to Regions this weekend. He has a tough weight class, possibly one of the toughest in the region. Depending on his own mental toughness and determination, he may place high enough for States or someone might come along and knock him out of the running. Either way, I am still so proud of the young man he's become. He only has one more year of high school. We will begin looking at colleges this spring. I often think how quickly the time has gone by. That little, tiny baby I once held at wrestling matches in Annapolis will be heading off to college himself in a little over a year.

                                                             Congrats, Newt!!!

Another Busy Weekend...

No photos today...I misplaced the battery charger for my camera and cannot remember where it is. I spent a lot of time today between school and violin practices cleaning out places I thought it might be. Looks like I will be buying a replacement. Then I am sure the old charger will certainly show up.

Well, wrestling season is over for another year. We spent all day Saturday watching wrestling. Newt placed 4th in the Regional tournament so does not get to go on to the State tournament this year (only the top 3 move on). He was pretty disappointed with himself because he didn't feel like he wrestled his best during his final match...he has wrestled the same wrestler on Friday night and won 6-2 but Saturday afternoon he lost 8-3. He just didn't look like his normal wrestling self that match...not the best time to have a bad match.

Earlier in the day he lost a tough match against a really good wrestler who will probably go on to place very well at States. He then pinned his first opponent in the wrestle-backs but in the finals, he lost. All in all, Newt had a great season. His record was 30-something wins and 3 loses. He is now eating well and looking forward to working hard for next year.

Sunday was a busy day for Haley and I plus a lot of driving. We hit three states and heard lots of music. We woke early in the morning and drove to NY for a fiddle lesson then we drove to PA to attend a fundraising event for a local Irish radio program. It was held at Shanachie Pub. Different musicians were scheduled to play all afternoon plus there was a Chinese auction...Haley actually won a couple of the prizes she had stuck her tickets into, an Irish doll and an Irish toddler outfit set. We got to hear some of our favorite performers, including Gabe and Marian. At the end of the day, Haley and Paraic fiddled together to end the show.

On the way home, we stopped into Dublin Square because we knew Gabe would be playing. He was on break by the time we got there so he and Haley ate dinner together then when they finished eating, played a few tunes sets. We stayed and listened to him play until he got upstaged by the Academy Awards.

Today was a nice quiet at home kinda day. Haley spent most of the day doing schoolwork with practice sessions between. We then headed up to her bedroom...whew! I can't believe we survived. Her room is now clean...at least for a day or two. I can't believe how many crafts and drawings one child can make in a couple months. The difficult part is getting her to part with a few so her room can be semi-clean. Ha!

The chicken coop is nearly completed. I will post photos as soon as I get a charger for that camera. In the next few weeks, we should be getting some chicks. Can't wait to see how Bella reacts to those. She is a sweet pup who snuggled the little baby rabbit Dylan found last summer so it should be interesting.

District Champ!!!

 Newt has worked toward this moment since he was 5 years old. Every year we attended the district tournament and watched those high school wrestlers in the finals stand under the lights in the dark gym full of spectators as the announcer reads off their records and accomplishments. This was Newt's 1st time under those lights and he has a pretty impressive record for a sophomore 60-7 career so far plus lots of accomplishments including 3rd in the district and 4th in the region last year.

Newt has worked so hard and been so disciplined this year. In the District tournament he pinned his first two opponents in 50 and 55 sec. respectively. The score of his finals match was 8-3. He clearly dominated the entire match. Next weekend is the regional tournament. It won't be such a cake-walk. He will have to wrestle tough opponents for the first time this season. Win or lose...I am so proud of him.

Newt on the podium

All the District Champions

Pride January...

Yesterday we started the day watching Newt pin two opponents at his quad wrestling match. We had to leave before his 3rd match but the other team forfeited to him anyway so we didn't miss much. The team won all 3 matches and is now 3-1 which is a huge improvement over last year.

Haley and I had to leave to drive to NY then went with Brian and another of his students to CT to see a Pride of NY concert. They were amazing last night. The music was great and they were funny and entertaining. The crowd knew the music and "yipped" and clapped along. It was just a great concert.

The band asked Haley to join them on stage though Joanie told her she had to play her worst tunes and not play them her best so she didn't "show them up." LOL She and Haley messed with each other while Haley played which was pretty funny. After the concert, Haley joined them again to play ceili style (ie. fast) for dancers to dance a few sets. (That's what the picture above is though it's difficult to see Haley from where I was standing and I couldn't get in front to shoot a pic because the dancers were swirling around out there.)

Wrestling season opener...

Yesterday, Newt took 1st at the Pine Barrens Tournament with his first 3 matches of the season. He pinned his first opponent and won the other matches 7-0 (I think, though the final match might have been 6-0). No one scored on him yesterday. It was a nice start to the season.

He did end up with a number of bumps and bruises...including a nice knot on the middle of his forehead that looked like he was growing a unicorn horn all day.

Shiner!

I am hoping this is not an indication of how this year's wrestling season is going to go. Yesterday was the 4th practice of the season and already my son comes home with this lovely shiner and a chipped canine tooth from a knee in the face.

Did my son stop practice and ask for ice to limit the swelling? No, not my son...he kept right on practicing then lifted weights after practice. I had to force him to ice his face when I got home from work...Lovely!

I can't wait to see the colors it turns this week.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat...

Newt took 3rd today in the district championships and qualified to move on to the state regional competition this week. He has had a great freshman year with a 26-4 record, most of those either pins or tech falls. He won his final match today 7-2.

Prior to that win, he had a very difficult loss (3-2) in the semifinal match. As a mother who knows just how much work her child does and how many sacrifices he makes for his chosen sport, it is so hard to see him lose an important match. The reality is that there are lots of other boys working hard and sacrificing as well.

It would be easy to blame a loss on a bad call by the ref, or an injury or illness but sometimes it is just two equally talented kids out there on the mat and one has to lose. Maybe one makes an error in judgement and the other takes advantage or the roll of the coin gives one a slight advantage...doesn't really matter the reason. The nature of wrestling or any sport is that one person wins and the other loses. It must be easier in a team sport...there is always somewhere else to place the blame.

As a mom, sitting in the stands, you want your child to do his best and you hope it ends with a win. You know how much it means to him and you want him to be happy so your stomach is in knots watching. I hate that moment as the clock ticks toward the end when you realize there is no way he can pull it off. How different that moment is when yours is the one with the higher score!You almost wish to turn back time for him...give him another chance but you can't so you give him a few minutes to himself then give him a hug and assure him that it is just one match and time will go on.

I often think it is better mentally to leave a match with 3rd than with 2nd. Either place is determined by one loss and is only a matter of whether the loss was in the semifinals or finals. At least with 3rd you go home on a winning note! : )

The slate is wiped clean this coming week and the wrestling goes on. As I said in the beginning, he has had a great season. The rest is icing on the cake!

Wrestling...

The problem with having a good wrestling season is that when you are beating kids you weren't supposed to beat, other kids and their coaches begin avoiding you. The boy Newt tech falled from one team moved to the next lower weight class the next time they wrestled that team. Another boy attempted to avoid him by wrestling in the next weight class up but Newt's coach knew that might happen so was able to bump Newt up to wrestle the boy who he defeated 7-4.

On Monday, Newt had a match and the team's 119lb wrestler just forfeited to him rather than go on the mat. I don't understand that way of thinking at all. The team loses 6 points if they forfeit, the same number of team points they'd lose if the wrestler lost by pin so it really makes no sense to forfeit if the wrestler is not going to wrestle later that night (meaning the 119lb wrestler did not move up to win at the next weight class...he just didn't wrestle that night).

I believe any wrestler can be beaten...you never know when you might catch someone in a pinning move or a wrestler could just have a different style of wrestling that you find difficult to defend against. Even if you believe you will lose, you are still getting practice by attempting.

I live with a kid who isn't cutting weight (he was certified to go 112lb but we won't allow him to cut)...is actually eating a ton of food to keep his weight up, is moving up to wrestle the tough wrestlers, and keeps wrestling even when losing a match. I have a difficult time understanding the "I can't win, so I won't even try mentality."

Wrestler...

Newt had a great weekend winning 5 more matches all either technical falls, pins, or major decisions. His record is now 11-2. It is so neat watching all his hard work, the past year especially, paying off. Maturity is making him much more confident and determined.

It is really neat as his mom to see the young man he is becoming!

Here's a photo of him finishing up a match.

Wrestler...

Here is a nice article written for one of our local papers...

Schalick freshman off to fast start



Bill Evans, December 23, 2010 1:43 a.m.


Stewart “Newt” Richardson was seeded last at 119 pounds at the season-opening Pine Barrens Tournament at Shawnee High School on Saturday.
He won, capturing a major decision in the final.


On Tuesday night, Richardson faced Penns Grove district finalist and senior Ricky Sassi in the final match of a dual meet. Richardson notched a stunning 18-3 technical fall.


Less than a week into his first varsity season, the Schalick High School freshman has already made a name for himself. “The secret’s getting out on him a little bit,” said Schalick coach Justin Martin with a smile. “Guys know he’s good, but now they’re starting to figure out how good he actually is.”


The affable, soft-spoken freshman has been pleased — though not entirely surprised — with his fast start.


“I felt I wrestled pretty good (at Pine Barrens),” sad Richardson. “I wasn’t really expecting to win, but wanted to do my best and hopefully winning would be the outcome. Now beating kids who have placed in districts, the bar’s been raised pretty high.”


Richardson, who said he has been wrestling for seven or eight years, placed fifth in a national MAWA tournament this summer.


Martin doesn’t want to put too many expectations on a freshman, but he said Richardson’s presence has already had an impact on the young, rebuilding team.


“He’s wrestled his whole life and he’s on the mat all year long,” said Martin. “Anything Newt gets this year is because he deserves it, because he worked hard and got it. I’m very, very proud of how he’s approaching this team and taken charge of this team. You can see the difference in the practice room because he’s in there.”


Asked about the nickname, Martin laughed and said “It’s just what I’ve called him since he was 6.”


Richardson said the nickname was given him by his grandfather after he was born premature and showed the fighting spirit of former Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. Knute became Newt and the name stuck.


The freshman should be tested again next week when the Cougars compete in the Arthur Marinelli Tournament at Egg Harbor Township, annually one of the bigger tournaments in South Jersey.


“He’s pumping on all cylinders right now, but everything is a test from here on out,” said Martin.


While the early success has boosted Richardson’s confidence, he admits his goals for the season have been set high since the beginning.


“I want to place first in districts, place in regions and make it to states,” said Richardson. “That’s been my goal for a while.”


Richardson’s results the opening week make those lofty goals certainly attainable.

4-0

Setting up a takedown.

It seems like Newt has been working toward this year his entire life...well since he was 5 years old. He started wrestling because his Uncle Karl was a wrestler. Newt went to his 1st wrestling match at the Naval Academy when he was 2 months old. He slept through all the yelling, cheering, and airhorn blowing.

At 5yo he began wrestling himself. He was a tiny 5yo and lost all his matches that 1st year but he went out on that mat with a smile on his little face and came off it with the same smile. At practice he asked his coach for more exercises, "Give me more push-ups coach to make me stronger." He loved the exercises...hadn't yet learned from the other kids that exercises were not supposed to be fun.

Through the years he won matches and lost matches. He had good seasons and bad. He went to wrestling practices year-round and wrestling clinics in the summer. We never pushed wrestling on him, never allowed weight cutting because winning was less important that his health, and I tried to hug him when he came off the mat no matter what the outcome of the match.

This past year, Newt asked Poppop to help him with his wrestling. He began lifting weights and Poppop coached him at matches. He began to take it more seriously. Last weekend, he won his 1st 3 high school matches.

Last night he was supposed to have a tough match against a senior who made it to Regions last year. He easily handled his opponent...controlling the entire match. He took the boy down and let him up to take him down again then in the last minute turned him twice to win a technical fall 18-3.

Back points

He'll win some and lose some this year and we'll hug him no matter what the outcome...but he's off to a good start!

Weekend in Review...

Our normally busy weekends have been even busier with Christmas fast approaching. Not only do we have the normal items on our schedule like Friday evening orchestra rehearsal but it is also wrestling season for Newt which means weekend tournaments and high school matches.

Newt began his high school wrestling career by winning his first 3 matches at the Pine Barrens Tournament this weekend. His coach said he told the other coaches at the seeding meeting that he had a freshman who is pretty good and the other coaches told him "We don't seed freshmen."

So Newt ended up last seed meaning he had to wrestle the 1st seed 1st, the 4th seed 2nd, then the 2nd seed 3rd. He won all his matches by over 10 points and even earned a technical fall on his second opponent (won by 15 points). Maybe next time, they'll seed him. Huh?

I was unable to go to Newt's tournament because Haley and Dylan were scheduled to take fiddle and guitar seminars with Pat Mangan (fiddler for Riverdance and former student of Haley's teacher, Brian Conway) and Ryan McGiver (a wonderful guitar player and singer).

The attendance at the seminars was low, only 2 per class. Haley class consisted of her and another 9yo little girl who was relatively new to violin playing and had never played Irish music before. I was impressed with Pat for keeping both girls involved in the class given the huge difference in experience/playing level. It couldn't have been an easy feat.

Dylan's class consisted of him...very experienced playing Irish music in DADGAD and another gentleman who had never played in DADGAD. I didn't watch his class but Ryan split them up and taught Dylan a fingerpicking tune so he was happy.

The classes were early in the afternoon and we were hanging around for a concert at 8pm so we went and had an early dinner then headed back to the Irish center so Haley could practice her classical and orchestra music. Dylan helped set up for the show and they messed around with their buddy, Tom, who was taking care of the sound equipment. The concert was wonderful. We had planned to only stay for the first half but Haley and Dylan were enjoying the music so much they wanted to keep listening.

 Sunday, we spent the day helping out at the wrestling booster club's JV tournament. I always get roped into helping with the table...putting out the matches and getting them on the board so it tends to be a long day. Yesterday wasn't bad because the tournament was small and we kept things moving so were finished by 2:30pm.

Last night Haley sang a solo, O Holy Night, in our church's children's Christmas play. Every year they save her a solo. She sings beautifully!

Only 5 days until Christmas......