Back in February, Gage decided he was going to participate in the Little League Wrestling Tournament put on by the High School wrestling team. This is a tradition that I remember from when I was in elementary school. (I know....long time, huh?!?!) Honestly, I thought it would be absolutely wonderful for him because frankly, he is built like a wrestler, has the will of a wrestler, lOvEs wrestling with his Grandpa Gary, takes down Hunter any chance that he gets and so on. BuT...he also has the heart of the sweetest, most sensitive little guy you'll ever meet! This posed a big, big problem!
They practiced twice a week for a month, preparing for a one day tournament. I learned -the hard way- after the first 2 practices, that he needed to be the first one there. It was much easier for him to have the other 60+ boys come to him rather than throw him into a group of craziness! And I think there may have been one practice that he didn't tear up just a little about one thing or another. I knew right away that "that kid" in the group was mine!
So, after a lot of encouragement and preparing throughout an entire day, we headed in to the high school for the tournament. I knew it was going to take a lot of planning on my part, so we left 45 minutes early and when we got to the school, it was not early enough. Panic set in when we walked in to straight ChAoS!!! He cried for the first 10 minutes. It's so hard as a mom seeing your child so nervous and frightened of something that you know will be a great experience for them. So, after some careful thought, I had no choice. It came down to..."Positive Reinforcement." Yep, straight up bribery! Whatever works, right? And boy did it work!!!
He pinned his first opponent in 1 minute 29 seconds flat!
His second match took a little more out of him.
I'm not sure but I think it was about 2 minutes for the pin this time.
He had his own little cheerleaders, with signs and everything! How fun is that?!?!
And here is Gage, getting his award and being named...
...ChAmPiOn of his weight division! Yep, FiRsT place!
I knew he had it in him!!!
Oh, what a box of Star Wars Legos can do!
4 comments:
That is so stinkin cute. Does he know that Uncle Kerry was a state champion? I bet my parents would've loved to have been there! You need to post a pic of the lego creations next.
Hey Gage! You are awesome kid. Love ya, Can't wait to come up there. Hurry and get rid of the snow. Love, Meme
Go GaGe! You're the MAN...and there's absoulutely nothing wrong with a little {HiLL} tender heart once in a while.
I have one of "those" kids, too.
Thank goodness for the maker of the LEGO. I owe him/her many times over!!
P.S. Really hoping to pop here in the next week, or so!! We'll keep you informed!
Love it!!! He did great! Start planning your bribe for next year!
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