Lc Wrestlers Learn More Than Sport

I want to express my support for the Lake City wrestling program, particularly Pat Whitcomb, Gary Haler, Jim Whiteman and Russ Blank. My son had the great fortune to compete as a Lake City wrestler this year, and I am pleased to say it has an extremely positive affect on the way he looks toward his future. These coaches have served as excellent role models for my son, and they have helped to mold him into a highly confident young man who will forever exhibit the strength of character instilled in him by these fine coaches.

It might seem for some that the Lake City wrestling program did not enjoy the level of success that some of its rivals did. For my money, Lake City was, without parallel, the most successful wrestling program in our area, and perhaps in Idaho. Success is a goal that is far too lofty to be measured by something as trivial as wins and losses. By this time next year, the win-loss records will have been forgotten, and all that will remain will be the lessons that were learned.

Wrestling is a gladiator sport and our society produces precious few gladiators. This is unfortunate because there are lessons to be learned from gladiators, lessons to be learned on the wrestling mat, and more importantly, lessons to be learned from wrestling coaches. The lessons taught by the Lake City wrestling coaches will carry the wrestlers for the rest of their lives. A few of the lessons taken to heart are:

The will to succeed is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to succeed. Every single Lake City wrestler was prepared for every match.

The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are all that endures. Those things will always be more important than the events that occur.

Lake City wrestlers learned to measure themselves not by what they’d accomplished, but by what they should have accomplished with their ability.

Lake City wrestlers learned that a winner is someone who sets goals, commits to those goals, and then pursues those goals with all their ability.

John Wooden once said, “The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best, and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.” John Wooden would hold with my belief that the Lake City wrestling team, coaches and wrestlers alike, achieved the ultimate victory.