A Tonsager Tribute: Wrestling Season 2013

Wrestling Season 2013

1st AAU Practice

December 9th, 2012

Andy, Zach & Luke were out on the mat this year. Luke spent half his time scooting around on his back though, so we decided not to put him in any tournaments yet.

Jakers wore his take-home outfit, his Bronc singlet, to the first practice and every tournament. We got lots of comments and questions as to where we got it. WHERE I did get it was online at a singlet website in the infant size for 10-15lbs (it fits still at 18lbs and 14 months old). When it arrived I took it down to the local screen printing shop who does most of Wayne's team stuff for his wrestlers. She looked it over and questioned whether she could come up with something so small, then decided she was up for the challenge. It got done a couple of weeks before he was born and turned out perfect!!

Back to their first practice....

(I didn't like that Luke got put with a girl and one twice his size, but I wasn't there when they paired up, the girl was from our daycare and I decided not to cause a fuss the first night, but we did switch him the next time.)

Spearfish AAU Tournament

January 19th, 2013

The first tournament in the area was the Whitewood one. We are yet to make that one. The first one we go to every year is the Spearfish tournament on Andy's birthday weekend. Last year, their first year & theirs and my first EVER tournament, Dad was head couch at the High School and had his own tournament to go to. :( Grandma & Grandpa T. came up to help out and show us the ropes, thank goodness!! This year Dad coached Middle School Wrestling and helped out with AAU. He was able to make all the boys' tournaments this way. This is a huge confidence builder for the boys, and much more relaxing and enjoyable for me. Grandma T came up to watch and help out with Jake for the Spearfish tournament. (Thanks)

Andy & his friend Austin

Zach & his friend Brady

Andy won two of his matches for a second place finish.

Zach had to wrestle 7 & 8 year olds this year right after his 6th birthday. It's a bummer but most tournaments you wrestle the age you will turn in the upcoming year. So in 2013 Zach will eventually, in October, turn 7. I thought his low weight would help him, but it turns out there are a lot of scrawny kids out there. He didn't win a match or get a ribbon or medal this tournament. It did not deter Zach too much and it sure gave Andy a nice confidence boost which may have been just what he needed to start the season.

We went to a college wrestling tournament on Sunday..... so we watched a high school dual on Thursday night, we did a birthday party and sleepover on Friday night, Saturday we did our fist tournament all day, then Sunday we went voluntarily to watch another wrestling tournament, that's right, that's how die hard, hard core we are!!!

Belle Fourche Broncs Dual Thursday Night

We have Bleacher Butt!!!

When you spend this much time on bleachers, you find a way to sleep on them too.

Just be glad I can't crawl down these yet!

The college dual was pretty neat. They were kind of like acrobats. They actually did some head stands and back flipy things in their moves! And the muscles on those boys!!!

I did enjoy it. I could tell Wayne was enjoying the atmosphere from the moment we stepped in the door. Mind you he was on the UW wrestling team his freshman year.

The boys got to go down and get autographs and meet the mascots after. They thought that was neat.

I forgot my good camera and my phone went dead from taking pictures, so as all great friends and husbands do, Wayne & Tracy played the "see how many texts we can send Kandi before she gets her phone going again". They did this at the STM meet too. That I believe still holds the record.

Belle Fouche AAU Tournament

January 26th, 2013

Home court advantage! Belle did not have a tournament the previous year, our first year, so this was actually our first home tournament. We tried to help as much as possible. Wayne did quite a bit. I pretty much kept track of the kids and getting their pictures, which I'm darn good at. ;)

This was another wrestle the age you turn in 2013. This greatly effects both boys. It is a little easier on Andy as he doesn't have as many 9 year olds in his bracket, but it hurts Zach to have to go against 7 & 8 year olds. He wrestled his little heart out and did an excellent job but he lost his first couple of matches. He got a 4th place ribbon at this tournament and earned it.

Andy had some familiar faces in his bracket. One tough one that beat him again and one he knew he could beat. He also gained a mat buddy that he would see two more times this year. He was a Cobbler Kid from Rapid. He was a confidence builder for Andy who beat him every time, but all in good spirits. Andy got second place & another medal for his growing stock.

The crowd......

St. Thomas Moore AAU Tournament

Friday February 1st, 2013

This was a "wrestle the age you are today" tournament. Our fist one of the year. I had a heart to heart with Zach telling him that he was the oldest and the biggest in his bracket and he would be able to beat them all no problem. He took this to heart. He won every single match and sauntered cockily off and on the mat. He told me "I like these six year olds, they're easy. NO ONE is going to pin me."

They had a little mix up at the scoring table though and gave him a second place medal, so I sent Wayne back up there after I questioned them on it, had them check again and they wouldn't budge. Wayne they knew and didn't mess with and admitted their mistake and gave him the first place medal. It was our first FIRST place and we were all excited.

Andy was against 8 & 9 year olds this meet. One of them was another coach's kid from Belle. No one coached them as customary and they had fun rolling around together before the older one stuck Andy. He pinned his Mat Buddy and got 3rd place and another medal.

Grandpa and Grandma T, Uncle Dee and Dayna were all there to watch.

Although we like the principal and this was Wayne's first teaching gig, the tournament was very unorganized, the delays were long, the mix up on Zach's bracket was disappointing, there was a kid who refused to shake hands after a match and threw his glasses on the mat and cussed (should have been DQ'd but wasn't) and there was an extreme jerk of a ref who stood right in front of parents trying to watch their kids' matches and was incredibly rude when politely asked if he could sit or move over. Then he got in a fight with a parent after the tournament and shoved him against a wall almost decking him and narrowly missing Andy and I as we passed. I did tattle on him.

What. A. JERK!!!

This time I left my phone in the van and Tracy and Wayne played the text it up game again for a record high...

The tournament took forever and the entire place hit up McDonalds on Rushmore afterward for insanely long wait times. It tasted amazing though.

Sturgis AAU Tournament

February 9th, 2013

This tournament was fun and relaxing. We didn't have to help with anything & we sat up in the balcony away from everyone else and just enjoyed it. The boys made a blanket fort & played iPods & ate fruit. Jakers did drop one of our old tablets over the edge of the bleachers though and shattered it :(

Jakers loves his apples.

Bleacher Blanket Fort

STILL waiting for awards, took over an hour.

There were some tough new kids here. There were Pierre kids who were way tough. Then there were some North Dakota kids there too. It was a "wrestle the age in 2013" tournament, so Zach had a tough time.

Andy's mat buddy got placed in a different weight class that time. He had gained and Andy had lost 4lbs since start of season. He did beat one kid for a 3rd place tie (can't remember why they tied). It took forever for the scoring table to get though the brackets but in the end it was totally worth it because...... He got his FIRST TROPHY!!! He was so pumped. Zach was pretty jealous.....until the next weekend.

Hot Springs AAU Tournament

Sunday February 17th, 2013

We headed down to Hot Springs Saturday and caught the High School matches. There were a couple of girls wrestling from reservation schools. Let's just get one thing straight right now.....NO, I DO NOT THINK THAT IT IS FAIR OR RIGHT AND WE WILL NOT HAVE OUR BOYS WRESTLE GIRLS.

I think if there is a girls only bracket, sure, have at it, but no, I do not think it is fair to have boys and girls wrestle each other. Even at 6 years old when my oldest started, he had impeccable manners and morals and did not treat girls the same as he did boys. To ask him to put his hands places on girls that he must for wrestling embarrasses him, and will only embarrass him more and distract him more with each year he gets older. THAT IS NOT FAIR AND NOT RIGHT and neither his father or I are okay with it. He also knows at this young age that woman are to be treated with kindness and respect. Men open doors for them and carry things for them and protect them from harm, asking him to throw a girl down and pin her there confuses that. I do not want to have them have to cross that line. (We preach about chivalry dying but then we throw our boys out there and tell them to slam a girl to the mat the same way they would a boy- absolutely not.) Call me old fashioned, but that is what I expect of my boys and NOT of girls. Had a gotten my girl, or might I still, she will not wrestle the boys on the mat. I'd rather she didn't wrestle at all but if she must, she will wrestle other girls.

That said, all the AAU tournaments we went to had the girls in their own brackets. I hope it continues that way and I hope school athletics go that direction. There will be law suits from both sides, boys and girls alike, mark my words. And don't go all title 9 on me either. There are plenty of girls sports and I don't see any boys on the volleyball courts in schools around here, but I do see girls on the football fields and wrestling mats. If you aren't in agrreeance, you can agree to disagree. RANT COMPLETE.

Hot Springs is Wayne's hometown so naturally he always ends up helping somewhere in some way. We were the ONLY Belle family there this time and I wanted him to get a coach's pass. He didn't want to and kept saying when he was a kid coaches weren't matside. I know nothing of that, but as I told him, ours are used to coaches and I've seen them with and without and they do much better with. Even just a reminder or suggestion thrown out there helps. I can't say how many times I've seen them look over for reassurance and confidence too. He got the pass and had fun doing it.

My cousins from Chadron were there and sat by us for a while. We compared Thirty-One purchases and caught up in chatting. I cannot believe my little Sawyer I used to babysit as a baby is now 10!!!

Grandma and Grandpa came to watch.

In the bleachers....

During their "intermission" they had a couple high schoolers do some Free Style matches. It was interesting.

This was a wrestle the age you are today tournament. Andy wrestled hard but couldn't get a win.

Zach went out and dominated the 6 and unders. He even decided to try some new moves he learned in his last practice just for fun. He kept doing this leg lift, treetop finish move where he would lift one of their legs way up by their shoulder and plow them down. Then he would let them up just so he could do it again. He won the fist match doing this not by a pin but by points. Then his dad and grandpa told him to start pinning and he did. He got 1st place and HIS FIRST TROPHY!!!