My alarm clocks rings at five fifteen am. I wake up and put my running gear on, grab my iPod, and walk out the door to my car. The drive to the Ahs gym is a cold, quite one. The morning run with my team begins at six o’clock. Later that day, our excruciating practices drag on for three hours. You may be wondering how I handle this, and how get my school work done. This will be my fourth year, and I have figured out ways to get me through the year, and what may seem short, the day. The past three years I haven’t succumbed to all of the pressure put on me by my coach.

I set short term goals. This is what gets me through the day. My plate consists of cutting weight, practices, runs, and maintaining good grades. These are all very important to me. I will not let sports thwart me from keeping good grades. My junior year season was good, but could have been better. My freshman and sophomore year, we set goals for ourselves and put them on paper. I taped the sheet of paper to the inside of my locker door so I would see it every day. During the season, this sport would always make me feel remote from all of my soccer friends. This is why I had a vision, and a goal to get me through the season.

You have to have something to look forward to. Otherwise, working hard won’t seem worth it.
As I get up in the mourning for school, I brush the window with my arm to wipe away the frost. The crisp fall air is a harbinger of wrestling season. As the snow falls, I know I need to start losing weight for the season. It depresses me, but I try to be optimistic and say, “What doesn’t kill you Matt, only makes you stronger.”

The papers, the studying, and the wrestling are attempts of reverberating me. As a captain this year, I will guide the underclassmen and be there for their help. I’ve learned; the resting part of my life is as important as the training or studying. You need to relax and recover. The training and the school work will not reduce, leaving you with little respite time. Just relax, take a deep breath, and say some intangibles to yourself. Just remember, life will go on.