Vince Robinson never won a high school state title. In his first appearance at the NCAA tournament, he won a national title.
Trent Hidlay never won a NCAA title. In his first appearance at the World Championships, he won a World title.
Never give up. Don't ever give up!
NFHS sports participation numbers for 2024-25 are in:
🤼 Boys wrestling grew by +8,340 to 300,214 — topping 300k for the first time.
🤼♀️ Girls wrestling surged 15% to 74,000+, adding nearly 1,000 new programs.
High school wrestling is booming.
A reminder of what I want parents to know when they drop off their son with us and head home….
I will love them and I will tell them. It will be awkward the first couple times, they may look around or reread a message, but the truth is I told their coach a few years ago life is too short and I want these boys to feel loved no matter what their record or actions say.
I’m going to hug them. Yep, safe sport approved, but I’m going to hug them when they are happy, sad, and most times I see them.
I’m going to feed them. It’s probably not going to be homemade most of the time, but I’ll serve them. Mainly because they take too much and I worry that we may run out before the end of the line, but I’ll let them come back for seconds!
I’m going to ask them about their relationships, their classes, their grades, their weird haircut, if they called their mom, how their leg is healing, and if they want to babysit the twins.
I’m going to hold them accountable. I’m going to remind them of their commitment, challenge them to be leaders, call them out when they are spicy, and tattle on them if I need to.
I’m going to be proud of them. Not for their results or their accolades, but for just simply getting out of bed some days.
I’m going to encourage them to protect their peace and take care of their mind. I have no problem being vulnerable to share the difference therapy has made in our lives if they question if it would benefit theirs.
I’m going to give them my husband for too much time, whine about it some days, cry about it another, and then question why they didn’t ask him to do more a week later.
I’m going to show them life. I’m not going to pretend to be perfect or have perfect kids. We are going to make mistakes as parents and as spouses and as humans and they are going to see a lot of it. They are going to walk through some of our hardest days with us and some of our best days with us and we will do the same with them.
We are not going to give up on them. They may not get what they want, accomplish what they had hoped, changed colors, or left for home early and we will still be at their wedding, commenting on their baby pics, and following them however we may through the different seasons of life
You didn’t lose a child, you gained an entire family.💜
lf there was one single point of emphasis i could get all parents to understand it’s that state titles matter far less now than they did when they were a kid.
Parents’ insistence on winning a state title have ruined more careers than they’ve helped.
Today would have been my dad’s 74th birthday.
This season carries gravity. Father’s Day, his birthday, and the anniversary of his passing all fall within 60 days.
For me, grief has no straight path. It revisits, reshapes, and rises when I least expect it.
But alongside it lives a legacy built on generosity and kindness.
He made people feel seen. Gave permission to feel deeply and to laugh through pain. That mission continues.
To those carrying loss right now: you’re not alone.
Happy birthday, Dad. Love you forever.
It’s going down!!! Two of GA’s absolute best going at it on one of the biggest stages, congrats to both of these hammers!
#wrestling#georgiagrappler#grappling
Fargo 2025 has officially shattered records.
For the ninth straight year since 2017, USA Wrestling’s 16U and Junior Nationals has broken the all-time participation record.
9,313 entries — the first time Fargo has ever topped 9,000. And registration isn’t even final yet.