Jonathan Fletcher

Hope in God. Head Coach for Fairbury Girls Wrestling.

[Allyson Schwab @allysonschwab]

“It’s painful, but important to be able to rescue yourself.”

Doug messaged me this today during an ongoing conversation we have about when to throw a life preserver and when you let your kids fight on their own to stay afloat.

As a parent nothing prepares you for the urge to lessen the hurt, to save your children from pain, to fill the silence that follows a loss. It’s uncomfortable to watch your child struggle, to lose, to not get what you have been witness to them work so hard for and if it weren’t for one of our coaches one Tulsa trip telling me “ Don’t be so quick to ease their pain” I’d probably rush over a lot quicker than I do.

It’s hard to explain to a child who hasn’t experienced enough life that you can’t love the process without falling in love with all the aspects of it. Without failure you can’t feel the depths of success and sometimes without the pain of falling short you can’t experience the extent of the growth awaiting you.

As a parent it’s hard not to want to save them, not necessarily from the hurt of the loss, but from the way the mind can work following one. I worry about when they replay the match in their head, when they question if the work is worth the time, or when they question if the result is tied to their worth. I don’t want to save them from a loss, I want to save them from the untrue thoughts they can have following one.

And then this is when Doug’s words rang true. I can’t save them from their own mind, they must do the work to rescue themselves. I can surround them with people who hold them accountable, but build them up. I can speak truth to them not just following a loss, but also a win, not just on the mat, but in our everyday life. I can give them examples of those further along in their journey who still experience doubt, struggle, insecurity, and loss despite the success they have experienced and the work they have put in. My job isn’t to ease the pain- its to prepare them for it.

As my husband wrote- “No guarantee even when we do things right, we do things right to minimize regret on the other side. You have to be willing to get your heart broke over and over again. The goal isn’t to protect yourself- it’s to march forward in faith, increasing the depths of our trust and courage. The payoff may not show up for years but it will, it’s just not on our time.”

[MatSavant @MatSavant]

Stephan Buchanan wins by ghost point.

[Jonathan Fletcher @JaFletch125]

They trying to hand pick the team!? What was that!? @USAWrestling

[Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 @Benaskren]

Hill sprints are starting to look like hill SPRINTS again! So grateful I GET to do this.

You can live life with a “get to” mentality or a “got to” mentality—the choice is yours every day. Since last summer, I’ve gained so much gratitude for the things I GET to do again. When everything is taken from you and you can’t do anything under your own power, you realize just how much you took for granted.

For me: coaching practice, playing in the yard with my kids, watching them compete in sports—even doing hill sprints.

It wasn’t that long ago that I wouldn’t have been able to walk up that hill. Now, by the grace of God and the willpower to grind every day, I’m back to sprinting.

Stop taking things for granted and appreciate the things we GET to do.

[Jonathan Fletcher @JaFletch125]

@CPyles8 how many years does AJ have left?
If he qualified for a medical redshirt in 2022 and the free year was 2021, could he actually have two seasons left after this year?
Please help.

[Doug Schwab @schwabwrestling]

Good luck with that one, I’ll be wearing it again this round.

[FloWrestling @FloWrestling]

Every young wrestler should hear this.

Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs shares what he calls the “Arcade Perspective.”

[Jonathan Fletcher @JaFletch125]

@RAFWrestlingUSA #RAF06 is a disaster. Big step backwards for a pro league.

[Shane Sparks @ShaneSparksBTN]

Life is one big wrestling match. Sometimes you execute and win and other days you struggle to get out from bottom and are fighting to not get majored. Regardless of your circumstances just keep competing! Enjoy the process and embrace the fight! You got this!!!

[Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling @Hawks_Wrestling]

It's just wrestling.

[Christian Pyles @CPyles8]

🫡 �

[MatSavant @MatSavant]

We teach our kids to score points and keep scoring points. The magic number used to be 7 to have a good chance at winning, but with the new scoring system you really need to be getting 8-10 to win the majority of your matches.

Unless you're AJ Ferrari bro. And you probably aren't.

This data is based on every D1 match wrestled so far this season.

[Jonathan Fletcher @JaFletch125]

@HawkeyeSource Should this have been 1? He immediately covered him in a front head lock

[Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 @Benaskren]

So @the_rudis sent me a pair of shoes and I just couldn’t help myself…

4 months ago I was on my death bed
3 months ago I couldn’t stand unassisted
2 months ago I was still using a walker

What’s your excuse?? Tie them up tight and let’s get to work 👊👊👊

Couldn’t be more grateful to be back at it and for all of the support the community gave me during such a hard time🙏🙏🙏

[🦅Brett Hunter @BrettHunter174]

You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.

[Funky 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 @Benaskren]

Almost died…. Won’t ever forget how to hit an arm drag 😂😂😂

[Jared C. Wilson @jaredcwilson]

Jesus Christ is too glorious not to make him the point of every sermon. You can't wear out the subject of Jesus; he never gets old.

[FloWrestling @FloWrestling]

Kyle Snyder avenges his Olympic bronze medal match loss to Azarpira to win his 5th World or Olympic gold medal and 10th medal over all! #worldchampionships

[Jon Kozak @KozakJon]

Kyle Snyder World Champion!!!

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Virtual NCAAs @VNcaas]

Captain America is back