In the past year I have learned that hard work pays off. Even though this statement has become a cliche, I never really thought much of it other than it being just another meaningless saying. I also didn’t consider myself much of a hard worker. I was one of those kids who got good grades, not great grades, and who didn’t study much. It wasn’t until this year, when I was put into more challenging courses that I realized that I needed to put in a whole lot more effort. This didn’t only apply to schoolwork. Last year was my first wrestling season. I was recruited because I was small, just 96 pounds. I had a mediocre season, winning only here and there solely on forfeits, because no one was as light as me to compete. I realized that I could not continue on this path if I wanted to be competitive.
So I signed up for John Degl’s Iowa Style Wrestling, the top club for wrestling in New York. I expected it to be tough, but nothing could prepare me for the beating I was about to receive. The motto of the club was RELENTLESS and the training there was nothing short of that.
I walked into the gym, which was pretty much a large warehouse with black and gold mats lining up the empty space. As I walked in I spotted a rather large man who seemed to be in charge of things. I told him that this was my first practice and he said “Ok, why don’t you wrestle Penn Gottfried over there.” Unaware that John Degl loved to chew out the new kids, and that he routinely sent them against the best wrestlers to show them how tough the training was, I faced Penn, ready to tangle.
Ok, I thought, he looks scrawny enough, I can take him on. Then, suddenly he shot on me with the force of a bull: I was blasted to the ground, I felt like I was hit by a freight train. Get up Bing Bing, I thought, but it was no use. No matter how much I tried I was still stuck on the ground. Then to publicly humiliate me, John Degl sauntered over, yelling, “Hey everyone, look at this. The new kid is getting pinned. Why don’t you get up buddy, fight your way up!” I noticed he said “new kid” with great distaste. As much as I tried to get up, I couldn’t. I used every move in my arsenal, trying to escape, but it was no use. “Get up, quit being a pansy.” John Degl’s voice rang in my ears. No matter what I tried, it was no use: Penn Gottfried’s hold was inescapable. Suddenly Degl bent over me. Maybe he’ll let me go, I thought. Little did I know how wrong I was. A hand came over, covering my mouth and nose, suffocating me. He’ll let me go eventually, he’s just scaring me, that’s all, I reassured myself; he didn’t. I started to panic. This John Degl is a nut, I thought to myself. I realized that he wasn’t going to let go. I started thrashing, squirming, twisting in every angle with a new-found strength until I finally escaped Penn’s hold. “You can get out NOW but you couldn’t before? Every time you are on your back you have to feel like you’re dying! This is a fight! Be RELENTLESS!” he screamed louder and more angrily than before. This guy is insane, I thought after practice. My shirt was soaked through, I could wring out sweat if I wanted to, every part of my body ached, I could barely stand up. I limped, well, hobbled to be more accurate, into my father’s car. “There is no way that I will ever return to that godforsaken place,” I thought to myself before immediately slipping into deep sleep.
But I did, nevertheless. I realized that although he might be a little crazy, even sadistic, that he knew what he was doing and in the end he was trying to help. After 6 months, from at the end of freshman year until the start of the new season this past year, I improved exponentially. I tripled my wins and halved my losses getting All League honorable mention and making it to sectionals. I would give all the credit to John Degl’s bitter training, which made me tougher and better. Even though his methods are a little unorthodox, it worked. Now I do my fair share of “chewing out the new kids” and Penn and I are good friends. This rather painful and heinous experience showed me that hard work eventually pays off. It showed me that no matter how hard or rigorous something is, be it a training session or a tough study day, dedication to the task makes all the difference.