But, strangely enough, the embarrassment I felt would always disappear as I stood toe to toe with an opponent. Suddenly, nothing would matter except what I was going to do in the next six minutes. I no longer worried about the way I looked. It was as if I had entered a meditative state. All the sounds disappeared except for the pounding of my heart and the muffled yells of Mr. Seljin and my teammates.
I always lost, but there were several occasions where I won points for my team, sort of, anyway. Wrestling was one of those weird sports that kept two scores. You wrestled your match as an individual, but the points you earned for your team were added to your team total to determine if your squad won the match. So it was possible that you could win your individual match but your team could lose the meet. Or you could lose your match but your team could win. If you won your match by less than eight points, you gained three points for your team. It was a win by decision. If you won by more than eight points, then you earned four points for your team. That was a win by major decision. If you won by fifteen points or more, it was known as a technical fall, which earned five points for your team. And lastly, if you pinned your opponent, six points would be added to the team score. With that in mind, you could lose to your opponent and still gain points for your team. My goal was to go out there and not get pinned. If I did that, then I technically earned anywhere from one to three points for my team, which could be the deciding points in a match. If I wasn’t there we would have to forfeit the unlimited weight class, which would mean that the other team would always get six points. But if I could keep myself from getting pinned, and lose by less than eight points, then I actually earned three points for my team.
Isn’t it strange that that was my goal, to lose, but by as few points and possible? Don’t get me wrong, I did get pinned. But those times where I was able to fight off my back and struggle through the third round without getting pinned felt amazing. Mr. Seljin always congratulated me, and made it a point at practice to talk about how I had supported the team by not giving up, by having enough courage to come out and wrestle, participating in a sport that many would not even try. I was actually earning points for the team by doing my part. I’m not sure if all the kids bought it or not, but I did, and it felt really good.
Most of the wrestlers did listen to him though, and seemed to hang on his every word. After his speech there were a few kids that actually congratulated me and patted me on the back. It felt good. Jeff was always the first one to encourage me. For some reason he was one of the few people I could hear cheering me on. His voice echoed in my head and there was more than one occasion that he gave me the courage to lift my shoulder blade off the mat, or to get away and earn the point I needed to shave my opponent’s lead from a technical fall, to a major decision, earning the team one more point. Cisco was close to my weight so he worked with me on occasion. He was tough on me, but he too encouraged me to work harder.
I was still occasionally teased about my weight, my talent, or lack of it, and sometimes for the way I smelled. I wanted to shower at school, but I was too embarrassed. My dad only let me shower every other day because the water bill was too high. I had deodorant but it wasn’t always enough to mask my body odor.
Adam, the jerk that had made it his job to harass me, capitalized on any opportunity he had to bully me. I can hear the taunts in my head. ‘Hey shit stain’, ‘How’s your stupid book, dork?’, ‘Nice pants, dipshit’, ‘You smell like my ass,”.
But all the taunts and ass whooping’s I received were all worth it when we won the league championship. And we won because of me.
Ely Carter
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The gym was packed and the noise of screaming fans dominated the tense scene. This was the final match of the year. Kopachuck and Key Peninsula had a tied league score with five wins each and the winner of this match would be league champions. The score was 45 to 41 with Key Peninsula in the lead. Cisco had just pinned his man bringing the Key Peninsula Cougar score from 39 to 45 and the crowd was going crazy. It was a home match for the Cougars and it seemed that everyone from the school was in attendance.
Ely was crapping his pants. Not literally of course, but his stomach was churning and his heart pounded with nervous energy. His match was next and he stood behind Mr. Seljin’s chair with an expression of barely concealed panic on his face. He was overwhelmed by the realization that whether or not they won the league title would be dependent on if he won or lost. His sweats were off and he was sweating profusely under his team sweat shirt. From his earphones Beethoven’s 5th muffled the cacophonous sounds of the screaming crowd.
Jeff came up behind Ely and slapped him on the back, grabbing him roughly by the neck and pulling him in close so he could hear him above the crowd. Ely flipped off his head phones so he could hear Jeff better.
“You ready?” Jeff yelled.
“Yup,” Ely said with little confidence.
“Listen, Ely, don’t worry about the pressure. Just go out there and do your best. Just don’t give up!” he yelled in his ear.
“Okay!” Ely yelled back.
Cisco stood on the mat with his hand raised in victory as the crowd exploded in applause. Cisco’s opponent came over to shake Mr. Seljin’s hand and Ely couldn’t help but focus on the poor kid’s face. His eyes were moist with tears of frustration and he wore an expression that seemed to be a mixture of shame, anger, and despair. That’s what I’ll be looking like soon, Ely thought.
Mr. Seljin shook the wrestler’s hand and walked over quickly to Ely, coming around behind him to massage his neck and arms, the customary routine he practiced for his wrestlers before their matches, especially if it was an important match. It was almost a ritual. He shook Ely’s arms to loosen them up and squeezed his shoulders and neck in his vice-like grip.
“Now listen, Ely, go out there and just do your best! When the whistle blows forget about all these people, forget about the score, just pay attention to what you’re doing and try your best. We are up by four points. You don’t have to win in order for us to win. Try not to get pinned, and if you lose by points, try to make it a decision. If your guy beats you by a major then we tie. If he beats you by a technical fall, or pins you, then we lose. But I don’t care if we lose as long as you’ve done your best, and as long as you don’t give up. I know that you have it in you. I know that if you don’t give up, that you can pull this off for us. That is all I can ask of you, and that is all you can ask of yourself.” Mr. Seljin paused as he took Ely’s hood off and turned him to face him. “You ready, buddy?”
Ely was nervous, but he was ready. All he knew was that he would not let this man down. If he lost, so be it. But he would not give up. “I’m ready.”
“Take your sweat shirt off and get your head gear on, they’re ready for you.”
Ely quickly lifted his sweatshirt off. He was always concerned about how he looked in his singlet, but not this time. His mind was elsewhere. Screaming teammates patted his back as he moved to the referee’s table to sign in. He could hear their encouraging shouts, “Go get ‘em Ely! Don’t give up! You got this guy!” The screams intensified as he moved to the center of the mat. The fans in the bleachers were howling equally loudly, and their combined cheers and stomping feet sounded like an earthquake. But all Ely heard was a muffled buzzing within his head gear, interrupted occasionally by shouts from his teammates.
Ely’s opponent was big. That was a given since all the heavy weight guys were big, including himself. But this guy was taller than most, and he wasn’t as fat as Ely. He looked like a football player.
Ely just wanted the match to begin so he could stop focusing on his opponent’s size. They shook hands and the referee blew the whistle.
Round One:
The Kopachuck wrestler came at Ely like a freight train, hitting him hard enough to push Ely backwards until he finally tripped and they both went flying out of bounds. Ely’s back hit the mat first and his opponent landed right on top of him. The
referee blew the whistle and signaled out of bounds, no points awarded.
Ely gasped for breath as the force of the impact had knocked the wind out of him. He glanced over at Mr. Seljin as he struggled to pick his large frame up off the mat. Sel was showing Ely to drop to his knees if the kid charged again, and to take his legs out in a double leg takedown. Ely nodded in acknowledgement and moved back to the center of the mat to face his opponent. The kid’s face was a mask of anger and he looked as if he would charge him again. Okay, Ely thought as he placed his foot on the line.
The whistle blew and the Kopachuck wrestler came at him again. This time Ely did what he was told to do. He dropped to his knees and the kid struck him hard in the chest. Ely wrapped his arms around his opponent’s legs trying to take his body to either side, hoping to get a takedown. But this guy was strong and he had too much momentum going in his favor. When he struck Ely, and Ely wrapped his arms around his legs, it just caused him to trip over Ely, forcing him onto his back.
Oh crap, Ely thought in panic as he landed on his back, his opponent haphazardly lying on top of him.
Ely heard Jeff yell, “Get off your back!”
And that was what he did. Before the Kopachuck kid could get a good grip on him, Ely was able to get an arm through and scramble onto his stomach. Ely put his arms out in front of him as he had learned to do in practice, and tried to get a leg under him so he could work up to his hands and knees, to his base, where he could then work on standing up, which was pretty much the only move that Ely could do very well at this point in his wrestling career.
Ely heard the referee signal two points for his opponent. Luckily, since he had not managed to gain control of Ely, he wasn’t given any near fall points.
The Kopachuck wrestler was controlling Ely pretty handedly, maintaining decent wrist control and boxing in his legs so Ely couldn’t get to his base. Several times the guy had managed to grab his wrist and work his other hand under Ely’s arm in an attempt to secure a half nelson where he could then turn Ely onto his back.
Mr. Seljin was screaming, “Look away and peel it off!”
It was a simple move and one that Ely had mastered pretty well. You just had to be careful that you looked away fast enough before your opponent could get a good grip on your neck and lift your elbow, gaining leverage by forcing your head down. If that happened then it was really hard to turn your head and peel it off. In fact, if your opponent sunk his hand in too deep on the half nelson, it would be almost impossible to counter it. At that point you either had to try to roll through, or hope that you were stronger than your opponent and fight off the half nelson.
Ely was able to lift his head up and peel his opponent’s hand off his neck before he could turn him. They went back and forth like that for a while and Ely stuck to what he knew. He looked away and peeled it off, all the while trying to keep his head up and get to his knees. They both scooted around on the matt for a while, and several times Ely was able to get to his base, where he was promptly slammed back to the mat with a tight waist.
Ely could still hear the screams from his teammates. Even through the noise of the crowd, the pounding of his heart, and the sound of his own heavy breathing, he could hear the shouts of his teammates. “Get up!” “Move, Ely!, don’t stop moving!” “You can do it!” “Stand up! Work your stand up!” That one came from Jeff.
Ely gritted his teeth and got his right leg under him again. He fought off his opponent’s two-on-one just as the kid made his first mistake and tried to force a half nelson without having control of his wrist. A two-on-one was just like it sounded. It was when one wrestler knocked his opponent to the mat and then used both of his hands, reaching under his opponent’s body, and grasping one wrist. From this position he would drive forward with his toes, hoping that his opponent would lift up his other arm to try and free his wrist. Then the offensive wrestler would slip in a half nelson and turn his opponent to his back. That was the goal anyway. But you only want to try this move while your opponent was on their belly. It was the classic mistake to attempt it while your opponent was still on their knees. And Ely was going to capitalize on that mistake. Ely felt the weight leave his body as his opponent shuffled to the side, trying to get his left arm under Ely’s arm and his hand wrapped tightly around Ely’s neck. But Ely, now unencumbered by the guy’s weight, lifted up with both hands and popped up to his base.
“Turn in to him!” coach Seljin shouted. Ely looked up and saw Mr. Seljin who was frantically yelling at him. “Now! Turn into him!”
Ely vaguely remembered what he was talking about. But Sel’s next move confirmed it. In a flash, Mr. Seljin jumped to his base, and showed him the move. Without any hesitation, Ely pivoted his legs out and turned his body towards his opponent, simultaneously lifting his head, pinching his own arm down, and preventing the kid from throwing a half nelson. Before he knew it, Ely was standing face to face with his opponent. The sound of the buzzer shattered Ely’s own surprise. They broke apart and Ely saw the referee signal a one point escape.
The crowd went crazy and the Cougar bench erupted in cheers as everyone leapt from their chairs, screaming happily. The score of the match was now two to one with Kopachuck in the lead.
Round Two:
Ely was given the choice of starting positions second round and he looked to Mr. Seljin for advice, as all the wrestlers were instructed to do. Sel motioned for Ely to defer to the Kopachuck kid. What that meant was that Ely was giving the choice to his opponent for round two, enabling him to have the choice for round three, which could be a pivotal round in a close match.
As expected, the Kopachuck wrestler picked the down position. Of all the positions, Ely liked the top the best. He was generally heavier than his opponents so even if he didn’t know many moves, his own weight was a pretty good defense against the bottom guy’s movement.
The whistle blew and the Kopachuck wrestler exploded from the mat. His first instinct was to stand up, which he attempted to do. But Ely clamped down on his arm and pushed all his weight into him and they both crashed into the mat with a thud. Ely struggled to find a two-on-one but his opponent was tough, and fast, and Ely wasn’t able to control either wrist. Within thirty seconds the Kopachuck wrestler had broken away from Ely and was standing facing him.
He was awarded a point for the escape, so now the score was three to one.
Ely was already tired. Sweat dripped from his body and his chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath.
Ely took two deep breaths before his opponent moved forward and locked up with him. The lock up, or tie up, was when wrestlers held their heads side by side while each one grasped the back of their opponents head while using their free hand to work for arm control, hoping to line up various takedowns that can be done from that position. They moved back and forth across the mat; all the while Ely could hear the screams from his bench. As usual, the ones that made it through to his ears were from Mr. Seljin and Jeff. He heard Jeff say, “Break away from the tie up!” Then he heard Mr. Seljin, “Watch the head and arm!”
And just as he heard Sel’s last comment, he found himself flying through the air. Time seemed to slow for those few seconds, then stopped abruptly as his back crashed onto the mat. For a second he was stunned. Then he realized that his shoulder blades were dangerously close to the mat and a surge of new energy rocketed through his body. He frantically lifted one shoulder off the mat as his opponent squeezed his arm and head together, slowly restricting the flow of blood to his brain.
Jeff was standing up, screaming as loud as he could. “Ely, keep your shoulder up! Hold on for thirty seconds!”
Thirty seconds, Ely thought. I should be able to do anything for thirty seconds. He fought for breath as he wrapped his arms around the body of his opponent, and tried as hard as he could to wrap a leg over the top of his opponent’s leg. Ely remembered the move easily enough as it was quite simple. The idea was to hook the guy’s leg so that the leverage and angle would keep his own shoulder off
the mat. And if your opponent tried to lean too far back to push your shoulder blade onto the mat, then you could roll him through when his center of gravity got too high. Ely knew he probably couldn’t escape the move, but he thought it might be possible to keep his shoulder off the mat for the remaining thirty seconds.
Screams from his bench pushed through his daze and he struggled with renewed intensity to find the strength and energy to fight off his back. And he found it. Somewhere within himself, he found what he needed. Years of anger and frustration boiled to the surface and he squeezed his opponent harder, gasping for air as the Kopachuck kid continued to squeeze his head and arm. He imagined that it was his father on top of him. He visualized blow after blow from his dad’s fists. Each strike caused Ely to clinch his arms tighter around his opponent.
Ely roared with anger, and as his opponent leaned back further, hoping to get a pin, Ely used his neck and legs and bridged through, rolling his opponent and smacking the guy’s face onto the mat. Ely was now on top of him but his head was still trapped within his arms.
Then the buzzer rang, ending round two.
Ely felt the kid release his hold, allowing much needed oxygen to fill his lungs. He sat there for a moment, breathing deeply, trying to get as much oxygen as he could as the Kopachuck wrestler stood up.
Ely glanced at the score clock and noticed that his opponent had earned a two point takedown and a three point near fall, adding five points to his score. Ely didn’t get any points for his reversal because he hadn’t gotten his head out. He needed to show control before points would be awarded. Damn, he thought. I just needed a few more seconds. He stood up and looked over at Mr. Seljin who was calling him over to the side of the mat. Ely walked over to him, his legs trembling with fatigue.
The Life of Ely Page 6
