“All right everyone,” coach Jackson began, “listen carefully. We’ve been practicing now for two weeks. Today and tomorrow are challenge days. Coach Anders and I will be refereeing all of the scheduled challenges. You have several options. You can work on moves on the empty mat or you can watch the challenges. Remember, this is for the varsity spot this week. Coach Anders, who’s up first?”
Coach Anders looked on his clip board. “Looks like we have Luke Meyers and Evan Johnson on my mat. On your mat we have Jason Kendrick and Levi Forland.”
“Okay, let’s get going. We will end the challenges today with our heavyweight challenge.” Coach Jackson looked over at Ely at the back of the heavyweight line. “Ely, you still want to challenge Adam for the varsity spot?”
“Yes, sir,” Ely answered.
Adam was sitting at the front of the line, the position reserved for current varsity wrestlers. He snickered quietly and elbowed one of his friends sitting next to him. A few other wrestlers chuckled as if that were the most ridiculous thing they had ever heard.
Ely glanced uncertainly at Cisco who was sitting near him at the head of the next weight class. Cisco gave him a reassuring nod and a thumbs up.
“You got it,” Coach Jackson said. “Let’s get things going.”
With that said, everyone scattered as wrestlers prepared for their matches and others practiced various moves on the only available mat.
The challenges went by quickly, just as the day had. Ely wanted to keep a sweat up, but not get too tired, so he shadow wrestled, slowly going through various moves as he mentally prepared himself for his upcoming match. Then he heard it…
“Ely, you’re up!” Coach Jackson shouted.
Ely looked up and saw that Adam already had his sweats off and was shaking out his arms on the side of the mat. He couldn’t help but notice how big the guy was. His arms were huge, every inch of them covered with dense muscle. Adam returned Ely’s look with a defiant glare. Ely looked away and moved to his side of the mat where Jeff, Cisco, and John were already waiting for him. His sweatpants were already off so as he approached them he took off his sweatshirt and snapped on his head gear.
“Now you listen to me,” Cisco said as he grabbed his shoulders and brought him in close. “I’ve been wrestling with you the last six months, and believe me, you can beat him.”
John smacked him on the shoulder. “You got him, bud. Take it to him.”
Jeff stepped in front of Ely and got in his face. “You can take this guy,” he growled seriously. “You know that, right?”
“Yup.”
“Get pissed. Use your anger. Channel it into every move. Use it to beat down any doubts that enter your mind. You’re a warrior. It’s that simple.”
“I’m a warrior,” Ely repeated.
“Good. You go in there and rip his head off. He’s just an obstacle in your path. What did Leonardo da Vinci say about obstacles?”
Ely smiled. He had told Jeff one day that this quote was his favorite. “He said every obstacle must yield to stern resolve.”
Jeff smiled. “You got it. Now go get ‘em!”
Ely walked out onto the mat. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweats while Adam was wearing a tight singlet, looking every bit like the varsity wrestler. They came together at the center of the mat and Adam looked at him and smiled.
Coach Jackson was there and after one look to make sure that his timers were ready he addressed them both. “You guys ready?” They both nodded. “Okay, gentlemen, shake hands.” They shook hands and then Coach Jackson stepped back and blew the whistle.
Round One
Both wrestlers slowly circled each other. Then Adam moved in confidently and tied up with Ely. Ely shook him off and stepped back a bit, not excited about tying up with someone who was stronger. Cisco had told Ely that Adam would try to tie up and attempt to use his upper body strength to control the match. So they had worked out a plan.
Adam rushed forward again, his hands out and reaching again for the tie up. Ely, expecting the move, reached out as well, but at the last minute he dropped low and shot forward, attempting a double leg takedown. The move was textbook perfect and in a blink Adam found himself on the mat with Ely behind him.
“Yes! Nice takedown, Ely!”
John smiled and smacked Jeff on the arm. “Dude, that was perfect!”
“You bet it was. I worked with him on that for hours.”
Back on the mat Ely was struggling to keep Adam, now enraged, on the mat. Within fifteen seconds Adam was up and had earned his escape. The score was now two to one. They circled each other again. This time Adam was more cautious, watching Ely warily, not as confident as he had been before the start of the match. Adam quickly lunged in and tied up with Ely, roughly shaking him with his powerful arms, trying to thrown him off balance while looking for an opening. Ely, momentarily stunned by the strength of the attack, hesitated, giving Adam enough time to set up his move. He jerked his arm forward and slightly lifted Ely’s head, setting up the dreaded head and arm, a favorite of the heavyweight wrestlers. Ely felt it coming, but was too slow to duck under the arm to counter it. Horrified, Ely felt his body flying through the air.
“Roll him through!” Jeff yelled.
Ely, moving on instinct, wrapped his arms tightly around Adam’s body as he soared through the air. They both hit hard but Ely used Adam’s momentum and rolled him all the way through. Ely popped his head out from Adam’s grip and came up on top, earning two points for the takedown.
Jeff, John, and Cisco were screaming like maniacs, and at this point there was quite the crowd assembling around the edges of the mat as word of the current score had quickly spread.
“Four to one, baby!” Cisco screamed.
Within seconds the whistle blew to end round one.
Ely stood up and shook out his arms. He felt good. He was tired, but that was to be expected. His eyes, radiating determined anger, focused on Adam as if he were evil incarnate, remembering the physical and mental pain that Adam had inflicted on him. But, at least for now, the tables had turned; he was winning by three points. Don’t get too ahead of yourself, he silently reprimanded himself. There were still two rounds left, and a lot could happen in two rounds.
“Nice job, Ely!” Jeff screamed.
Adam won the coin toss and chose the down position.
Round Two
As the whistle blew Adam took off like a rocket. Ely held onto him and managed to keep him in the down position, but it was a struggle. They moved across the mat like scurrying ants as Adam tried various moves hoping to get an escape or reversal. Ely defended most of the time, but he did try to break him down on several occasions. But Adam was just too strong and when Ely went to hip into him and break his arm down at the elbow, it felt like he was hitting the knotted trunk of an oak tree. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t break him down to the mat. After thirty seconds or so Adam was able to break away and stand up for his escape. The score was now four to two.
This time Adam didn’t hesitate. He moved in quick, hoping to take Ely off guard, which he did. He under hooked Ely’s arm, lifted up hard, leaned back and threw Ely through the air. Landing hard on his back, it took Ely a second to realize what had happened. But luckily he had worked with Cisco on this move as well, and even though Adam had caught him in one of his favorite throws, Ely had worked hard on how to counter it. No sooner had Ely landed than he bridged up hard, using his neck and legs to lift his back, and Adam, off the mat. Then he pushed his arm through and spun around to his belly, countering the potentially deadly throw by giving Adam just the takedown points and not the near fall, points he would have earned if he had kept Ely on his back for longer than two seconds.
“Damn! Now it’s tied up!” Jeff muttered in frustration.
“No problem. Ely’s in better shape. He’ll get him in round three,” Cisco said.
On the mat, Adam broke Ely down several times but couldn’t seem to turn him for any near fall points. The
crowd of wrestlers were all screaming now, moved by the excitement of the match.
Ely was sweating profusely and sucking in air, but he was able to constantly keep his body moving, preventing Adam from any near fall moves and nearly getting several escapes in his own right. Then the whistle blew ending round two.
Adam and Ely stood up slowly. They both looked tired, but Ely was the first up, pacing around the mat and shaking his arms out, trying to bring life back to his tired muscles. He was tired, but Adam looked worse. Ely knew that Adam was not a hard worker, relying instead on natural ability and strength. And he also knew that he had not spent the last six months preparing for this one event, getting up early every morning to run and work out. That knowledge alone gave him the confidence he needed to go into round three with the thought that he could beat him. As he looked at Adam drag his tired body up off the mat, Ely finally realized what Jeff felt in every match. Confidence. He saw Adam and knew that he could beat him. Sel had always talked about how the ‘process’ was what mattered, not the result. That if you showed up every day, worked as hard as you could, that things would fall into place, and eventually you would get the results you were looking for. Now he knew what he meant, and he smiled as he thought how much Sel would be enjoying this match.
“Come on, Ely! Shake it out! One more round!” Jeff yelled.
“He looks good,” Cisco said. “You can do it, buddy!”
Jeff smiled and looked at Cisco and John. “He’s going to take this punk.”
On the mat, Coach Jackson approached Ely. “Alright, Ely, its third round and it’s your choice.”
Ely looked over at Jeff who signaled for Ely to take the down position. The down position was the scoring position. Earning points for escapes or reversals was generally easier than turning someone for near fall points, especially if they were a good wrestler. But it was a risk at the heavyweight level. Some of the guys were so strong and heavy, that getting away was an unlikely occurrence. And if you ended up on your back, that kind of weight could make it really difficult to not get pinned. But Jeff and Ely had talked about this in case he was given the choice third round. They both felt that he would be in better shape than Adam, and they had constantly drilled defensive moves, as well as offensive moves from that position. Ely dropped to his knees, his eyes intense as he went over the moves in his head.
Coach Jackson approached the wrestlers. “Bottom man set?” Ely nodded his head. “Top man, take your position.” Then he felt Adam’s iron grip on his elbow and belly. And then the whistle blew.
Round Three
Ely erupted like a volcano, moving so quickly he caught Adam by surprise. Adam was barely able to hold on to him as Ely bolted upright, twisting and turning as he tried to break away. Adam, fearing he would lose his grip, pushed Ely out of bounds.
Coach Jackson blew the whistle and they both moved back to the center of the mat.
Jeff smacked the mat hard trying to get Ely’s attention. “Ely! Do it again!”
Ely glanced at Jeff and nodded his head before he dropped back to referee’s position. Within seconds the whistle blew again and Ely exploded to his feet. Grunting and growling, he focused all of his energy on trying to break Adam’s grip and turn into him. Ely was hoping to earn his escape and bring the score to five to four. They danced around the mat for a while but Adam couldn’t hold onto him. Ely arched his back, broke his loosening grip, and spun into Adam, earning his one point escape.
They continued circling each other, their chests heaving as their tired muscles demanded oxygen.
“He’s up by one!” John yelled. “What should we do, Jeff?”
“Take it to him! Don’t stop moving! Wear him out!” Jeff yelled as he nervously jumped around on the edge of the mat.
Ely lunged toward Adam, but this time Adam used the last of his strength to take the initiative. As Ely moved forward, Adam dropped low and shot his body forward and to the side, hoping to snag Ely’s leg and take him down with a single leg takedown. Ely tried to sprawl, but just wasn’t quick enough. Adam spun by him, coming up hard and jerking Ely’s leg into the air.
Jeff was now kneeling by the side of the mat, frantically pounding his hands on it. “Damn it!” Push him away! Move out of bounds!” Jeff screamed. His heart felt like it was in his throat. He didn’t want to watch, but he also didn’t want to look away.
But Ely heard him and did just that. He used his hand to push Adam’s head away, while using his arm and his held leg as leverage to try and gain as much distance as he could between Adam and himself. If Adam closed the distance, then he could use pressure, or a leg sweep, or various other ways, to take Ely’s only leg out and put him on the mat for a takedown. Ely knew that he couldn’t let that happen. So as he pushed his head away, he hopped backwards, moving closer to the edge of the mat. When he was close, he spun around and kicked out with his held leg, launching his body forward and tumbling out of bounds. Adam tried to hang on and follow Ely, but it was no use. Coach Jackson blew the whistle, indicating they were out of bounds.
“That was close,” Cisco said to Jeff as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What about the arm drag? Adam is tired and it’s Ely’s best move. He’ll walk right into it,” Cisco suggested.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Jeff agreed. “Ely, look at me!” Jeff yelled.
Ely heard him as he was walking back to the center of the mat. As Adam briefly looked down, tired and breathing deeply, Jeff motioned for Ely to do the arm drag, pantomiming the move with Cisco. Ely, clearly tired, but still moving with confidence, gave an affirmative nod.
Adam and Ely faced each and then the whistle blew. Sluggishly, Adam moved in to tie up with Ely, a move typically used by tired heavyweight wrestlers.
“Ten seconds left!” Coach Thompson yelled.
Adam, hearing Coach Jackson, frantically pushed hard into Ely, hoping to line up his famous head and arm.
“Hit it now!” Jeff screamed.
As Adam pushed forward, Ely grabbed Adam’s wrist, stepped quickly to the side while simultaneously gripping the inside of the same arm, under the bicep, and leaning back hard as he jerked the arm forward. The move, perfectly executed, caught Adam completely off guard. His body weight was already leaning forward as he moved in for the tie up. Ely jerked Adam’s body forward so hard that his head smacked into the mat, making a sound similar to a cracking whip. Just as Adam hit the mat, Ely quickly spun around his prone body, coming up behind his hips and earning two points for the takedown.
Then the whistle blew and the gym exploded in applause. Ely jumped up with his arms in the air as Jeff, John, and Cisco cheered excitedly. Ely’s smile took up his entire face as he locked eyes with Jeff.
“You did it, buddy! You did it!” Jeff shouted.
“Nice job, Ely!” John yelled.
Adam got up slowly and walked to the center of the mat, his head lowered, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Coach Jackson directed Ely to the center of the mat where the two wrestlers shook hands before he lifted Ely’s arm into the air in victory. Ely grinned happily, the cheers of his teammates reflecting his own joy.
Cisco stood beside Jeff, smiling with his friend. “Man, I sure wish Mr. Seljin was here to see this.”
“Me too, buddy, me too.”
Thirteen
Let’s fast forward a little. So as a varsity wrestler I did pretty well. I lost some, but I won more, and as I won I continued to learn more about the sport, and more about myself. I worked harder, I studied my opponents, and I researched techniques. When most kids were sleeping I was up running, and with a smile on my face. It was like my drug, I couldn’t get enough.
Then, more quickly than I thought possible, the district wrestling tournament arrived. I took second place, which guaranteed me a spot at the regional tournament. Eight months ago I would have been ecstatic with this accomplishment, but not now, now I knew that I could achieve more. Mr. Seljin was right. Once you begin to test yourself…once you begin to really work
hard, to achieve your own personal best; that’s when you create the mindset, the know how to achieve even more. The phrase, ‘It’s a vicious cycle’ is usually applied to negative experiences, such as physical or emotional abuse, substance abuse, poverty, or crime. But this was a cycle that was not at all negative. I think we need a new term, like ‘radical roundabout’, or ‘circle of awesomeness’ to better explain how one positive step can lead to another, then another, making the ‘circle’ of one’s life better and better. The harder I worked, the more I realized what I could do, and the more I realized what I could do, the harder I worked. My outlook became more positive, allowing me to take on even bigger challenges. I think most people have no clue of this simple cycle. They are happy with mediocrity. Now, because of my ‘circle of awesomeness’, I was not content to be like most people. I wanted to be the best I could be, and I knew that I would not be satisfied until I really tested myself.
So at the regional tournament I kept pushing myself. I needed to place in the top four in order to continue on to the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Now keep in mind, if I placed in the top four in my region that would mean that I was one of the top sixteen best wrestlers in my weight class in the entire state. That in itself would be a great accomplishment for anyone, let alone myself. But I tried to remember what Sel had taught me. Don’t worry about things in the future that you can’t control, just focus on one match at a time and see where it takes you…you might be surprised. And I was. I took third at the regional tournament, which brought me to my goal, the state wrestling tournament.
Ely Carter
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A green van pulled into the entrance of the Tacoma Dome. Eight Peninsula wrestlers made it to the state tournament and those eight sat in the van along with the two coaches. As they pulled into the driveway, Jeff, who was sitting next to Ely in the back, jabbed his elbow into Ely’s side and pointed out the window. On the billboard were the words ‘Welcome schools to the state wrestling championships!’ Ely smiled excitedly. The van was quiet, everyone either too excited or too nervous to talk. Ely was both, excited to have made it this far, but nervous as well. But he had to admit, he was not as nervous as some of the others. After all, he had already surpassed what most people thought he could do. Most of the others however, including Jeff, were expected to do well, and that added pressure was enough to get the butterflies flying around in their bellies. Ely was just excited to see how he would stack up to the other regional qualifiers.
The Life of Ely Page 20
