wattenbergwrestling Farewell
Saturday, January 17, 2009, 10:10 PM
I’m sorry for not having posted, and for having left this entire page without closure, but I guess that is kind of fitting for how my wrestling career went out. I have been insanely busy with school, running the FLWC and (volunteer) coaching the Cornell team. I am enjoying all of it, and am content with no longer competing. Unfortunately, I feel like competing became more of something that I always had to worry about, rather than something that I got to do. When you go through that emotional transition, it is tough to be passionate about it; when you lack the passion, you don’t win the close ones. Some matches really do come down to who has the fire, and although I trained as hard as I could, and went for the win the best way I knew, I couldn’t pull out the ones that came down to passion. I think that my frustration may have stemmed from trying to adapt my style too much to the freestyle model that I was being pushed toward in COS and other places while being thrust into world level competitions. This led to many failures, a frustrating season, an abandonment from what had previously led me to success and a change in my mindset from how many days until I got to compete at the Olympic Trials to how many days until I was done. Like I said, I competed as best I could, and cared very deeply about the result, but that optimistic passion that says “I am going to make the Olympic team and will be wrestling in June” was no longer there.
One of the roles that I cherish now is my ability to help athletes, who undoubtedly face the same challenges as I did, persevere through these challenges. One of the biggest obstacles that I faced in my training was that I was training myself, and thus had nobody to shape my path on a daily basis. This was quite demanding on me as I couldn’t just let go and train, but rather had to plan and execute while also attempting to do the same for others. Once again, I did what I thought was best, but having that coach to lean on is a luxury, or maybe a necessity, that I didn’t have.
Although in the end I became an “also ran”, I did put a lot of my heart and soul into it. I deeply appreciate all those that have supported, followed me and helped me do what I could in the sport of wrestling. I fell short of my goals, but as it is for most things, the defeats are what drive me to continue to achieve. I will carry the experiences and motivation gained from these experiences with me as I pursue new and equally grand goals in my new career. I have been going to school, and will continue to for another year and a half to get certified as a Registered Dietitian (RD). I hope to affect athletes with my special brand of sports nutrition as I combine nutrition and exercise physiology with the lens of my wrestling past which I am proud to have shared with you.
This is the end of my blogging. I will continue to maintain this website, as I will undoubtedly find use for it as I develop my sport performance company, Performance Unlimited. Unpaid internships available, anybody interested?
Thank you Immensely for your support.
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( 2.9 / 416 )Life without the grind
Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 10:59 AM
Life without the grind is definitely different. I was trying to let my rib/ back heal up for a couple weeks, but just couldn't stand not lifting and wrestling, so am back at it again. The rib is staying about the same. I went live with Mack for the 1st time since, and it was kinda fun to just go out and wrestle without having to stay disciplined. I could give up takedowns (not purposely, but if deserved, I don't need to bully my way out of it). And now I can lift whatever I want, and not have to worry about it. I am having fun with the Olympic lifts, and may compete recreationally with Tom Dilliplane somewhere along the line. Professionally, I have been staying busy. I helped host a successful golf outing which is a reasonable fundraiser for the FLWC on Saturday, and then camps began on Sunday. Those of you that have heard me talk about camps know how I love them. They are going alright, although I have fallen into the "Social Director" role for the HS coaches, so that means late nights.
Other than that, I am getting geared up to get back into the classroom in the Fall, as an undergrad. I have about 23 undergrad prerequisite credits to take in order to be eligible to begin a Registered Dietitian (RD) internship. So after a year of classes and a year of internship work I should be ready to (hopefully) begin a Sports Nutrition program here at Cornell in which I will integrate the nutrition with the strength and conditioning.
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( 3 / 542 )What Went Wrong
Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 06:48 PM
By now you all undoubtedly know of the disastrous finish to my OTT’s/ season/ career this past weekend. Since going down, I have been left with an incredibly empty feeling that I can only express as “what went wrong?”At the tournament, there were a couple things working against me. My back problem has actually turned out to be a beat up rib that was causing the problems. I actually got a shot of painkiller in my rib before wrestling. More problematic seemed to be my inability to lift heavy for the month or so leading up to the tourney. I didn’t seem to have as much power as I like and am accustomed to; I penetrated a couple times on shots and was met with hips which I couldn’t contain. Not to assume that I could have finished my shot on these strong guys under different circumstances, but I did not feel as strong as I normally do.
The last thing that I really felt was summed up by Rob saying “it’s obvious that you had been training too much specifically for Hrovat too much”. He said this because of my lack of penetration on my shot attempts. I listened to him, and thought about it, and realized he was kind of correct, but probably it is more likely that my inability to really commit on hard penetration shots is due to wrestling Damion so much this year. By no means is this in any way his fault, but the combination of his weight advantage over me and his killer defense along with his great chest-lock/ front headlock probably had the biggest effect on my steering toward snag-type shots. I have long known that I have problems shooting under Damion because even if I get in on a solid shot, I usually end up getting beat with it. For a while, we didn’t wrestle as much live, but rather sparred the positions to allow me to get to my strong finishes, but recently we got away from it and I think I in turn got away from hard shots to strong finishes and just relied on snag-single type shots.
These issues haven’t given me any real solace as reasons for my demise, especially as nemesis/ friend Andy Hrovat found a way to make the Olympic Team. I think that it boils down to fearlessness. Although I know that I worked harder than Andy and probably put more time and energy into training than him, he was fearless. Whether in practice or competition he just let it all hang out, while I think that I have been subconsciously reserved. Whether it was fear of getting too tired, showing my technique to opponents, not wanting to get scored on in practice, not wanting to getting hurt or just not wanting to developing bad technique, I was not able to truly let myself go and commit myself letting go. I think that letting go is an essential component in being able to get out on the mat and earn a win. I got caught in between. I could wrestle conservative and preserve wins pretty well, but when things went wrong and I got out of my game plan (as in when I got lateral dropped at the end of the 2nd against Varner) and I had to go EARN a win (in the 3rd period), I fell apart. I wasn’t used to going and getting it, and thus I ended up taking ill-advised shot attempts and giving up easy scores. Rather than having that attacking mentality and ability, I was afraid of going to the clinch so I forced bad action.
If I take anything from this past disastrous weekend, it is this; It takes big balls to win big matches and the only way you get big balls is by practicing having big balls. Getting that last takedown against Mo came from Andy letting it hang out in practice. Not just one day, but as a rule. I think that I was hindered by my inability to let go, and it will plague me for some time until I figure out how to let it go in my next battle, whatever that will be.
Actually, the last thing that I learned was the amazing friends and family that I have supporting me through all this. Starting with Sarah and all my friends and family that made the trip out, you helped me tremendously. It is taking my a while to come to grips with my painful departure from the sport, but everyone who has been supportive of me you should know how much I do appreciate it and will try to express that to you personally as soon as I can.
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( 3 / 521 )Updates for the OTT- check here.
Thursday, June 12, 2008, 04:18 PM
For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to make it out to Vegas this weekend (Mack, Zach), you can find probably the most up to date info here. Also, worth checking is always themat.com and even sometimes the forums on themat.com, although there is dis-information there sometimes too.I am feeling pretty good as I am getting ready to head out tomorrow morning. I get into Vegas at like 1pm, will get in a good sauna, then eat a bit before I relax and get ready for my final cut Saturday around 1pm. Should be no sweat, and I am just excited to get this thing started.
To all those who have written in, texted or call their support, I appreciate it all, and look forward to celebrating with ya when this is all wrapped up.
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( 3 / 511 )Getting ready to go.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 11:06 PM
I am back in I-town getting ready for the big weekend. The camp finished pretty well, aside from the ankle rolling that I suffered the second to the last practice. It was a fitting end to a pretty damned tough camp; harder than I expected actually. As I told Ed Geise and Kerry Boumans (two of the OT coaches) when they asked if I was healthy just before that practice started, "I am haven't gotten injured yet", and when they gasped that I was speaking so frankly about a sort-of taboo issue I responded "common, we were all thinking it". That got a good laugh, but then it proved fateful too. Actually the bum ankle didn't really hold me back too much, as I still got in a decent drill and a couple situations in the PM with Damion, and haven't been fazed by it at all since I got home. The worst thing that came of it was having to wear the stupid ace rap and horseshoe on the trip home to control swelling. I hate walking around in that thing, as I look like a dumbass and it slides down as I walk around and I have to redo it a few times through the course of a trip.Since getting home, I have been relying on a steady workout schedule of drilling with Damion, mixing in live wrestling and lifting as my back can tolerate, getting in soccer (at 3/4 speed to insure no injuries) for cardio and trying to feel generally fresh. My lifting has transitioned to a combo of the typical core lifts and explosive versions of those lifts. E.g. Bench w/ push-ups to boxes, and squats w/ long jumps or box jumps. I am trying to turn my strong muscles into strong FAST muscles which = powerful muscles. Along the same lines, I am focusing my wrestling on being quick, handfighting hard while moving my feet to keep my opponent off balance.
I am feeling pretty good with all the preparations, and can't wait to get out there and perform. I will have unprecedented support out there as the usual suspects (Mom, Dad, Sarah, Koll and Coop) will be there supporting me, but also in the entourage will be Sister Cara, Brother in-law Greg, Nephew Dylan, Niece Jasmine, BFF Joey, Uncle Ted, Aunt Linda, Cousins Zoe and Ellen, Roommate Bogey, Wrestlers Boness, Moops, Nickerson, Brother-Arnone Joe, Arnone friend Gary and maybe even others. It should be a great time hopefully dominating and then of course celebrating.
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( 3 / 492 )Mid-way through the second week of the final Overtime Camp Ever (for me)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008, 10:28 PM
Guys, the wattenberwrestling.com ideas are priceless; keep 'em coming. I think that as of now I am leaning toward waxing political as well posting multimedia of me whoopin' Boness and Super Jew's asses in practice. An a side note, I have been training out here in Naperville. I broke out on Sunday, which actually only kept me off the mats for Monday. This was probably actually a blessing since my body, especially my back, were really wearing down. It got some much needed rest while I did some light cardio and lifting in the AM, then hard conditioning in the PM. Tuesday I drilled and wrestled with Keith Gavin in the AM, then wrestled matches against Tyrell Todd and Mike Tamillow in the PM. I wrestled pretty ok, but needed to just keep those damned hands and feet moving the entire match. Today I got a good little explosive lift in, then a sauna in the PM. My back is still tight, but very manageable. We just have 2 days remaining here, and the mat time should be reducing as we taper and really focus on must-win situations and positions.
On Saturday, Dam and I return home to Ithaca for our preparations for the OTT's. Next Friday we travel to Vegas, weigh-in on Saturday, then go balls out on Sunday.
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( 2.9 / 486 )3-day cycle done (barely) and the future of wattenbergwrestling.com
Sunday, June 1, 2008, 01:45 PM
So, the first 3-day cycle has gone fairly well, although the body is feeling pretty rough right now. After 5 tough sessions on the mat in 3 days and a lift, just about every joint and muscle is feeling pretty wore down. The training cycle culminated yesterday with a pretty physical drill with Donny, then 2 matches of near fist-fighting. My body was shutting down throughout the practice, having rolled the ankles a bit, back muscles cramping up and the infamous hip tightening up. I made it through, but am still feeling it today. My back is still tight and I will be sauna-ing to loosen it up a bit. The rest of the stuff is feeling alright and should be healed up by the time we get back on tomorrow.More importantly though, I have been thinking a good bit about the reality of my nearing competitive retirement. My good friend Adam Smith asked me just the other day whether I will be treating the Olympic Trials any differently that other tournaments I have completed in previously. I responded that I wouldn't, but then realized that all the other tournaments in the past have really been practice for this opportunity. From wrestling at youth tournaments all the way to wrestling overseas against the world's best, all those experiences have helped prepare me for the training and the competition that is about to ensue. I am feeling quite prepared right now, and full of confidence. I will try to take this and all the experiences of my wrestling past with me into the Olympic Trials two weeks from today
I have been pondering the future of wattenbergwrestling.com as well. I have enjoyed expressing myself via this website to my friends, family and even strangers, but as this year has progressed and I have neared the end, it has become difficult to maintain a schedule of updating and blogging. I will make a concerted effort to get my ideas, thoughts and emotions out there these final days until the trials, and hopefully for the 2 months leading up the Olympics, but once it is done, I can't see a reason to continue. This kinda make me sad, like this is the end of an era. It feels like this website is an independent entity, and upon realization that this may the end I was left with an empty feeling. I will probably maintain the site for a while after I am done wrestling while I figure out what I want to do with it; I would appreciate some outside input from some of you regarding what should happen with wattenberwrestling.com.
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( 2.9 / 454 )Memorial Day Stadiums
Monday, May 26, 2008, 05:19 PM
I got a good lift in this morning, hitting the cores, but due to the Memorial Day, I wasn't able to get on the mats. It's all good because I am feeling good and will have 10 hard days coming up, plus will be getting in with Damion tomorrow morn. Also this gave me the opportunity to hit the stadiums. It was overcast, high 70's and pretty humid. I busted out 10 staduim sprints, and felt like I got a mild case of heat stroke (j/k), but felt pretty happy with it overall. Here are some pics to enjoy.;)
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