On, Wednesday, March 8, I sat around a table surrounded by a new family. A family whom I met earlier this winter, who embraced me with nothing but open arms. If you asked me in the fall what I would be doing on Wednesday, March 8, I surely would not have said, “I’ll be at a wrestling banquet.”

Late fall, I made a last minute decision to become a team manager for FHC wrestling. It never crossed my mind that I would come to love the team and other managers so much, and I never thought of how much I would miss everyone after the season.

On Friday, December 9, I attended my very first wrestling match as a manager. We were going against Sparta, and even though I do not actually wrestle, I was extremely nervous. Having just learned all the rules, I barely knew what I was doing. It was my first time using Matboss, an app that can record footage and keep track of all the stats. The pressure was on to not screw up, and with the help of Rene Maier and Ava Stathakis, the other mat managers, I managed to make it through the night with very few errors.

With this being said, I would like to thank Ava and Rene for letting me into their managing staff with nothing but excitement. They have been my role models this past season; giving me advice and training me to, one day, be the head manager and pass on the tradition of team managers down to others. We have come so far from where we started, from all the early morning team tournaments to the late night individual tournaments. They have been by my side in not only the wrestling atmosphere but in everyday life as well. They have come to know me so well and they continue to make my day brighter. Sadly, they are seniors this year, meaning they will soon be off to college, but I know they will be back to visit me and the wrestling program as much as they can.

I would also like to thank all of the coaches who have become parent-like figures to me, not only did they put up with the daily shenanigans of the managers and the team, but they also have become people who I can talk to whenever I am in need. I know leaving this season that they will always be there for me and I can not wait until next season. Being in the wrestling program gave me a bond to a team like never before, this program, team, and staff are truly amazing. All of the life lessons that are drilled into my head like “Always get back up,” “Have a purpose with every move,” and the infamous “Improvise, adapt and overcome,” will forever be applied to my life, even beyond high school.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the wrestling team itself – they have become some of my closest friends and look out for me on a daily basis. I am so proud of what everyone has accomplished this season; they have all come so far. Never in my life have I thought that I would grow so close to this team and find a family from a team other than volleyball one, but they truly are like a second family. I am sad to see the seniors leave as their season comes to an end, but along with everyone else, they will be back in the wrestling room at one point or another – everyone returns home every once in awhile. I am also happy that two of the boys made it to states as juniors, knowing that next year they will push themselves even harder and become the best of the best. The team that I will be with next year will continue to grow and we will continue to become closer. I can not wait to be back in the wrestling room every day next winter, after school listening to music like classic rock, Bruno Mars and “Robo Kitty.”

Until next year FHC wrestling, you will be missed.