Your first match with your

toughest opponent
Men,

You may think that today will be your first match of the

wrestling season. But you will be wrong.

The first match of this season began with your decision

to “lace them up.”

It began when you were willing to sacrifice your free

time, come to practice and bust your ass to get stronger,

faster and better.

In reality, your first match was with the toughest

opponent you will ever face.

Yourself. Your toughest opponent wears your singlet

and lives in your mind.

There will be times (perhaps like when you’re dog-tired

in the third period, or like when you’re on your back)

when your body will say, “I can’t!”

Your mind must respond with “I will!” Never give up.

Because whether you think you can, or whether you

think you can’t, you’re absolutely right.

And you will fight to get off your back or raise a

shoulder off the mat, or power on through your

exhaustion with all the strength your mind and body

can generate.

If you find that exhaustion happens often, you need to

commit to more time in the weight room, or to

conditioning harder during practice and extending

conditioning when practice is over, like doing more

pushups, sprints or morning runs. No one will do that

for you.
Even worse, your toughest opponent may suggest that

“he” doesn’t want to—he’s too tired, too busy, he wants

to relax and play video games, or he’s got other wishes.

Do not listen to him. You must command him, not the

other way around. Commit to becoming a better, tougher

wrestler and a better person always.

Make no mistake. Most people will call this event today

a “wrestling match.” It is not.

It is a war, and a war in which you will engage an

“enemy” in physical combat.

The guy standing across from you may be better,

stronger, faster and more experienced than you are.

He may also be a guppy.

Regardless, your mission is to leave the mat with the

other guy saying, “Man, I don’t want to wrestle that guy

again! He never quits!” And that’s whether you win or

lose.
You are the warriors of the oldest sport in the history of

the world. In fact, wrestling is the only sport; everything

else is just a game. In my eyes, you are the winners

just for stepping on the mat, regardless of the final

score of your bout.

You are to show respect for this sport, respect for your

opponent, respect for your coaches, respect for your

parents, and most of all respect for yourself. If you do,

the lessons you learn in wrestling will stay with you for

the rest of your life.

Dan Gable, one of the greatest wrestlers in history,

said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is

easy.” You will come to learn he was right.

And remember: You never lose in wrestling. You either

win or learn.
Now go do one or the other.

Coach Epps