This entry was posted on 2/2/2007 12:14 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
Well after a long journey I finally returned from Krasnoyarsk
(it’s close to the center of Siberia).I lost my first match at the Ivan Yariguine tournament
and since my opponent didn’t make it to the finals I didn’t have a chance to
wrestle back.I won the first period 1-0
and was winning the second 2-0 after a takedown.I got a little over zealous on top with a leg
ride and got into a weird scramble. My
leg got caught and I was pinned for the first time in my life with 10 seconds
left in the period.I can’t say I’m very
happy about my performance in Russia,
but it was a good experience that’ll motivate me in the future.The flight over to Russia
was tiring and the food wasn’t the greatest, but there are no excuses for my
performance.I don’t have time to sulk
about it and need to focus on training hard the rest of this week for the Dave
Schultz tournament next weekend.On a
brighter note, I went to the Red Square and St.
Basil in Moscow.Some pictures from Russia
are posted below.
2/2/2007 11:36 AM
keith wrote:
Good to see that even though a disappointing result you can use it to motivate yourself for the next contest. why not post more photos etc. as part of your blog as you progress thro competitions and training. Good luck at Schultz. Reply to this
2/3/2007 2:04 AM
Bill wrote:
Travis, it's still a good thing to have gone and had the Siberia experience. There's no way to learn except to go through it. You've had a chance to see all that's involved in international wrestling now: the wrestling; the travel; the crowd; the other competitors; the food; the sights. All in all, painful but educational, eh? Any comments on the type of wrestlers and wrestling you saw, compared to 'the usual'? Reply to this
I agree ... it would be nice to see more pictures of you both wrestling and just hanging out. Hopefully smiling!
Hey, your parents are great wrestling fans. Always see them at the tournaments supporting your cousin at Punahou.
The other day ... when our boys were running around the rubberized St. Louis track ... I sat down next to this gentleman who mentioned to me that he was from the NFL, here for the ProBowl, and was killing some time at St. Louis School to watch the baseball practice. Apparently, one of the baseball players helps him on the sidelines during the game.
Anyway, he told me that he met you in Atlanta and that you got pinned for the first time in your life in Russia. I told him that you were lying and that you used to get pinned all the time in practice in the 8th grade when you were 85 pounds heavy.
Well, less than a month before the States. Three more weeks before the ILH. St. Louis got smoked in the last two duals against Punahou and Kamehameha. We've lost twice to Punahou the last one by over 25 points. This team needs to regroup and get healthy. Hopefully, the ILH championships and States have a different outcome. On paper, we should take the ILH and have a legitimate shot at the State. We are senior heavy ... our problem with this group has never been the lack of talent but more of their ability to focus on the task at hand and be mentally disciplined and prepared to battle through adversity. TEAM FIRST ... is again the priority.
Good luck in your training and at the Schultz Tournament.
3/6/2007 3:11 PM
Dave Auble wrote:
Travis, Congratulations on the Schultz tournament win! I want to hear about the Uzbek trip. The Russia trip sounds like the same experience that our U.S. team had at our first overseas trip the 1963 World Championships in communist Bulgaria. Our immune systems were down because of the 24 hours of flying. That led to dysentery from the bad food and water. Then you get the biased officiating to top it off! It's tough to be at your best anytime you have to travel that far and then deal with local conditions when you are a finely tuned athlete. You will benefit from those trips just in knowing more about what to expect and how to deal with travel fatigue, strange food/water, etc. Keep up the good work. You will reach your goals. Dave Reply to this
