These are terms others have used to describe fanatical parents. (Not me…I would never call anyone crazy)
As we near the end of folkstyle season – when emotions tend to run a little higher – I thought it would be fun to celebrate our craziness for a moment.
This article is meant to be all in good fun – but will also hopefully help you recognize when you’ve gone from a healthy amount of crazy to “crazy” crazy.
What’s the difference?
Being obsessive about training and traveling to compete can be great- it shows you support your wrestler’s goals. It’s when that obsessiveness starts working against your wrestler instead of for them that it might be time to pump the brakes.
In the Style of Comedian Jeff Foxworthy…
-
You’ve ever ran onto the mat to yell at the ref…or to pull your kid off the mat…or off the other kid.
-
You’ve yelled at another coach or parent – and especially if you’ve been kicked out because of it.
-
You’ve yelled at the other wrestler’s parent 10 minutes after the match because they were laughing and you took it the wrong way (you know who you are…lol)
-
You hoard workout and wrestling equipment in your basement (Love you, Bobby)
-
You’ve created a 4-inch thick three-ring binder “dossier” profiling your wrestler’s opponents (AND any possible opponents at state) with stats, strengths, weaknesses and strategies. Yes, this was real…and before Trackwrestling and FloWrestling existed.
-
You made your 10 year old son run the last five miles home behind your truck carrying a sandbag on his neck while you filmed him because he “didn’t work hard enough in practice”.
-
You walked out of a dual tournament and leave your 9 year old sitting on the wall by himself because he didn’t tech his opponent and “let down the team” (we were winning the dual by like 30pts…not that it even matters, just adds to the craziness).
-
You’ve driven nine hours overnight to pull your son from a dual event because his roommates took some of his gummy bears.
-
You challenged the coach to wrestle at practice to see “if you’ve still got it” (Didn’t still have it)
-
You freaked out screaming in the corner coaching your high school son because you’re afraid he was gonna get pinned in the last 10 seconds in a match he was winning by 8pts (ugh…that was me…and I was asked not to coach him again lol)
-
What else have you seen (or maybe done)?
Here’s the deal…
Just be honest with yourself and recognize when you start tipping over to the dark side and are getting out of control.
STAY IN THE LOOP
