My Dad, My Heart, Our Sport我的爸爸，我的心，我们的运动

The first time I stepped onto a wrestling1 mat2， I was six， but all my familymembers like to say I got started in wrestling the day I was born. That’s becausemy dad used to be a wrestling coach and was pretty intense3 about the sport. Hehad coached state champions， guys he pushed and pushed to make them get to thetop of the victory podium4. Afterward， they all said how much they loved him.Dad stopped coaching when I turned twelve， but he never let go of his own lovefor the sport.

He never pressured me to win like his former5 wrestlers had. Maybe Dadsaw I lacked their skills or mental toughness6. Or maybe he blamed himself fornot giving me the genetic7 talent one needs to be a great athlete. Either way，although he tried not to show it， I could see the hurt in his eyes when I lost. Itwasn’t that he was disappointed; I think he felt sorry for me.

I knew my limitations8 （most opponents were quicker） and my strengths（because of Dad， I knew more moves）， but before I got into high school， I justwasn’t serious about the sport. The brutal truth is that if you want to win atwrestling， you have to take it seriously or， as Dad would say， “You have todedicate9 yourself， son. Commit10 to the sport.”

Dad was right.

我第一次踏上摔跤垫是在六岁的时候，但我所有的家人都喜欢说我从出生那天起就开始接触摔跤了。（剩余4815字）