Anthony Pina '21 Recruiting Profile

 I feel the pressure in the air. It’s crazy to think I finally made it into the finals. I got J-Cole blasting in my headphones while I bounce up and down to get warmed up, scenarios playing over and over in my head of what I’m going to do. All of a sudden everything starts to rise; the heat, the aggression, and the pure adrenaline that’s coursing through my veins. I’m decked out in my finals gear. White and gold singlet, shoes, and custom headgear that I put together myself. This is my element. I look over at my coach and he nods to give me the signal. It’s time to wrestle. They say that roughly 75% percent of the time, wrestlers who get the first takedown win the entire match. I got the first takedown. You can probably guess who took home the gold medal.

Ever since I was introduced to this sport I have been forever changed. Wrestling instilled in me everything I needed to be successful in life such as discipline, work ethic, perseverance, and fierce determination, or so I thought. Unfortunately, I underestimated the upcoming obstacle, I thought I had learned everything needed in order for me to win but this last season I was proved wrong. I went to the state championship tournament, the final tournament of my junior year, and was knocked out as quickly as I had entered. This was a tremendous letdown. In my mind, the expectations of my coaches, teammates, and family weren’t met that day and I was heavily embarrassed by the outcome. My ego had been almost completely destroyed, I walked around the halls with my head down and I spoke to my teachers and parents in a soft, defeated tone. I felt like the weight on my shoulders consisted of glass shards constantly digging into my back reminding me of my failure. The week before state I chose to try and not think about what I was going up against and how I was going to perform. I was overly confident and hardly prepared which caused me to underthink the possibilities of my matches. 

Although I was left feeling small and hopeless, over time I began to build myself back up. With the help of my mentors and peers, I discovered that everything happens for a reason. When I lost my final match at state it occurred to me that my determination was low because I was trying to be stress and anxiety-free for the tournament. I ran away from the thoughts and decided to go in unprepared. I learned that failure can easily lead to success with the right mindset and I can’t just walk through life avoiding my fears and expect to be the best at what I do. After I finally accepted my failure I was changed for the better. The reps in practice, the imaginary matches I have in my head and even the confidence-eating thoughts that live deep within my own brain must be dealt with determination. With the things I have learned and experienced through the sport, I think that the challenges that await me in the near future will seem a little easier due to the amount of stress and hardship wrestling has put me through. Not saying my life will be a walk in the park but It’ll be a lot more enjoyable, especially with the overall stresses and commitment of college that are right around the corner.