| Cody just turned 5 and weighs 44lbs. He is starting his second year of wrestling. I thought this would be his first year, but last year Audrey said, “he is going to be here anyways, might as well sign him up.” His first practice he was still 3, turning 4 the next week. Too young? Maybe, but after every practice, last year, I asked him “Did you have fun? Do you want to go back?” He would answer yes each time. It was an opportunity for me to spend more time with him and his sister, Brooklyn, who had already been wrestling for a couple of years. He was getting to hang out with his friends and learning movement, coordination, tumbling, and some wrestling along the way. |
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| His first tourney he looked more like a turtle than a wrestler. But as the year went on, he learned and made more friends. Cody wanted to play with everyone, and it did not take long before it seemed like he knew everyone, or everyone knew him. I would see him wrestling and playing with boys from different clubs or sitting in their lap watching someone wrestle. He was busy. |
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| Coach Nacho, Coach Steve, Coach Cody, Coach Trent, and Coach Travis have done a tremendous job with our youth wrestlers. Coach Nacho has such a great relationship with the littles and is so good at teaching them and keeping them engaged. Cody likes being around them and learning from them. Coach Nacho and the Ruiz Family got Cody a shirt for his birthday that says, “Cody doing Cody things.” Those that know Cody know how fitting this is. |
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| So now to this year, he knows more people, he spent a good portion of the summer with me, on the football field. He would play catch with anyone that would throw him a ball, go through drills, help set up bags, whatever he could. He didn’t hangout with me as much, because as the D-line coach, we didn’t throw and catch the football like the other positions. That’s ok, he had fun. |
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| As we rolled into this season, Cody is back on the mat, but also in the basketball gym. He does not get to travel to every HS tournament with me. I have had a couple pictures sent to me, of Cody, at the HS basketball games. He really likes Steph Curry and playing basketball. He has found his way onto Coach Penney’s bench, and I have even seen a picture of him sitting in the huddle listening to Coach Penney during a timeout. Oh, and the best story may have been when he was on the baseline, took off his shirt, and tried to rattle the other teams free throw shooter. |
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| Cody wrestled 1 tournament this year, at McQueen, and placed First. It was a 10-person bracket, in which he wrestled his cousin, in the finals. Before the end of the tournament Cody was walking around with a trophy, almost as tall as him. I texted in a group chat that he had taken it; the grandparents were amused, my wife was not. The tournament director told me that Cody had the biggest bracket and had earned the Outstanding Wrestler Trophy. He was able to take a picture with his sister, who also placed first. |
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| It has been amazing to have my family enjoy and support wrestling so much. My wife, Shali, has been the glue that keep us together in and out of season, Kaitlyn was a manager, Taylor is a manager, Brooklyn is our first girl to pick up wrestling and now Cody, who wants to do everything. I love watching him and Brooklyn wrestle, but I am just as happy watching him have fun in whatever he does. |
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