| Beau has always been an active child, so wrestling was a no-brainer. |
| He could not wait to get started. At 7 years old his journey began at a local club in Spring Creek, NV. From that day forward he has lived, breathed, and eaten wrestling. Beau was that kid that wanted to be the first to practice and the last to leave, he was a hard worker. He was doing great here at the local tournaments, he had gone undefeated the entire season, so we decided to take him to a national caliber tournament in Utah “The Beehive Brawl.” He went two and out that day, and it was definitely an eye-opener. |
| |
| There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears down in our basement, practicing 5 days a week with his practice partner Caden Constable. He improved tremendously, so we started traveling nonstop every weekend, and he just kept getting better and better. As a youth Beau won multiple Nevada State titles; he won several Rocky Mountain National events, as well as several Tour of America tournaments while earning his youth All-American status along the way. At 10 years old he was awarded USA Wrestling’s Future Olympian of the year!! |
| |
|
Beau’s success in the sport brought a lot of attention to other parents, they began asking Floyd if he would coach their kids as well, there was not enough room in the basement, so we decided to open our own club, thus began Battle Born Wrestling Academy. With great success as a club, we were not genuinely liked; it was tough at times, but we knew we did the right thing and sometimes you must do things you just know are the right things, regardless if you stand alone in doing them!! |
| |
| I got to spend a lot of time with Beau traveling around the country to different tournaments. I was watching my little boy turn into a young man, and I watched him grow into a great sportsman as well!! One thing I can say about him is that he never threw tantrums when he lost. Win, or lose, he was the same (Although, I cannot say that about his father and I, lol). |
| |
| Wrestling has taught our son some of the truest gifts of the sport. Honesty, integrity, commitment, and work ethic. On one occasion we were traveling across the country to a dual tournament, he was invited to be on a very successful team. We were so excited. When we were on the plane he was chowing down on a big slice of pizza, and I did not even think to ask if he was on weight. We get to weigh-ins right at closing (If you ever travel back east give yourself 3 hours to go 25 miles; the traffic is terrible) he gets on the scale and he is overweight, and the only thing I am thinking is that my husband is going to kill me! We traveled this far, and he is overweight. |
| |
| The guy at the scale gave us ten minutes to go outside and run it off. OK, we can do this–I am thinking to myself. As we are headed out the door there was a boy about 20 feet in front of us walking. Beau looks down and sees a 20-dollar bill on the ground, the first thing he does is yell at the boy to ask him if he had dropped it. I never said a word to him. Sure enough the boy says, “Yes, thank you so much it must have fell out of my pocket”. As Beau is running outside, I am praying to God he makes it. As ten minutes go by we head back to weigh-ins; we get to the scales and the guy says, “What’s your name son?” Beau tells him his name, and without even stepping on the scale, he says, “Awesome job kiddo you made it!” Beau and I look at each other like, what?? The man says, I watched you pick up the money and ask that kid, who happens to be my son, if it were his. Not a lot of people would do that; you are a good kid. Now go get some rest; it’s late, and you got a tournament to compete in tomorrow. I literally cried! I was super proud of my son for his honesty, something Beau still carries with him today. |
| |
| Fast forward to High School. Beau’s dream was to become a 4x high school state champ, and what better way to accomplish this but by wrestling for coach Wade Pehrson, and the powerhouse Spartan wrestling program. At the 152lb weight class, as a freshman, he pretty much wrestled all upper-classmen and placed well at several High School tournaments. At the State tournament he won the finals in overtime, becoming a State Champ as a freshman. He was on his way to reaching that goal. Sophomore year came and high school set in. Unfortunately, Beau was not making the best of choices, and it cost him his 4x dream. He lost in the State Championship finals match to a kid he had beaten several times before. |
| |
| Throughout Beau’s wrestling career I never saw him cry over a wrestling match, and his father would never allow it, but after that match he went out back behind the arena and broke down in tears. He cried alone for quite a while, then his father joined him and just held him without saying a word. As hurt as we both were for Beau, we knew that this was a good life lesson that he desperately needed to learn. You cannot achieve your dreams by having a poor work ethic, making unhealthy lifestyle choices, and that his athleticism could only take him so far. That loss did something to him. His Junior year came a long, and it was his best year yet!! He went Undefeated in all high school tournaments–Winning the State Championships with ease, and he won the Prestigious Sierra Nevada Classic!! |
| |
| Beau is a Senior now, and unfortunately the novel Corona virus has stopped all High School sports in Nevada! Through some of the worst adversities come the biggest blessings; God works in mysterious ways. We have had the unbelievable opportunity this year to hire Joey Lavallee as a full-time coach. Nevadan’s do not need an introduction to this kid. He has introduced the boys to D-1 level practices. As much as he brings his wealth of wrestling knowledge to the table, he also brings his strong Christian values to the program–a true blessing. Beau has been traveling across the country this year competing and placing at a lot of National High School tournaments. Thanks to Joey Lavallee, he is now wrestling better than he ever has. |
| |
| |
