Virginia Beach
Pictures Courtesy of Judy Graham
This weekend marked the last NHSCA High School National for Kasius. It’s bittersweet for us as a family. We’ll surely miss our trips to Virginia Beach.
The first time we heard about Virginia Beach, Kasius was in middle school attending SLAM Academy. Coach Jake Rollans was bringing his high school group and said that he’d love to bring some middle schoolers with him. So off we went, and what an experience it was. We’ve never seen a set-up as big as NHSCA High School Nationals. Over 60 mats, thousands of wrestlers; College coaches everywhere. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for a middle schooler.
Once Kasius stepped into high school wrestling. This was the tournament that he wanted to compete in every year, and every year we would see growth in his wrestling. This year was important for Kasius as it would be the last time he would compete in NHSCA HS Nationals. So we did what we always do, registered for the tournament, booked the hotel room and flight, and Kasius got back in the room with his brother/Coach D’Andre to fine tune his skills.
We arrived a day before weigh-ins, hoping to get adjusted to the time difference which is not easy. Kasius has always wrestled up here, or his walk-around weight. So we didn’t have to worry about his weight. It definitely makes it easy not to stress over weight, and he is able to wrestle at his strongest. As he wrestled his 1st match, my nerves were all over the place. Unfortunately, he lost. He didn’t wrestle his match. He was visibly upset. Big brother/ Coach D’Andre talked to him. Now he has to fight through the consi-side; we all know that it will not be easy. At dinner, he tell us that he’s ready for tomorrow.
6am in the morning, which is 3am Vegas time. We leave the hotel to get to the arena. Knowing it’s going to be a tough day. We watched him warming up with his buddies and pray that he’ll have the strength to grind through match after match. During his blood-round, I could tell that his LCL was bothering him. I was nervous for him, but he fought through it and won. Now moving onto the next match and his opponent did end-up re-injuring his LCL. As he lay on the mat holding his knee, my mama heart hurt! He ended up taking an injury forfeit, but he earned his All-American status as 8th placer. Now, this is not what he wanted. His goal was to win it, but things happened and he had to adjust. His Coach Jake said it the best, “you can’t come here wanting to place, you have to come here wanting to win it!” We’re so proud of him for his fight and his heart. Wrestlers are built different–built tougher than most for sure.
As a wrestling family, we have traveled all over. The one thing we make sure of, is that we try to make the best of every trip. Besides wrestling, we find fun things to do and delicious foods to try. For Virginia Beach, we always try to book a hotel beachfront. The Nevada kids love themselves some beach–never matters how cold it is. There are many great eats. And, the wrestlers love Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt. We literally stop by every night after dinner. This is something we’ve been doing every year; it’s a tradition!
For us, NHSCA HS Nationals has been such a great experience. I’d suggest for all wrestlers to compete in it. Start in middle school if possible. It’ll help your wrestlers get used to the large competition environment, and it will definitely ease the nerves a bit. Tips for the trip… 1. Book your hotel at least 3 months early to get the best price. 2. Find places to eat ahead of time and call for reservations. The farther from the arena or Atlantic Ave, the easier it is to get into a restaurant to eat without a long wait. 3. Find time to walk the beach front. There are many landmarks and fun points of interest for pictures.
Most importantly, be proud of your wrestler–as it is not easy stepping on the mat at such a high-caliber tournament. And, remember to have fun as a family! These moments will be treasured for years!