Good Place Of Special Meaning Essay Example

Throughout my life I have been blessed to participate in many different sports. At one time or another I have participated in many different disciplines such as soccer, football and baseball. However, there is one that caught my attention and has earned a place in my heart. That would be the sport of freestyle wrestling. Ever since the first time I stepped into a high school wrestling room, I knew that this would be a special place to me, where many different memories would be developed.
In my opinion, freestyle wrestling is one of the most difficult sports to ever play. Unlike football or basketball, where you can depend on teammates to make the big shot; a wrestler relies is only one person – himself. The wrestling room is special to me because that is where I honed my best athletic moments but also developed the grittiness that will benefit me throughout adult hood.
The first thing that always catches my attention when walking into the practice room is the sound. Everyone is breathing hard; no joking or laughing, simply because everyone is putting in so much hard work. An innocent observer may think that the athletes in the room do not like each other because of the intensity that is shown on their face and their movements, but that is not the case. The grunts, slaps and shuffles that everyone hears are from the hard work and effort that continues to be put into every movement.
Visually, the wrestling room may not be appealing to those not enthralled with the sport. Puddles of sweat collected on the floor, piles of wet clothes sitting on top of each other, and may be even some blood are all frequent sights when wrestlers are doing their thing. This room is tribute to that scene during every practice. Wrestlers waiting their turn or catching their breath usually stand on the skirts of the mat, but even their presence adds an air of “toughness” to the atmosphere. Even though some of these athletes may be called “small” due to their stature, the wrestling room features some of the toughest athletes available.
The one turnoff that I will always remember is exactly how that practice area smelled. As mentioned earlier, there are multiple athletes in the room, sweating and training as hard as possible – that along with the scorching heat from the thermostat being set so high – creates a stuffy and often horrible smell. Even though this sounds unpleasant, it is one of the most recognizable features of wrestling season and the practice room. As the season moved on the stench in that part of the facility would grow worse, but that’s exactly how you would know that the important part of the season was picking up.
The heat in the wrestling room was always another factor. In wrestling it is important to cut weight to the lowest possible amount to compete in lower divisions. That means that wrestlers usually practice in rooms where the temperature is set to high levels to induce sweating. To make the situation even direr, they practice in layers of clothing. While this is severely dangerous at times, it has become a frequent practice in the sport. The feeling of walking into a room that is used for wrestling practice is normal to these athletes, but a “regular” person will always complain about it being too hot.
In my opinion, wrestling will always be the best sport in the world. The mental and physical toughness needed to compete at the highest level is astounding to comprehend. That strength is built in the wrestling room. That area will always be one of my favorite places and will hold a special dwelling in my heart.