Such was the case on Friday on the opening day of competition at the 2010 Brute adidas Nationals at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The eighth annual event opened with competition in first through eighth grades. And while these are only young boys and girls wrestling, their determination and desire was as great as any wrestler who competes at the high school, collegiate or international level.
After his win, he walked the concourse with his father and talked on the phone to another family member, sharing the good news. To say Balk was excited about his fantastic day would be an understatement.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say this feeling is a 10," said Balk. He has trained with Olympian Ken Chertow at his camps and clinics and trains regularly with the Victory Wrestling Club out of Missouri. "I have great workout partners that I practice with at Victory and that helps me prepare for this."
Balk, who placed eighth last year to earn All-American honors in third grade at 65 pounds, is not nervous to be in the finals this year.
"I wrestle against some great competition at Victory and that prepares me for a national tournament like this. I am looking forward to wrestling Sunday."
While wrestlers like Balk were on a high from their success, there were others who were on the opposite end of the spectrum, such as 14-year-old Brooke Olesen who competed for the Bonner Braves wrestling club of Basehor, Kansas. There were no celebratory calls for her, but there was some sadness as Olesen lost her first two matches and was eliminated from the tournament. Despite the tough day, Olesen was excited about her chance to compete at the Brute adidas Nationals and knows it's a great opportunity to continue to improve as a wrestler.
Olesen didn't mind being one of the few girls competing against the boys. In fact, it's something she is used to, and actually enjoys.
"The guys are definitely harder to wrestle than the girls," says Olesen. "But I think it's more fun, the guys give me better competition. A lot of them doubt me and think I am going to just fall on my back because I am a girl but I show them different when I am out there."
Olesen said she started wrestling over three years ago after following the sport because her brother wrestled.
"I tried it and practiced and never wanted to quit. I just kept going and always wanted to be on the mat."
Olesen enjoys wrestling so much she hopes to get a scholarship to compete in college someday, in fact, she even knows where she would like to go -- Oklahoma City University.
"I took second in a tournament out there last weekend and have to just keep working hard," said Olesen.
And despite the losses, she planned to do just that. She was going to wrestle some challenge matches in the FanFest area. That gives kids who have lost a chance to get more matches with officials monitoring the match.
"The more I wrestle the better I will get," says Olesen.
That was the attitude of many of the competitors on this day. While the goal for many was to make it to Sunday's round and/or become an All-American, the chance to see national competition and different styles of wrestling is what brought them to Kansas City to compete in this event.
That was the case with the group of six kids who came down to this event from Willmar, Minnesota, said Frank Swoyer.
"We are from Kansas originally, but moved up to Willmar," said Swoyer. "I knew this was a great tournament so I wanted to get some kids from our area to come down here and compete. We came last year too and it's really a great event. What I like is the competition, and the fact the boys get to see wrestlers from throughout the Midwest and throughout the country."
"It can be challenging for kids not used to this kind of environment," said Swoyer. "But I told the kids the mat you wrestle on here is the same size as the mat your wrestle on back home. The competition may be better here, but that will make you better and that's why we come. In fact, I'd love to see more Minnesota kids come down here, it's a great tournament."
The chance to compete against kids from different states is what drove a large contingent of wrestlers from Arkansas to the Brute adidas Nationals. Pat Smith, who became the first four-time Division I NCAA champion in history and is one of only two to ever achieve the feat (Cael Sanderson is the other), has set up a training academy in Arkansas and led a number of youth wrestlers to Kansas City. One Arkansas boy competing was Justin Butler, 14, who competed in the eighth grade division at 104 pounds for the Maumelle MatHogs of Little Rock. He faced wrestlers from Oklahoma and Colorado on this day, and was pleased with the opportunity.
"I really enjoy the competition, it's fun to get to learn from wrestlers from different states and to see what they do or how they wrestle," said Butler.
"We just thought it would be fun to do," said Holton, who described himself as a fan of the Iowa and Cornell college programs. "This is a tournament where we like to have fun. I like this big tournament and meeting kids from all over the country. We want to win but we have fun doing it."
For many of the wrestlers and their families, the tournament also gave them some time to hang out with family and friends. Those who competed today and advance won't compete again until Sunday. On Saturday, the ninth through 12th graders will compete, while the younger wrestlers will get a day off.
When it was all said and done on Saturday the emotions were in check for many. Those who won were excited to still be competing and those who lost had gotten over the defeat.
"I'm bummed I lost but there will be another tournament," said Olesen.
For a wrestler like Balk, he wasn't going to be nervous waiting over a day for his finals match. In fact, he was looking forward to the free time before then.
"We're just going to hang out and have fun," he said. "That's what I say, just have fun."
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