I thought that I had lost my passion for officiating this season. I made it through all of our local tournaments, S.E.R, and our State championships. S.E.R was a tough tournament for me. I had a very good day in the greco tournament, and was not as strong for freestyle. I had learned more, and improved from attending the official education program, but I was still not as strong as I would like to be at applying my newly acquired knowledge. Our state tournament did not give me a great opportunity to apply my new knowledge and put them into practice as technique.
I was still booked to attend Jr. Duals as an official and I just was not looking forward to it. Fortunately I had a great experience and was able to get further training from a variety of excellent officials. I practiced new techniques and gained confidence in my ability to call big matches. The highlight of the trip may have been the dual between Minnesota, and New Jersey. I have tons of respect for both of the coaches, and I did not want to give them anything to do but coach the wrestlers. Our team of officials was successful at helping me accomplishing my goal. It was a competitive dual that was capped off by a 5 point throw in the heavyweight match that I was able to confirm from the judges position. Because of my feeling of accomplishment, and all of the improvements I had made I felt ready to make the big move and attend Fargo as an official.
I gave Anthony a call, and he said we did not have the budget to fly me out. I could go as long as i road the bus. I had just gotten off of the round trip bus ride from Oklahoma City and I was a wreck. I knew if I road the bus to Fargo I would not be an effective official. I would also miss the two officials clinics, and I was very interested in attending them. I convinced Anthony to fly me up, and I would ride the bus home. Everything was working out. All I had left was 4 days of Soccer camp for 6 hours a day in 95 degree heat. I survived, and enjoyed camp, got packed and was on my way to Fargo.
Nothing is easy at Fargo. Fortunately I had attended several times and knew the drill. After waiting for a ride from the airport for over an hour, I finally hired a cab for the $10.00 ride to NDSU Bison arena. I got checked in, arranged my credentials, and got unpacked. It was a relief to get a little settled in. I went for a little walk around campus and found the location of my clinic for the next day. I meet my room mate, an official from Texas, and had a descent meal in the cafeteria which included plenty of the best chocolate milk known to man.
The clinic on the second day was not that much more informative than the OEP I attended in Atlanta, but it was taught by superstar officials who I have watched work Olympics and World Championships. We reviewed some of the toughest calls in greco and freestyle, and were instructed how to handle some more difficult situations. I felt prepared and ready to go.
All but one of the mornings started with weigh-ins that were mandatory for M2, and M3 officials. I am an M3 official so I was there. The weigh-ins were extremely efficient. We would get 1000 wrestlers weighed-in in less than 20 minutes. I was in a spot between nail checks, and skin checks, and helped maintain order making sure no one changed weigh-in cards, walked, and did a quick check of singlets to make sure they were legal competition singlets. We caught about 10 wrestlers with singlets that had been altered. we sent the wrestlers back out of weigh-ins to change. Unfortunately one of the altered singlets I caught was on a Georgia wrestler. Fortunately he still made weight. Every morning except one started this way. 6:30 to the Dome for Weigh-ins. Competitions started at 9:30 most days so I had to be back at the dome no latter than 9:00.
Every session started with a brief meeting/clinic. We were instructed on specific situations, and prepped for the session ahead.
Being an M3 I spent most of the tournament on whistle or in the judges chair. They assume that there will be problems if an M3 is in the mat chairman's position. As an M3, M2, or M1c you get reviewed at least once in every session. My ability to apply the information I had obtained throughout the season allowed me to perform in a fashion that rewarded me with good reviews, and recommendations for an upgrade.
Now for the fun part. For the second session of Junior Freestyle I was assigned to mat one. Mat one is on an elevated stage, and the center of attention for Fargo. There were also three cameras on the mat showing a live web-cast. Not only would I have the pressure of being on center stage, but I would also be viewed by whoever wished to tune in. To add to the pressure, The mat chairman asked me to sit in the mat-chairman's position for the first two matches. I performed well, and was allowed to rotate back into the chairman's position after I judged and whistled. I had one small problem and handled it efficiently. I was happy with my performance, and got my best reviews of the tournament. I performed well under pressure.
The stress, pressure, and physically long days left little energy or time for socializing, but I did meet people who have my same common interest from all over the nation. I gained knowledge, got the opportunity to apply it, and performed well under pressure. I made new friends, and got to officiate in the biggest wrestling tournament in the world. I will be back next year, even though I will not be due for an upgrade.
