Part 1: Another Chapter of my Adventurous life: Spring 2013

Introduction to the Advanture:

Where do I start? But seriously, what an amazing semester! Yes, I've had my ups and downs so far at Stonehill but what an adventurous semester! So many exciting things happened this past semester, I could literally sit here and write all day, every day about it. But I'm not really a writer so that's not going to happen. Besides, I do not want to bore anyone with a 50-page blog but I will do the best to capture the excitement and make it short and sweet. Rather than publishing everything at once, I will publish each topic as a separate blog. If the topic sounds like something that might interest you, then take the time read it. If you have that much time to read all possible topics then be my guest!

I don't want to think of myself as a person with a great life, because my life is the furthest thing from being great. My family situation is the furthest thing from being great. My financial situation is just as far away from great as the earth is from the sun. Don't get me wrong, I'm also the furthest thing from being poor thanks to my hardworking mother. The perfect word to describe my life is: BLESSED! I am blessed. Not lucky, but blessed. One day I'm at the peak of Mount Everest, the next day I'm emotionally at the bottom of the pole, and the following one I'm back to a happy medium. It could be scary not knowing where I'm going to be at tomorrow emotionally, but it’s also exciting because when I'm at my highest, it's like heaven! It's like, even though I was in the dumps yesterday, it does not matter because I want to keep moving, and I keep getting better, stronger. In other words, my life is a freaking adventure!

I normally like to think about my highs, lows and emotional status as a roller coaster. This past spring semester is what I call an adventure. Now what is an adventure? The dictionary says, “an exciting or very unusual experience.” My definition: taking advantage of every little possible opportunity, making the impossible possible, and of course, how can I forget my favorite quality in life? Not taking “no” for an answer, not feeling sorry for yourself (myself). Sorry about the rambles but I traditionally start with discussing my academic achievements, then everything else (work, activities, cool trips, good or bad random experiences etc). Isn’t it time to switch it up though? You know, talking about everything else then conclude it with academic achievements? Well what choice do you have as a reader? It’s my blog! With that, I would like to welcome you to my first 2013 blog! Sorry it took me so long after the semester to publish a new blog. It’s been over a month in process but the time hasn’t been there. But relax your mind, brace yourself and enjoy the ride. I hope I don’t bore you too much. And oh yeah, warning; I AM NOT A WRITER!

1^st Wrestling Club: It’s only the beginning

If you are a frequent reader you know my last blog was partially about the establishment of Stonehill’s first Wrestling Club. That was, of course, the accomplishment of the century. It only took me about a year and a half, no biggie. This past semester we had our first meetings/practices as a club. The practices took place at Brockton High School and Oliver Ames High School not too far from campus. Transportation was provided by the sports department for practice twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursday, 8:30-10pm). I needed to get van certified in order to drive the van, especially on days when coach (Dean of Admissions, Dan Monahan) either couldn’t make it to practice or needed to drive his own car to practice. On the days coach couldn’t make it to practice, I was left with the responsibility to run practice. I enjoyed every bit of having to run practice and coaching. I approached it as my time to shine as a coach. The guys loved it as well, especially the spontaneous Wendy’s trips on the way back from practice. Not really the healthiest option post practice but it was quality team bonding experience.

For practice, I would write a list of basic moves and drills I felt would help improve the newer wrestler’s skills and give the veterans a solid workout. Let’s just say, it was designed so that everyone can benefit from it. The practice strategy and games like cat band derived from my high school coach (John Kanavich). He is no doubt the most consistent high school coach in Mass. He's very professional, and highly respected by coaches in the New England area. It was certainly an honor getting coached by him. He transformed me from an immature, too cool for wrestling young man I was freshman and sophomore year and into the dedicated captain I was my senior year. On average, we had eight wrestlers and in the end were able to keep everyone. People came and went, did we chase them back on the team? Absolutely not, wrestling is survival of the fittest, only the hungry and dedicated will survive.

We started late in the season so we unfortunately were not able to compete. It was also great because it gave us time to build team chemistry and give newer wrestlers the opportunity to learn basic techniques before competing. On the more positive note, we should have a full team this upcoming season. Because we don’t have our own home space and we are still a new team, we are yet to have a full schedule this season,  but we are going to wrestle in a lot of open tournaments and do a lot of traveling, and hopefully compete in the national dowels . It will be a perfect transition from Italy. Italy? I guess you will just have to keep reading! As of wrestling gears, Coach Monahan is currently working on ordering singlets and head gears for the season! I can’t not wait to see how it is going to come out. Let’s just say I’m going to do a lot of running in Italy to keep up with the guys who are here. It is going to be quite a journey, one I am extremely excited for.



First Wrestling Gear




The Logo!