Keep an eye on the goal

Recently I received a Christmas card from Marty (Martin when not in the wrestling room). Marty was assigned to me as a project. He was about 6’2” and weighed in at 185 lbs. He was a senior, and in three years of wrestling, he had won an average of two matches per year. Oh, and by the way, he was the only black student in the reservation school at which his mother taught, and he was in the Special Education program.

We worked to provide Marty moves that would be effective for him. Repetition of a few moves helped him to be more successful, and his record moved to a 13-9 mark toward the end of the season. Our last dual was against a school which had never lost to ours, and while our head coach brought great improvement to our program the anticipated outcome was rather grim.

Marty was always last to compete on the mat, and five times during the year his performance had meant team victory or defeat. Four of the five were victory. His coming opponent was ranked No. 2 in the district, and defeated Marty many times previously, so we worked on a simple move that might be effective in certain situations, and we named it “Geronimo.”

By the start of the second period of his deciding match, Marty was already behind 10-3, and defeat looked inevitable. Despite Marty’s headgear and hearing deficit, by standing, waving my arms, and yelling louder than the crowd noise, Marty got “Geronimo.” He reversed and pinned his opponent in the first thirty seconds of the period.

Here’s the thing. A Latino coach at a Native American school hired an Anglo to train and call a play for an Afro-American Special Education athlete. Marty was never the same after that. In the hall he had his shoulders back, a smile on his face, and pride in his bearing. Though he didn’t place at state, he earned his way there!

Earning one’s way is the most American of American ideals. Never before, or since, has a lesson so impressed itself in my mind. All kind of differences could have presented problems and defeat. It was teamwork and the goal that enabled Marty to overcome failure and disappointment. When everybody kept their eye on the goal, worked together and ignored differences, the outcome was success.

Now America, what about you?