Lining up the Lineage

The shoulders of the coaches share the weight of the wrestler who then supports others, and so on and so on.

In so many ways our past generations, our family heritage, culture and stories mold who we are today. As a yoga student, I learned how present the guru from the Kripalu tradition remains, although he is long gone from this earth. And in my lifetime living within the wrestling community, I see that same degree of lineage.

The sport isn’t measured only in championships, but how each individual has been shaped by their coaches and the interactions in their wrestling rooms. Each practice becomes a living classroom where wrestlers don’t just learn technique, but absorb values of respect, humility, persistence and the ability to absorb hardship without losing heart.  My 70-year-old husband still reveres his coaches, not only his university coaches, but the ones from high school. And although I should be used to it, it still makes me smile when I hear grown-ass men with adult children call him Coach.

This is a sport where stories matter – stories of cutting weight, pushing through grueling matches, adversity, victory and defeat are passed down like folklore. Each generation adds new chapters, but the themes of sacrifice, toughness and honor remain constant.

And it’s those stories that compelled me to write The Cauliflower Ear Club.

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