Tour Across America Blog #3

Manitou Springs is a cute little city about 5 miles from downtown Colorado Springs.  It has gift shops, restaurants and a ton of character.  It has a unique tourist feel.  In the athletic realm, however, it’s popular for the hiking trail most commonly known as “the Incline.”

The Incline is an old cog railroad track and is approximately one mile long, going up the base of Pike’s Peak.   It’s at the trailhead of the Barr Trail which goes 13-miles to the top of the peak.  The Incline has an average incline of 45% and as steep as 70%.  The steepest parts forced some of our athletes to bear crawl.

The bus dropped us off about a half mile from the trail because the tight, twisty road was not suitable for large vehicles (more on this later…).  We walked to the starting position, snapped a team picture and started the hike at 7:00 PM.  We knew we would have to hustle to the top and hurry to the bottom because the dark would surely bring several more challenges that we were not prepared for.  Coach Chad Shilson laid down a challenge: whoever made it to the top in less than 30 minutes would get a fresh $100 bill.

Some took off swiftly while others attempted to find a steady pace.  Each step is different, so it’s difficult to develop any sort of rhythm or cadence.  Looking up to the top provides a false sense of security because the “false summit” is what you see when you begin and there is still several stairs to the top.  I started at the back and of pack and enjoyed conversations with several of our athletes as I passed them going up.  I might be getting old, but I can still work hard…

We crossed paths with a mule deer making his way around the scenery.  He even climbed a few stairs before jumping back into the trees.  That wasn’t the only wildlife we crossed paths with as we encountered a cinnamon color bear at the bottom of the trail around 10:00 PM.  He wasn’t interested in us, though, as he was digging in dumpsters.

When we arrived at the top.  We took some pictures, talked about the experience and forged a new bond as a group.  Whenever a team suffers through a grueling workout experience, they come out on the other end more unified because they have something memorable to draw from.  It was, indeed, memorable.  Several of our athletes made mention to me that it was the most difficult thing they had accomplished in their life.  One of them - Nathan - ran to the top in 29:57 and he's fortunate that Chad is a man of his word.  He got the $100 bill.

As a coach, the attitude and sense of accomplishment among the group is what makes trips like this worth it.  Climbing the Incline was hard work and everyone made it to the top, so it was a successful adventure.

Our adventure didn’t finish when we got to the bottom.  Finding the bus in Manitou Springs, making our way through the ever lingering smell of marijuana smoke, tasting the mineral spring water and taking the bus up to get the final two team members (getting stuck and taking down a fence to make the y-turn).

All in all, it was another great day for our crew.  Back-to-back life changing moments.

Tour Across America Blog #2

We loaded the bus early this morning and are cruising down I-80 heading West to Colorado Springs, CO.  We’ll spend the next four days training alongside the women’s national team at the US Olympic Training Center.

There could not have been a better event to prepare us for the opportunity to train with some of the best female wrestlers in the entire world than the World Team Trials last night.  The atmosphere was electric and the action was world class.  Indelible memories were formed by the drama that unfolded right before our eyes.   The individual performances fueled by a nation of support inspired everyone on the bus to live their lives at a higher level.  Several people online are calling it the best World Team Trials ever.  It will serve as a great lead into soaking up the energy and excitement of the US Olympic Training Center.

When USA Wrestling announced that Lincoln, Nebraska would host the men’s freestyle trials, the wrestling community knew they would be in for a treat.  Hometown hero and American legend Jordan Burroughs attended the University of Nebraska and currently resides in Lincoln.  Additionally, world team members James Green and Thomas Gilman have Nebraska roots and Olympic medalist J’Den Cox is from the Midwest.  And they did not disappoint.  Digging deeply, overcoming adversity and drawing strength from the crowd, the four men mentioned above appeared larger than life.

Other athletes showed great resolve and humility throughout the day.  Tony Ramos stood out to me as a champion who showed great class in defeat in spite of an entire arena expecting the opposite given the scenario.  We were also fortunate to bump into some admirable female athletes who were in attendance as spectators.  With a bus load of some future stars in the female wrestling world, Jessica Medina provided a spark to the girls who were fortunate to meet her.

Overall, it was a great day.  Lincoln did us well and now we’re on to another big adventure.  Today we’ll spend the equivalent of a workday on the bus (8 hours). Upon arrival in Colorado Springs, we’ll take one step at a time up the face of Pike’s Peak on the famous Incline.  It will be another game changer for these teenagers.

Tour Across America Blog #1

Yesterday the wheels of the oversized rusty charter bus rolled out of River Falls, WI.  Carol the bus driver has taken several hundred wrestlers all over the United States with the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, so it was fitting that she would take our crew of 40 wrestlers, parents and a few future wrestlers on our first annual Tour Across America.

A handful of wrestlers showed up in River Falls on Thursday night and pitched tents in my back yard in anticipation of our Friday morning departure.

We will spend seven days together trekking across Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado.  The first stop is Lincoln, NE to watch the USA Wrestling World Team Trials for Men’s Freestyle and then we will head West to Colorado Springs, CO.  We’ll jump into a few practices at the US Olympic Training Center and do our best to experience the “incline” (weather permitting).

The bus ride to Lincoln went very well.  Despite falling behind on our schedule and forcing one athlete to wait a couple of hours at the pick-up spot in Des Moines, everything went smoothly.  We went through a case of water and four movies before arriving at the hotel in Lincoln early in the evening.

After a long day on the road, the athletes were on their own for the evening to get settled in and ready for a big day of being a wrestling fan at the Bob Devaney Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska.  Everyone is excited to watch some great action.

We’re carrying with us male and female high school athletes from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. 

Words of Remembrance: Justin Bystrom

Dear Heavenly, gracious Father, our hearts are heavy, but I want to thank you for the opportunity and responsibility to honor my friend today.  Please, make my words your words and give me the strength to do right by my friend Justin.

My name is Kevin Black and I’ve had a special connection with Justin since I was a little kid.  Most recently, as the head wrestling coach in River Falls, I worked closely with him as our club president.  I spoke to Justin almost every day over the last 6 years.  He became one of my very best friends.  He was thoughtful, kind, considerate, respectful and extraordinarily supportive.  He always put out his hand to receive a greeting and he always asked if I had a minute to talk.

Often times, we hear people describe a friend as someone who wears his heart on his sleeve.  Well, if you’ll allow me a few minutes to talk about Justin, I think that you’ll agree with me that he wore his heart in his eyes.

He lived his life by what he could see.  By what was right there in front of him.  He lived in the moment.  He was always present.  And there’s something profound in the way he followed his heart through his eyes.

You see, the way the eye works is it takes light in through the cornea to the pupil and it’s focused by the lens onto the back wall of the retina, which is covered by millions and millions of photo receptors.  It’s the lens, however, that is important in this story.  Because the lens brings things into focus.

Justin gave everyone a chance and he believed in others because he lived in the moment.  He believed in his kids and was present for all of their important adventures – sports, hunting, marching band, broken bones, surgeries, graduations.  He was there to see all of them.  One of his last posts on Facebook was a quote by Brooke Hampton that said, “speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.”  He was always very generous with his use of adjectives. 

It was always about being in the moment, never about the past or the future; it was about right now.  He focused on what he could see because his heart was in his eyes. 

Growing up in Beldenville, he spent a lot of time by his dad’s side helping with chores, hunting or riding on the airboat and fishing with friends like George Quist.  He absolutely adored his mom.  He was fascinated by her ability to communicate with a paint brush and she’d be fascinated by how he could communicate with his camera.  He loved his parents and would speak fondly of them often.  He missed them everyday.  

His first paying job was picking sweet corn and selling it at the end of his driveway.  He paid for college with all of that money he made through the honor system.  The honor system: trusting others to leave their money as they counted out their own ears of corn.  It worked because he believed in the good in others.  He chose to see the world this way.  His heart was in his eyes.

In fourth grade, his eyes noticed something very special and he became friends with Stacy Rohl.  In 8^th grade, he asked her out.  He also asked her out in 9^th grade and 10^th grade and 11^th grade and 12^th grade.  I remember he used to call our house when Stacy was babysitting.  Once in a while my brother would chat with him and we told her we didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just marry him.  Maybe we saw what Justin saw.  Well, it wasn’t until after they graduated that she agreed to go out with him and it started a life of 26 years together.   He was committed, dedicated and loyal. 

Yesterday I talked to Ron Nelson about Justin.  Mr. Nelson lived up the hill from him in Beldenville and said that he was, by far, his best neighbor.  When Mr. Nelson moved to Prairie du Chien, Justin and Lowein went for a drive just to see where Mr. Nelson lived.  No other agenda.  Maybe he stopped for some cheese curds along the way, but he just wanted to see where Mr. Nelson lived.  And that makes sense to us. Because his heart was in his eyes.

He stepped into the wrestling community in the mid-80’s and we became his extended family.  Many of his coaches developed a unique bond with the Bystrom Machine.  My dad was one of them.  And his best friends shared a passion for the sport.  My dad often tells the story of when his mother told him that Justin’s life was so much better by being involved with wrestling because he got to "Soar With Eagles."  And what a great view that gave him.

When Justin was in college, he took a photography class and became intrigued.  It grew into passion.  There’s no doubt in my mind that Justin fell in love with photography because it was a way for him to share with us what he could see.  From his point-of-view, whether it was while soaring with eagles or sitting matside, he was able to capture the joy of living in the moment.  The lens on his camera intensely focused on the details of life, real life, and captured moments and we’re all better people for it.  His love for others became so clear to us all through the use of that camera because he was able share with us what those eyes saw.  His heart was in his eyes.

His camera opened his eyes to many new things and  brought him all over the country – Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Olympic Trials, World Team Trials, Junior Nationals, State Tournaments, youth tournaments, youth practices, softball games, graduations – and he impacted thousands of people simply by being present and sharing his heart.   He lived his dreams wide awake.  He saw, with his eyes, that the good stuff in life came from focusing on the moment and being present.

Stacy was the love of his life.  His children, Lowein, Tyson, Winston and Serena were the joy of his life. 

He was always there.  But he’s not here anymore.  On Saturday, March 4^th, his heart stopped working and suddenly, we were without our friend who was always there.  Stacy told me that, true to character, Justin wanted to be a donor when it was time.  “But not my eyes,” he told her.  They can take everything else, but he wanted to keep his eyes.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Justin soared with the eagles and those eyes had a tremendous view of life.

In the end, Justin shared his heart with everyone, but he’s taking his eyes with him because he’s living in the moment and he’s focused on something new.  Phillippians 3:14 says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 

Our eyes might be filled with tears today, but when they dry, we’d do well to use them to focus on what’s right there in front us.  And live in the moment.  To be present.  This is the greatest lesson I learned from Justin.  To be in the moment is to focus on what is right here, right now.  Disappointment and regret?  That’s in the past.  Fear and anxiety?  That’s in the future.  Those things don’t exist in the present.  It’s things like love, hope, joy, peace, passion, those are the things that thrive in the present tense by living in the moment.  And these are the words I’ve heard many of you use when describing Justin. 

Pouring yourself into the moment is the best way to live our lives.  And it’s how Justin wore his heart in his eyes.

In a letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”

Justin, thank you for sharing your heart with us.  We’re all better for having seen what you see. 

My only blog post about the Presidential Election

This will be my one and only post about the 2016 Presidential Election.  In it, I won't share any of my opinions about policies, issues or potential scandals.  I won't agree with, disagree with or endorse any candidate.  Yes, I do have opinions - many opinions - about this particular season of politics, the United States and each candidate and I will caste a ballot on November 8th, however, making those opinions known will likely do more harm than good to my position as a wrestling coach.  We'll leave it there.

That being said, I found my 6-year old's take on the election last night to be quite interesting, revealing and even shocking.

Before bedtime, Micaiah told to us that he is planning on voting for Donald Trump at his school election (obviously, his vote doesn't count...just being clear for those who get their facts from sources that suggest it might...).  Liz and I both looked at each other, shrugged and in unison asked him why.  He didn't have an answer right away just like most of the people taking a stand to support either candidate.  Isaiah (8-years old) broke the tension, and just like Kenneth Bone, said he didn't know who he was voting for yet.  We haven't talked about the election with our kids, so I took the opportunity to listen to their opinions and thoughts without inserting any of my thoughts or trying to influence them either way.

Lying next to Micaiah in bed, I asked him why he has decided to vote for Trump.  As a matter of fact, his answer was "well, Hilary Clinton is going to take away all of the guns so people can't kill deer and make sausage."  I asked him how he knew this and he said, "I just know..."  So I asked if he knew anything about Donald Trump and he quickly replied, "Jack said he says mean things about girls."

Interesting.

Both of his claims may or may not have merit, but that's not the point.  Sensationalized a bit, they're both out in cyberspace and in the news, for sure, however, I was surprised by what Micaiah had picked up on pieces of either candidate - true or not.  He followed those claims with a few others that were quite alarming, but I won't write them here today because I don't want sway anyone.  Many of us are concerned about our children's future following this election and I wonder how many of us have listened to what they're hearing and what they think of this entire thing.

During this brief conversation with Micaiah, I immediately thought: his rationale sounds eerily similar to the rationale of many of the adults who are planning on voting next week.  His opinions of the candidates mirror many of those who are vehemently sharing opinions on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Our Commander-in-Chief will likely be decided by the same logic of a 6-year old.

One of the things that makes our election process unique is that a large percentage of voters are uninformed and uneducated on most of the issues.  The truth is, most of us have a limited, at best, idea of what actually happens after the election or how politicians go about their business.  I don't think that's a bad thing.  Campaigns hit a few key issues and people show up at the polls, trust their gut and democracy runs its course.

"But this time it's different," people say.  This is "unprecedented."  It's a disgrace.  A joke.  Other countries are laughing at us.  Really?  Are you sure?  Or do you just believe that 6-year old in your kindergarten class?  Because by-and-large, most of us are as uniformed as Micaiah and we're getting our information about the candidates the same way he is.  We're listening to others who know as little as we do.  We read a post on Facebook or click a link on Twitter and it infiltrates our hearts and minds.

This year's election is completely bonkers and social media manifests all of it to the extreme, but make no mistake it's not the first time craziness has circulated the polls during presidential elections.  For you own pleasure, do some research on the 1824 election and tell me that this is the first time anyone could suggest the election is "rigged."  Look into the candidate Eugene Debs before we wildly claim that no one has ever ran for president surrounded by a cloud of legal trouble.  Debs ran for office five times, mind you, and in 1920 he did so from prison.  There's never been this much hate in politics?  How about Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr?  Burr killed Hamilton in a duel in 1804 (yes, with a gun) because of the 1800 election.  A bias media published a newspaper headline that Thomas Dewey had defeated the "nincompoop" Harry Truman in 1948.  No one gave Truman a chance, especially the media.  Peaceful transfer of power...?  Anyone recall what happened after one of the most important outcomes in presidential history in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln became president (Hint: Civil War)?  I could go on and on and on how history has presented us with some rather bizarre presidential campaigns and elections.  Yet, somehow, we're still the United States of America.

I don't do the future, so I cannot say what is going to happen to our country following November 8th. History suggests we're on a path that leads to a destination.  It also suggests that a country as big and strong as the United States of America will work through the kinks and come out on the other side bigger than any of the candidates.

Is it fair to be critical of the way Micaiah is getting his election news?  I think so.  After all, he's only 6-years old and he's using kindergarten logic.  However, if we dare to encourage an adult to consider their source(s), suddenly everyone is offended.  In the end, this election will probably be defined more by how it makes everyone feel rather than the issues.  Real-time news sources will continue to say "this is the first time ever..." when the reality is that this entire thing isn't very special.  We're not that special and you're not that special.  This isn't the "first time ever."  I guess that's why I was able to take what Micaiah said with a grain of salt.  I just wish others would be able to do the same.