TRAYBOARD Trayboarding Trays Trayboard Industries
2001 Troy Wrestling
Looking back at these years gone by,
I ask myself the question “why?”
Why did I do it?
Why didn’t I quit?
The pain, blood, cutting by having to spit,
There must be something that I enjoyed about it.
Many wrestlers don’t return the next year,
While the rest are very glad to come back.
They crave those matches against their opponents of fear,
Waiting for that one whistle to signal their attack.
There’s more to wrestling than just the wins,
There’s more to it than not getting beat.
Wrestling is not just all about pins,
Because you can still feel good after tasting defeat.
“How is this possible?” you might wonder,
Well there’s a simple idea lying under.
It is to “Dare Greatly”,
As Coach Thomas would declare,
It means to give it your all,
And your pride will still be there.
There’s been many choices to be made,
Simple one’s and long-impacting one’s too,
It can be as important as coming to practice,
Or as trivial as what move to do.
Choosing your starting position,
Up, down, neutral, or defer,
Or how to do push-ups,
Finger tips or diamonds, which ever you prefer.
We can choose either to give up,
Or to keep the pressure on.
Nothing can be worse than losing,
When you know you should have won.
We should always strive for that light at the end of the tunnel,
That distant light that seems so very far away.
And when we do reach that light at the end of the tunnel,
We should find another to pursue the same way.
Wrestling is a template for our lives,
It shapes the kind of person that we will be,
We apply the same perseverant concept,
To any hardship or problem we may see.
Wrestling has been very tough,
But it has also taught me a lot.
There has been many amusing stuff,
So many stories it has brought.
Mixed nuts, picking oranges, and staying in our stance,
Lots of cuts, lots of snow, at Rim we didn’t stand a chance.
50 Sprawls, 10 double legs, and then to Brea we run,
No food, lots of starbursts, what happened to all the fun?
To tell you the truth I’ve never had more fun,
These past four years have been the best,
I owe it all to you guys,
Because Troy Wrestling is stronger than the rest.
I realize I have many to thank,
Because I wouldn’t be here today without your support,
So the following is a Thank You,
For encouraging me through this sport.
Thank you Coach Thomas, O.D., and Tung,
Seeto, Baldini, and George,
Pelzar and Stein, too.
Thanks to all my family and friends,
To watch you came,
Thanks for all your love and support,
Without you it wouldn’t be the same,
Thanks to all the Wrestling Parents,
You have raised each of your sons very well.
Thanks to the faculty here at Troy,
You attending our matches, I can tell.
Thank you stat girls,
For taking our stats all the time,
You would be rich,
If for every stat you received a dime.
Thanks to all of you Wrestlers,
My applause goes to you,
You have something lots of people don’t,
And that’s my utmost respect and value.
Thanks to my family,
Dad and Mom I love you,
Words can’t begin to describe that,
And yes Jaclyn and Jena I love you too.
Lastly I’d like to thank the Four Year Shocks,
Sharp, Ryan, Gomez, and Joe,
This has been great sticking with it,
I love you all like my “bro”.
Wrestling has been priceless and rewarding,
And now I do know why I did it,
It has made me a better person today,
And that’s why I never quit it.
I have nothing more to say
I think I’m pretty sure,
But I want to end this poem properly,
With a great big SHOCK--- ER!
_Thomas Rubio
