Written by Yoni Cohen - The Frisch School
I finally understand what it's all about. I understand the sport of wrestling. I understand what it takes to be a champion. I understand the meaning of dedication, and I have seen results. After three long, hard years, I can honestly say that I have become a wrestler.

They told me from day one that it is mental game. That it is you versus yourself. That when you get on the mat, it doesn't really matter who you face, because the victor has already been decided even before the first whistle is blown.

I didn't really understand what my Frisch captains, Eitan Aviner and Daniel Setton, were talking about at the time. I assumed they meant you have to try hard, and it is the preparation and practice before a match that is most important; and so that's what I did for my first two years. I practiced moves and I worked out at home. I ran a mile every night all through my freshman year, and did pushups and sit ups all day, until by the end of freshman year, I had lost thirty pounds.

Now I was extremely happy about the weight loss, but I still couldn't win a match. I drilled basics, and tried to learn more advanced moves, but to no avail. I would get on the mat, pray that I not get pinned, and then walk off around 4 minutes later with my head held low, and another loss to add to my record.

My captains must be wrong. Wrestling is not about training and preparation; it's about natural talent and skill. I finished off the year with little confidence in my own ability, but with a determination to stick with the team. If nothing else, it was keeping me in shape.

Every year our team competes in the Yeshiva University Henry Wittenberg Invitational, and it was there that I received my first taste of what my captain meant when he said “a victory is determined before a match even begins.” A junior, Yisrael Rubenstien, or “Ox” as he was known by the team, was up against the captain and returning champion from Ida Crown in Chicago, Isaac Dayan.

We were in the finals. We were down one pin. We needed this pin to win the tournament. We had never won before, and Ida Crown claimed a four year dynasty, and was in a strong position to do it again.

I cannot describe to you the look that I saw in Ox's eyes. I knew he would win. He knew he would win. There was no maybe in his eyes; no question going through his mind. There was simply the fact. It didn't matter that Dayan was a two time champ, or that he was the captain, and his team was depending on him for a win.

Ox had won in his mind, and now all he had to do was prove it to the world. And he did. He pinned Dayan, and won to tournament for Frisch.

That was the first time I saw a glimpse of what true determination is. Now I look back and respect Yisrael all the more, knowing just what it took for him to win that match.

Sophomore year was a year of growth for me. I trained, I ran, and more importantly, I gained some confidence on the mat. I was prouder, and executed my moves with more aggression. When the tournament came around, I was able to win three matches; however, the captain of HAFTR was able to get the better of me, and defeated me by points after six minutes. I was confident when wrestling a guy I knew I could beat, but when there was a doubt –when I wasn't sure I could beat him– I lost all my skill, and wrestled void of any intelligence or confidence.

I took third at YU that year, but for the first time, I was disappointed with my trophy. I wasn't proud of my win; I was annoyed that I gave up a loss. I didn't care that he was a captain: he wasn't better than me, and he has no right to beat me. At the time, I didn't understand how this would affect my career, but it marked a change in my mentality. This was the beginning of my true development as a wrestler.

As I returned from the summer for my third year on the wrestling team, I thought everything would return to normal: practices, working hard, and doing okay, but not great. And at first, it did.

My first 3 matches were all lost by my own mistakes. I was physically ready, but I didn't wrestle with confidence or intelligence; instead of wrestling to win, I was wrestling hoping to not get pinned.

It was after my fourth match that my season took a turn for the better. I was bumped up to the 215 lb. weight class, because the 189 lb. couldn't wrestle. We had started that meet at the 145 weight class, and it had been a very disappointing match up to this point. It was against Leonia High, and our team hadn't taken a single win. It was embarrassing, and I couldn't allow it.

Suddenly I stopped caring about winning or losing. I stopped caring about getting pinned or embarrassing myself. This guy had insulted my team, and I couldn't let him get away with it. I was mad, and I got out there, and three minutes later, I walked away with a pin.

My team rallied together, and we won every match after that. We ended up losing that meet by three points, because the other team claimed one more pin then we did. But the team loss wasn't important to me. It was the noticeable change I felt when I got on the mat that shocked me. It wasn't a feeling I was used to. I was mad, and I didn't care who I was about to wrestle, because he insulted my team, and I was determined to teach him a lesson.

The next match I lost again, but it was for a different reason. I was too cocky. I thought that confidence was everything, and determination was all that mattered. I was destroying him, until I made one mistake, and he put me on my back with a hip toss. It was embarrassing, and suddenly it clicked: mentality is everything. My captains were right. A victor is decided before a match is won. A victor is the one who works harder, who trains longer, who pushes himself past his limit; but that is only half the story. You can't win with that alone. A wrestler also has to be smart. He has to be determined. He has to be confident in himself and his coaching. He must execute moves smoothly, and transition with precision.

My freshman captains, Aviner and Setton once told me that “victory is decided before even a match begins,” but it was not until the middle of my junior year that I finally understood what they meant. Wrestling is a mental game. It is a war within your head. You must defeat your enemy in your mind before you can defeat him on the mat. It is this that makes wrestling so great, and sets it apart from other sports: this confidence in yourself and in your own abilities.

When I finally understood this, I went undefeated the rest of the season to conclude my junior year with a 9-3 season and a first place trophy from the Wittenberg tournament.

Wrestling is a great sport because it is a sport fought as much in your mind as on the mat. You must believe in yourself, and know you can win, and only then can you actually claim a victory. Wrestling has taught me so much about myself, and it has really changed my life for the better. I am proud to say, that after three long, hard years of training, I have finally become a wrestler.