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At 5 years old our son run into the kitchen saying he wanted to sign up for wrestling at Mineral Wells grade school. I grew up in Webster County where wrestling was nonexistent until you were in high school and my first thought was, who in the world starts wresting at 5 years old... Turns out there are a lot of kids out there with that same thought. I am, and still, a basketball fan but converted into a wrestling fan after 8 years of being in the grinder of a wrestling room. I had to learn the sport and somehow was convinced to help coach. I witnessed great wins and agonizing defeat (sometimes in the same day). I have met a lot of great people along the way and hope to meet many more. I do not know his record of wins or losses, only that he has won more than he has lost. I remember the great matches that he won and I remember the great matches that he came up short. One of my favorites was at the West Virginia Junior States against Andrew Shelick when it went into triple overtime and he couldn't get off bottom (he said he just run out of time)!! He won his 6th West Virginia Junior State Championship this past week end and is just as proud of this one as he was of his first one. Of all the state and national tournaments he has wrestled in, he worked the hardest to win the West Virginia Junior States.
There are to many people to try and list them all to thank for the help that got him where he is today and will get him where he will be in the next four years.
But THANK YOU, to Mineral Wells wrestling to Junior Patriots Wrestling to Edison Middle School wrestling, and all the parents and fans in the stands cheering on the kids on the mat standing by themselves waiting for the whistle to blow and the mat to be slapped! Drive on, work hard and don't worry about a record.
My son's name is Brayden Roberts and he will be in a wrestling room next year that will be his biggest challenge to date. Season starts tomorrow.

Tough kid! Can't wait to watch him on the next level! Congratulations Brayden on your 6 state championships!

Brayden is a great young man and great wrestler. John it's our pleasure getting to know and wrestle with you guys. You definitely give your son great opportunities and he makes the best of them. I am very excited to see where his talents take him. Best of luck this summer and beyond!!!!

First class parents = First class young man. Good Luck moving on Brayden.

It has been fun to watch Brayden grow up and for my family to gain friends like the Roberts family has been a blessing. The younger siblings are inseparable and I am frankly worried that John and Deanna might be eligible to claim my daughter on their taxes.
Whether it was coaching against him when he was little, to later being his amateur psychiatrist in the middle of a tight match, or almost getting ejected with him in the early rounds of WSAZ's one year, I have plenty of fun memories of this young man. Publicly and privately I've got onto him until a fly probably wouldn't land near him when I thought he needed pushed a little harder and I've also hugged him after a tough loss when I knew he was going to be harder on himself that I ever could be. At both extremes, his friends and other kids on the team would wonder why in the world Brayden put up with my constant watching and oftentimes critical eye. It would be a lot easier to just be "normal" and go on cruise control, winning the matches when you're more talented and losing when the other guy is more talented. I'm not sure many of the others ever understood, maybe they never will. But Brayden certainly did/does understand. His parents do too. Working for yourself is around the clock, it's tough to be able to commit to "extras". Brayden's parents find ways to make the "extras" a reality. Brayden doesn't miss a lift, Brayden doesn't miss an extra workout in PA, or at the Jr patriots, or anywhere else his presence is needed. Credit to the kid for his work ethic but extra credit goes to John and Deanna for their personal sacrifice to get him better and give him opportunities to succeed.
I hope that Brayden has enjoyed growing up with the sport as much as I have enjoyed watching him grow. I don't know what the future holds for any of the boys headed to high school this year but if Brayden continues to work at South like he has while at MW, Jr Pats, and Edison, he will continue to be a force to be reckoned with throughout the State and he'll have a lot of fun in the process! It's going to be a change for John and I to be sitting in the stands instead of the corner. I'm confident that Brayden is ready to accept the next challenge and I'm excited to sit beside Deanna and harass her while she yells her own brand of instructions.