Mike Short started wresting as a heavy weight at 13, and for three years he struggled with a lack of self-confidence. Paul Widerman, who became his coach when Mike was a Senior, helped him find his strength both in wrestling and in the world.
Seen by outsiders, wrestling appears to be an adversarial sport. It's certainly not for the faint of heart. But as Mike's story shows, it's really about recognizing your weaknesses in order to realize your potential.
"I started wrestling my freshman year, and … I lost every single one of my matches I came upon, and it was a little difficult…"
"I was having my mental conflicts of, 'Do I deserve to win? Do I want to win? Why do I wrestle? I wrestle to win!' And Paul sort of realized that, and a couple of guys that were good, and me especially, that we had the intensity, we had the practice, we had the drills, but we went out on the mat and somewhere we faltered…"
"What Paul made me realize is that the person who wants it the most is the one that’s going to win. The person that’s not afraid to go out there and do it. So wrestling, in my life, even my parents saw it… by the time the end of this season came around they’re, like — they didn’t know who I was — they’re, like, 'Who are you? Where’d you come from?' And I changed…"
"Sometimes I have to wait for the right things to come, I have to wait for things to come to me sometimes, not go to it, or try to. It may sound like the weirdest thing in the world but… I guess that’s the way it is in some things."
