The Coach's Wife

I dedicate this post to ALL coaches wife and families out there!

When I met Glen I was told that wrestling was a family sport and that he would become a coach once he was done with college. I didn't think much in the beginning but found out what that meant really quick! His parents, long time coach and wife of a coach, were gone every weekend driving wrestlers all around Washington. Spaghetti nights when wrestlers had a hard time eating healthy and staying on weight, the main conversation at the dinner table was which wrestler did what and how he would improve, etc... Well... I have become the coach's wife and at times I wonder "what the heck I was thinking"! When Tori was just a few months old, I started helping Glen by driving the boys to the tournaments. The kids were little and it was a challenge at times but thankfully to some of the parents, they helped me all day by keeping the kids busy during the tournament. I was washing 10 - 15 wrestling warm ups and singlets twice a week in a little apartment... that was fun... NOT! But as I look back, we have good stories to tell!

So here are a few things I was thinking this past weekend when I was driving the stat girls to a tournament.

You know you are a coach's wife when:

~ when you try to organize your husband's closet, 85% of the shirts and jackets are the school colors (in our case.... Red & White!) with the school mascot!
~ you are up at 4:30 - 5:30am to get ready to drive a van full of boys and girls to a tournament.
~ you must decline all friday nights outing because you need to cook 3-5lbs of noodles and sauce.
~ Saturdays are spent in a gym full of mats, stinky boys, and crazy parents.
~ Wash 30 + wrestling singlets and warm ups before the next match.
~ holidays must be adjusted to fit practice schedule or away tournaments
~ you are known in town as "coach's wife"
~ your house become the gathering place to watch UFC or PS3/Wii games with teenagers
~ your jacket says "team mom"
~ wrestlers become part of the family and when all grown up, they invite you to their wedding, birthdays, baby showers, and birth.

Some of the points made no longer apply to me but still wanted to mention!
Glen is his 13th year of coaching wrestling at Ripon High School and this year Brent started wrestling for him as a JV freshman. I haven't driven the team in about 9 years and this past weekend was back at it! It is different now that Brent is a member of the team and Tori has now become one of the stat girls (even though she is not officially in high school!). Looking forward to the next 4 years of Brent's wrestling career and hoping I won't have to address the coach if he is not giving Brent the attention needed or the right opportunities to grown!!! :)

I am now the coach's wife, the wrestler's mom, and the crazy mom on the stand!