Freestyle 31-33

Here’s another coaches’ story with a twist. Both of these guys coach different rival teams. They’ve both fed up with their wrestlers harassing one another. So, one Saturday they get all of their wrestlers together. They sit on opposite sides of the mats but their coaches are nowhere to be seen.. Then, out of the locker room, both of them walk toward the mats. They’re wearing their old college uniforms which barely fit. Many of the wrestlers are in awe at the way the muscles bulge and the fabric clings to their huge frames.

Walking toward the center of the circle they motion their wrestlers to shut up. They look at each other, shakes hands, and begin to wrestle. Both burly coaches throw each other around, each letting out grunts of stamina.

Many of the wrestlers watching the action began to sweat along with their coaches. The student’s breathing grew quick as both coaches fall to the mat in a mutual bearhug. Their heartbeats double as Ed tightens his arms around Sergi’s chest, propping up the mustached man’s pecs. And there are audible gasps everywhere when Sergi gets behind Ed and puts a large bicep between Ed’s legs.

Sweat freely flies off the teaching slabs of beef. There have been no periods, no time outs, and after 20 minutes both men look tired and struggle to keep the action going. Sergi’s half nelson-arm bar combo immobilizes Ed but he’s too tired to take proper advantage of the situation. Likewise, Ed has Sergi on his stomach with both of those huge arms tied up. But he just doesn’t have the strength to pull the big man over.

After 30 minutes they both collapse on the mat with a thud. All the wrestlers look at the heaving chests of the men they look up to. Still no one says anything as they see both men crawl toward each other and help each other to their feet. They shake hands and strip down their singlet straps and literally roll the fabric down toward their waist while complimenting each other on their mat techniques.

They then tell all of the onlookers that wrestling is a sport between men, not between whiners who hide behind school spirit every time they lose. The wrestlers were dismissed as both coaches walk toward the locker room. Inside, they both strip off their wet singlets and talk about how sore they’re going to be in the morning, they both thought their point got across, and that they won’t tell them that they used to wrestle on the same college team.