Ryan Butcavage

I have been a wrestler for 10 great years, through middle school, high school, and college. Joel was one of my Coaches in High School. Through my experiences participating in Wrestling, I learned to use good sportsmanship, to be honest with myself and others, to stay loyal, to be courageous, and to respect authority. I’ve also learned to live with kindness and humility. These traits truly encompass what being a wrestler is all about. When it’s just you and your opponent face to face on the mat, you have to dig deep and if those traits aren’t second nature, you’ll end up on your back.

While working in my High School Wrestling Program, my coaches instilled traits of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, respect, kindness, and humility. Wrestling inspires all teammates that pass through our Program to live this way, and it’s how a person uses those traits in their everyday life that make them a good person and a great man.

For me, wrestling has been a great gift and an opportunity I will always be grateful for. The hard work I put into the programs has been extremely rewarding. I feel as though wrestling has given me a leg up in life, as Dan Gable said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”