Andrew Herbage-Farough wore an ice pack over his left eye like a badge of courage.
Oh sure, the 10-year-old was on the receiving end of an inadvertent elbow during one of his three matches Friday at the Gord Garvie Wrestling Festival held at Lakehead University’s C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse. But he also accepted his fate like a true wrestler.
“I got a black eye for the win,” said Herbage-Farough, a first-year competitor with the Lakehead Wrestling Club (LWC). “I knew I was going to get hit a lot.”
He was one of over 275 students between the fourth and eighth grades taking to the mats at the all-day tournament. For many, like Herbage-Farough, Friday’s meet was a first taste of competitive grappling.
A few other young wrestlers had fallen awkwardly and were being checked on by trainers.
“It’s absolutely nail-biting when your child is out on that mat,” said Joanna Herbage, Andrew’s mother.
LWC youth division coach Harry Curtis said he enjoys the Garvie because the enthusiasm that comes with the newcomers to the sport is so raw.
“These kids are pretty good on their feet and getting better on the ground,” said Curtis, who has coached wrestling for almost 40 years. “They’re learning.
“That’s one of the wonderful things about the wrestling meet,” he added when asked about Herbage-Farough’s injury. “You take some lumps and bumps and you pick yourself up and you carry on. I think that’s good for kids in life, for sure.”
Herbage-Farough admitted the glitz of watching professional wrestling on television ” a far cry from the amateur discipline ” was the initial spark for pursuing wrestling, but the actual sport has kept him in it. He’s even planning to trade in his hours viewing World Wrestling Entertainment stars John Cena and The Undertaker this summer to catch some of the finer points of the amateur game when the Olympics hit the airwaves.
Joanna Herbage was impressed with the etiquette that’s taught on and off the mats.
“Contrast to what they do on the mat is the sportsmanship,” she said. “There’s no animosity after.”
Some of the first-year athletes were not total strangers to the sport. Alexandra Comeau wrestled in front of her father, Shane Comeau ” the head coach of St. Ignatius’ dominant high school wrestling team. Dad was relegated to the role of “wrestling parent” on Friday as he squirmed on the sidelines.
“It’s hard when you’re a dad sitting back.” said Shane Comeau as Alexandra’s final match of the day was about to begin.
“When it’s your athletes, it’s one thing. You can step away from it emotionally. When it’s your own child, it’s a whole different story.”
Fortunately, the stress was over quickly as Alexandra scored a pinfall in the first round to go undefeated in her division.
The LWC has been hosting the festival since the mid-1970s to honour Garvie, who was Lakehead University’s first wrestling coach.
“(Garvie) did such a tremendous job of building wrestling in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario,” said Curtis, who was a freshman wrestler when Garvie began his coaching stint here in 1970.
Friday’s event was a festival in every way as high school wrestlers volunteered their time as referees and members of the Thunderwolves varsity team served as mentors for them and the newer coaches.
The Lakehead Public School Board will host the next major meet for this age group when the city school championships descend on Fort William Gardens on April 26.
Seventeen of the LWC’s high school-aged wrestlers, coached by Comeau, will head to Fredericton, N.B., in two weeks for the cadet/juvenile national championships.
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