Wrestling. It is the journey through this sport that makes a person of character and not their win/loss record. It is easy to be happy and gracious when you are healthy and winning. Many people show signs of humility and friendship when everything is going their way. A real winner is the person who faces adversity and never loses their optimism.
Most wrestlers finish their career without any major injury setbacks. Wrestlers are tough and they fight through bumps and bruises, but sometimes the challenges are far greater. Herein we focus on one amazing young man who has proven himself against the odds and if he never wrestles again, will carry with him the confidence and determination to know that he can never be defeated.
Nick Gaither had a relatively injury free pre high school record of 81 – 7 and exhibited great potential for his high school coaches. Why was he asked to bear the weight of so much in pursuit of his athletic dreams? Nick is not a large person, wrestling most of his career at less than 125 pounds and standing at a height of five feet eight inches. Athletes his size often do not fair well in football or basketball, so he chose to be a competitive high school wrestler.
As an Amador High School Freshman, Nick was immediately vying for a varsity spot on the team. Nick won his challenge match against a junior, but broke his rib in the process.
In the spring of 2009, Nick qualified to wrestle as an alternate on the Mount Diablo Association Duals Team. As an alternate, only a few matches were guaranteed. So, when an opportunity to wrestle in exhibition matches presented itself, Nick stepped up to get as many matches as possible. As you know by now, Nick is a warrior, not a spectator! Unfortunately, he faced an older slightly bigger wrestler, which resulted in a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury. A few hours later, the team needed Nick to wrestle and he won two matches while putting his weight on only one leg.
Nick dreamed of wrestling for a national freestyle or greco championship in 2010 and had to qualify for the California national team by placing at a regional or state tournament. Because of past knee injuries, Nick would wear two sets of kneepads. The extra cushion slowed him down, but made it possible for him to compete. In addition to knee problems, Nick broke his ankle on the first day of regional competition. Not wanting to wait another year to attempt to qualify, Nick went on to wrestle on his broken ankle. He placed sixth in greco. Because leg attacks are not allowed in greco, he was somehow able to compensate for bad knees and the broken ankle. While sixth was not an automatic bid to the national tournament, it was enough to get him on the petition list and eventually he was accepted as a member.
Nick stepped up his practice routine, pushing himself in every drill and game, trying his best to gain an edge on the competition. Just when he started to elevate his game, he broke his scapula into two pieces, just like a potato chip. It took eight weeks to heal and his preparation for nationals was significantly impaired.
Nick sustained a concussion in practice a few days before the national tournament. In spite of the concussion and a bad sinus infection, Nick wrestled well at nationals and it seemed as if his troubles were finally over. Apparently, the troubles were just about to begin!
Nick never backs down from a challenge and wanted to show all his teammates how he had improved over the summer. Unfortunately, he tangled with a 160-pound wrestler at practice and ended up with a dislocated shoulder. It was at his first pre-season tournament where he sustained two more shoulder dislocations, that Nick finally realized his junior year of high school wrestling would be forfeit to shoulder surgery.
I think at this point even the strongest of people would have thrown in the towel, not Nick, not someone who competes for the love of the sport and the rare opportunities when he is able to prove to the world that he cannot be denied.
Nick took the shoulder setback in stride. He sought the silver lining of coaching and volunteered his time to any coach willing to let him help younger wrestlers. Nick spent countless hours helping others when he was unable to practice. Nick’s positive example will not be forgotten by the young wrestlers who benefitted.
Worried about sending Nick back on the mat, his parents, club coaches, and high school coaches developed a list of fitness tests that Nick would need to demonstrate before being cleared to wrestle. Nick never complained. He accepted these adult barriers as just another hurdle to clear on the path to his dream. Nick completed 57 pull-ups in 15 minutes, 56 push-ups in one session, 37 squats of his body weight in one session and ran two miles in under 14 minutes. With the doctor’s clearance and these fitness tests behind him, Nick entered the Northwest Regional Freestyle Tournament in Battle Ground Washington. Twenty-five of the best wrestlers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California battled and Nick finished third by pinning his opponent in the medal round.
In early May 2011, Nick won the Western Junior Regional Greco Championship. Unfortunately in the finals match of the Western Junior Freestyle Championship, Nick destroyed his shoulder again, reversing the Bankart Procedure, Slap Lesion repair, and Labrum Ligament repairs from his previous surgery.
Nick has earned automatic bids on the California National Freestyle and Greco Teams and has made everyone who knows him proud of his determination and success! Nick personifies the cliché, “Never Surrender”! His doctor wants him to wrestle at nationals with the torn shoulder and then have a thorough evasive surgery followed by an eight-month rehabilitation. Once again, Nick will sit on the sidelines of high school wrestling, but this time he will lose his senior year. Please join us in wishing him the best at nationals in Fargo North Dakota. It will be remarkable to watch how far this one-arm warrior can go!
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