Sean Silva’s travel journal
August 21st, 2007, 4:40 pm · Post a Comment · posted by barstowsports
Barstow wrestler Sean Silva logged more than 7,000 miles of travel from Barstow to Iowa City, Iowa, back to Barstow, to San Jose, to Fargo, N.D., and then back to Barstow in two weeks in July. He attended two wrestling camps and the Asics Cadet and Junior U.S. Freestyle and Greco Roman National Championships. He provided the journal below for the Desert Dispatch.
Day 1
• I arrived in Iowa
• I met legendary wrestler and coach Dan Gable for the first time.
• I was introduced to all of the coaches and staff at the camp.
• I had my first practice at the camp.
Day 2
• We practiced three times today.
• Dan Gable coached us today. We worked on leg defense and pinning combinations.
• At our last practice Dan Gable gave us a speech about working hard mentally and physically.
• We watched a video after of Dan Gable and his accomplishments.
Day 3
• Tom Brands, head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team, coached us today.
• We were broken into small groups according to our heights.
Day 4
• Today we ran the stairs in the Hawkeyes Stadium.
• Running the stairs today was probably the hardest thing I have done so far at this camp.
• I went to Dan Gable’s house today. It was really cool. I got to see all of his medals and awards.
Day 5
• Today was my last day at the camp. I had a really good time and I learned a lot.
• I only had one practice today.
Day 6
• Today I arrived in San Jose for the team California camp.
• I had three practices today.
Day 7
• Today we arrived in Fargo, North Dakota
Day 8
• Today I wrestled in the Junior Greco Roman 112 division.
• Today was the first time I wrestled Greco.
• My record today was 1-2.
• I pinned my first guy and lost to my next two opponents. The matches were close in the matches I did lose.
Day 9
• Today I practiced with the freestyle team.
Day 10
• Today I wrestled in the 112 Cadet Freestyle division.
• My record today was 3-2.
• There was a lot of talent at this tournament and overall I think I did good even though I didn’t complete my goal of being a national champion.
I would like to thank all of my sponsors for making this trip possible. I would also like to thank my coaches and teammates for helping me train and giving me the support I needed. I would like to thank my family for the support they gave me.
— Sean Silva
Barstow High School student Sean Silva, center, stands with University of Iowa wrestling head coach Tom Brands, left, and assistant coach Dan Gable in the Iowa wrestling room.
Sean Silva, left, and Dan Gable stand in the University of Iowa wrestling room.
Submitted photos
