34 yo wrestler at ASU

[Jimmy Cinnabon 106]

Unfair due to his strength advantage over 18-22 year olds who did not have 12-16 more years in the Army to build up that man strength?

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/310606/green-beret-overcomes-odds-wrestle-asu-34-year-old-walk

 

 

I am kidding of course (satirizing the poster who claimed it was unfair to allow Mormons to go on 2 year missions and return to college athletics), but it is a great story nonetheless.

Edited March 4 by Jimmy Cinnabon

[jchapman 638]

Good story.  I wonder which weight class, he looks pretty well put together.  197?

[teach 141]

But if he does something stupid will we still be able to say "he is just a kid"?

[GoNotQuietly 688]

I'm 31, and feel pretty confident in my ability to get in shape for a single tournament, and even do pretty well.  A full collegiate season though? Not a freaking chance...the recovery just isn't there anymore, unless they gave me like 2 days off practice a week.  Wish him the best

[Housebuye 1,618]

Respect. He had a very tough life and is figuring it out. He must be incredibly mentally tough. 

He doesn’t seem to have any delusions around making the starting lineup but I think he will have a positive affect on the rest of the team.

[russelscout 731]

18 minutes ago, GoNotQuietly said:

I'm 31, and feel pretty confident in my ability to get in shape for a single tournament, and even do pretty well.  A full collegiate season though? Not a freaking chance...the recovery just isn't there anymore, unless they gave me like 2 days off practice a week.  Wish him the best

I could barely stay healthy when I was 21.

[Crotalus 201]

Pretty good story. Crazy that he is almost as old as Mark Hall.

[DrStrange 87]

51 minutes ago, GoNotQuietly said:

I'm 31, and feel pretty confident in my ability to get in shape for a single tournament, and even do pretty well.  A full collegiate season though? Not a freaking chance...the recovery just isn't there anymore, unless they gave me like 2 days off practice a week.  Wish him the best

I bet hes best friends with their training staff. I can't imagine the pain.

[NJDan 357]

Aren't there world class wrestlers at that age. Obviously he is not in that category, but why can't a 34-year-old be physically able to compete at the college level?

[Doc_Hfuhruhurr 25]

Big Bruce competed and won a bronze, in Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games- age 35!

[Dr. Novak 131]

Can he still hit on 18 year old coeds?  He should know every trick regarding panty removal.

[KTG119 746]

4 minutes ago, Doc_Hfuhruhurr said:

Big Bruce competed and won a bronze, in Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games- age 35!

Chris Campbell was even older when he medaled in ‘92. 

[RichB 122]

I think at the 72 Olympics Medved was 37, and the guy who family front Suplayed Chris Taylor was 39. I think there was an olympic wrestler who won his Gold his fourth try.

[jchapman 638]

1 hour ago, NJDan said:

Aren't there world class wrestlers at that age. Obviously he is not in that category, but why can't a 34-year-old be physically able to compete at the college level?

Maybe because he suffered a TBI, electrocution, and multiple other injuries during his time in combat and Special Forces Training?

[aknipp 92]

LaRock Benford was a 29 year old freshman at Purdue in 1990. I got stepped on by him in HS.

 

 

[stp 475]

Has he gotten the chance to compete?

[Chitown 22]

1 hour ago, aknipp said:

LaRock Benford was a 29 year old freshman at Purdue in 1990. I got stepped on by him in HS.

 

 

And they had NCAA Champ Charles Jones in 1992 around the same time. Think he served a long stint in military and was on their Navy/Marine greco team and came to Purdue after 3 years in NAIA at around 28 years old. Think he was 2nd & 3rd in NAIA in 89 & 90 before transferring to Purdue. 

 

[Idaho 401]

4 hours ago, KTG119 said:

Chris Campbell was even older when he medaled in ‘92. 

A little different when you train for a tournament at a time which usually has months in-between vs the daily grind and weekends of competition. Still impressive however. 

[KTG119 746]

1 hour ago, Idaho said:

A little different when you train for a tournament at a time which usually has months in-between vs the daily grind and weekends of competition. Still impressive however. 

Idaho I mentioned Campbell in response to Bruce Baumgartner being named in another response. Agreed what CC and BB did isn’t same as getting through grind of a college season, but it was also wrestling at the very highest level at mid 30s plus. 

Edited March 5 by KTG119

[TobusRex 1,287]

For those people who don't think 2 years of physical maturity matters after HS: you guys are either 1) dumber than a sack of hammers or 2) in denial. Religious missions should come AFTER college, not before. If Mormons want to go on a mission right after HS, fine, they'll still have 2 years eligibility (3, if they RS) when they come back. Small sacrifice to make for "God", right?

 

It's clearly a dodge. I've yet to hear a reason why they can't do the missions AFTER they graduate.

Edited March 5 by TobusRex

[lost 36]

5 hours ago, TobusRex said:

For those people who don't think 2 years of physical maturity matters after HS: you guys are either 1) dumber than a sack of hammers or 2) in denial. Religious missions should come AFTER college, not before. If Mormons want to go on a mission right after HS, fine, they'll still have 2 years eligibility (3, if they RS) when they come back. Small sacrifice to make for "God", right?

 

It's clearly a dodge. I've yet to hear a reason why they can't do the missions AFTER they graduate.

Because they want to start a career/family and are much better positioned to do so without taking 2 years off right after they graduate.  Its hard enough to find a job as a college graduate, can you imagine taking 2 years off to run around a jungle first?  Just as one example, a lot of kids will do an internship during/after their junior year and leverage that into a full-time job when they graduate, an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you take a two year gap.

Not saying it is impossible, as I traveled for a few years after college, but it definitely did nothing to help my employment chances.

Keep in mind that most Mormons marry and start having kids extremely young as well

[TobusRex 1,287]

Just now, lost said:

Because they want to start a career/family and are much better positioned to do so without taking 2 years off right after they graduate.  Its hard enough to find a job as a college graduate, can you imagine taking 2 years off to run around a jungle first?  Just as one example, a lot of kids will do an internship during/after their junior year and leverage that into a full-time job when they graduate, an opportunity that wouldn't be available if you take a two year gap.

Not saying it is impossible, as I traveled for a few years after college, but it definitely did nothing to help my employment chances.

Keep in mind that most Mormons marry and start having kids extremely young as well

Yeah, but people who say it's not an advantage to start their college career at 20 or 21 instead of 18 or 19 are straight up goofy. That's definitely an advantage, and the same reason parents hold kids back in JH and elementary school (how many HS state champs are 19 or 20 at graduation? A lot). To say it's a DISadvantage is just ignorant. That's the point of my assertion.

Regarding another of your points, I've seen testimonials from guys who did their missionary work in "jungles" such as Hong Kong, Berlin, etc. Not all of those guys are traipsing through jungles. They are sent where there aren't many Mormons from what I understand, and that includes places like France, Germany, UK, Mexico, Philippines, Brazil, etc. Frankly I'd probably prefer the jungle to a big city.

[Jimmy Cinnabon 106]

Yeah, and the guy mentioned in the article has a huge advantage at 34.  Literally more than a decade worth of strength and experience built up as a member of the Army Special Forces.  It's really not fair that he compete with 19 year olds.

[Zebra 532]

1 hour ago, TobusRex said:

. They are sent where there aren't many Mormons from what I understand, and that includes places like France, Germany, UK, Mexico, Philippines, Brazil, etc. Frankly I'd probably prefer the jungle to a big city.

Then you haven;t been to the right cities. Tokyo is a lot of fun and I had a great time in China. Europe is cool depending upon where you go. 

[Gantry 1,264]

3 hours ago, TobusRex said:

Yeah, but people who say it's not an advantage to start their college career at 20 or 21 instead of 18 or 19 are straight up goofy. That's definitely an advantage, and the same reason parents hold kids back in JH and elementary school (how many HS state champs are 19 or 20 at graduation? A lot). To say it's a DISadvantage is just ignorant. That's the point of my assertion. 

I don't think anyone denies the physical maturity advantage, their point is that when you stop wrestling for two years it really hinders your ability to stay at the level you were before.  Virtually none of the folks who take a mission wrestle a single match or even practice in those two years, you lose skills and stop growth/knowledge/coaching.   I'm not taking a side in the debate, but the perils to not wrestling outweigh the gain in physical strength to the detractors.  

Edited March 5 by Gantry