Chris Diehl's Rookie Diary: Entry #1
11/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
CHRIS DIEHL'S ROOKIE DIARY
Entry #1: Monday, November 27
As freshman 133-pounder Chris Diehl and the Wolverines prepare for their annual trip to Las Vegas and one of the country's toughest early-season tournaments, the U-M rookie reflects on his decision to come to Michigan, his in-your-face style of wrestling and the love of competition that drives him to succeed on the mat.
I've been a Michigan fan since I was a kid. I went to my first match when I was eight years old. They handed out these freestyle handkerchiefs that had Michigan wrestling printed on it. I still have it at my house. I remember the atmosphere at Cliff Keen Arena. Everyone was going nuts and cheering throughout the entire match. Michigan fans are just awesome. When there is a lot of action, they will cheer, clap and yell, and even if there's nothing going on, they will still root loudly for the Michigan wrestler. That's probably my favorite thing about Cliff Keen Arena.
My family lives only 45 minutes from Ann Arbor. I had some schools interested in me out of state, but I'm really close with my family and there was no way I could be that far away from them. My brother, Josh, and my dad are my best friends. I talk to them every day. My mom is always there for me. She sends me family pictures, so I can post them up in my room and see them every morning.
I'd say several factors contributed to my decision to attend Michigan. The school is obviously very prestigious, and the academics alone could convince anybody to come here. In my eyes, we're up there next to Harvard. The wrestling team is phenomenal. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody wants to be the best. The guys were great to me when I came down on my recruiting trip. I just liked everyone so much, and they all seemed anxious to meet me. Michigan was definitely the right place for me, and I don't regret the decision to come here.
Coach (Joe McFarland) told me when I got here in the fall that Mark Moos would be going back to 125, and I realized that only left me and Mike (Sears) and that I could be starting this year. A lot of people will ask me if I'd prefer a redshirt season, but who doesn't want to wrestle right away A redshirt year would be a great chance to grow and develop, but if I ever get the opportunity to wrestle, I'm going to take it. I'll never choose to sit back and wait for another year. I can redshirt later. So, I'm excited to be wrestling this season.
My approach to the season hasn't really changed. I just go out there and wrestle. Whatever comes naturally, that's just what I do. My style of wrestling fits very well with the style that Joe teaches. My coach at Kearsley High School, Tony Holifield, wrestled for Joe at Michigan several years ago, so what he taught us every day was basically the foundation of Michigan wrestling. I feel like I got a bit of a head start compared to some of the other freshmen, and I've been able to really transition into the Michigan style, which is in-your-face wrestling, never stop moving, great conditioning, and pretty much battling the whole time, never giving up any easy points and scoring off every opportunity you can. It's just pounding, inch by inch, until eventually you come out victorious at the end. That's how I see it. That's the mentality you need to have to be a Michigan wrestler.
Diehl won the 133-pound starting job with a 14-4 intrasquad effort.
The competition is obviously a lot tougher than high school, and all the guys in the room are a lot more competitive and skilled. Everyone here at Michigan was recruited, and they're here to wrestle. They want to be national champs. I think that is every wrestler's dream.
I love competition. What would wrestling be if not for competition You would never be able to test yourself. It can scare the heck out of you, but, at the same time, it's such a thrill. I always get nervous before competitions. I'll never admit that I'm nervous, but there's not one time that it doesn't happen. I have butterflies right now just thinking about it. I just get anxious to get out there and wrestle. I'd rather wrestle right now than wait and think about it, because that just kills me.
I was waiting for that Lehigh match for months. We've been putting all this time in the room to become better wrestlers, but I just want to compete. I want go out and face a tough opponent and feel the adrenaline surging through me on the mat. Wrestling is just one on one. You have no excuses whatsoever if you lose. I wanted to test myself and see how I compared to other 133 pounders in the nation.
Obviously, I wasn't satisfied at all with that first weekend. In high school, some kids will stop wrestling in certain positions, but in college nobody stops wrestling. That's probably the most important thing that I learned. So, when I make stupid errors and don't finish a move or step up too high, I'll get ankle-picked right to my back and lose by two points. It's frustrating that these little mistakes are causing me to lose matches that I'm winning against tough opponents. That happened twice to me. My technique has to get better, and I can't stop wrestling at any point. That's when you'll get caught and lose.
Small mistakes call for easy fixes, but it's hard to fix something that you don't realize you're doing. I'll keep that experience in my head. If it's in the back of my head, then I won't make that mistake again. It only drives me to achieve greater perfection with my technique. I'll learn from my mistakes rather than forget about them.
You have to step onto the mat always believing you can beat anyone because really anybody can win on a given day. I have certainly lost to kids that I should have beaten. I was beating Joe Mendez, who was a four-time state champion from Lowell, 16-4 before his coach made him quit in the third period. The next time I wrestled him I got caught in a headlock and was pinned after 49 seconds. Losing is the worst feeling in the world, but I'd rather lose to the best than win a hundred times against people I know I can beat. But that one time you win over someone you're not supposed to, there's no better feeling.
Note: Chris Diehl's Rookie Diary appears in The Riding Times: an inside look at U-M wrestling.
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