Wrestling Blogs - Martin Floreani

When I was entering my final year at Cal Poly I heard we were getting this National Champion from Iowa State to be our coach. Ironically I was always pretty ignorant who was who in the wrestling world so I really didnt know what to expect from this 165lber Joe Heskett.

So Joe came in and I got to know him what struck me about him was his ability to face failure in the face until he succeeded. He would do this playing cards or playing a game or on the mat. At Iowa State Joe HEskett went to the finals his sophomore and junior years and lost both years. His senior year he went to the finals and was able to win it. That to me was a sign of bravery. Think of the thoughts that could have crept into his mind.."I cant win the big one" or whatever else. But Joe went out and preformed under what to me would be incredible pressured and faced failure in the face and came out a an NCAA champion.

He repeated this same process on the Olympic level. It was a this time where I believed there was something really special with Joe. Something that wasnt even normal for an NCAA Champion. It was his drive and inner belief that he was going to make a World Team and be an Olympian no matter what. I could see that he believed it even though I didnt necessarily know. This made me want to watch him more because I had never seen Joe come up short time and time again and simply stop. I couldnt wait to see how it would play out.

When I would watch him I got the sense that he somehow knew that things would work out for him. This intangable feeling is something that you can easily sniff out or simply sense if it is imitated, but for Joe it was as real as this keyboard that Im typing on. Again he constantly starred failure in its face and walked right through it. Its not something I can put into words but it was a feeling a power that he projected.

Maybe it has something to do with his positive attitude. Certain people appreciate what they have and what people have done for them and other people mainly focus on what they dont have. In my experience Joe focused on the positive impacts in his life. When I asked him about his parents he barely mentioned that they werent exactly perfect but insterad jumped to how great his grandmother was for him. Or he would talk about his little girls. Even as he was laid up in a hospital bed and told that his wrestling career has ended Joe says "Through all of this I just know how blessed I am with the love that has surrounded me. Nothing has been more fulfilling than seeing my daughters, although my youngest, Ava, keeps trying to pull on all my wires."

I hope Joe makes a speedy recovery and cant wait to visit him at Ohio State.