Dustin Dooley: High School State Champion Wrestler
Winning a State Title, Dustin Dooley runs to his coach at the Kansas State Wrestling Tournament 2007 with tears in his eyes after completing a task he had been working for since he was three and a half years old. Opposed to falling one match short of winning the state title his sophomore year, Dooley was the new 119 lb Kansas State Champion.
“It was a great feeling,” Dooley said. “It was something that I had worked to achieve ever since when I had started wrestling when I was three and a half years old. I can’t really explain the feeling, but it was a feeling that made me cry after I ran over to my coach after the match.”
Just like all other success stories, Dooley had to put in a great amount of dedication and perspiration to be a successful wrestler. In 2005, Dooley came just a few points away from accomplishing what he had been working for for most of his life. Dooley placed 2nd at the State Tournament his sophomore year and he was devastated with his failure in the finals match.
“I walked out of my wrestling room, and I wanted to quit,” Dooley said. “I hit rock bottom mentally after losing the state finals match my sophomore year, and even though I was still winning my matches, I felt like I was never going to be good.”
Dooley had to make significant changes to his life before his senior year in order to become a State Champion. Dooley trained with his coach 2 to 3 times each week, and his coach helped him improve his technique significantly.
“My senior year was a year I became very mentally relaxed,” said Dooley. “My three other years in high school, I was really tense before my matches, and I would get drained mentally, but my senior year was different. I would joke around with my coaches before my matches, and being relaxed helped me mentally during my matches.”
Like most other wrestlers, cutting weight was an important aspect in Dooley’s wrestling career. Dooley had to pay close attention to his weight by setting a strict diet for himself. However, Dooley did not end up skipping meals or cutting weight in an unhealthy way, like some inexperienced wrestlers may do.
“I started cutting (weight) my senior year during football season,” said Dooley. “I cut from 140 to 119. It’s a lot of weight, but it taught me lessons about eating healthy. Cutting weight doesn’t have to be unhealthy. A lot of people view wrestling as unhealthy, but if you cut weight the right way it can be beneficial.”
Despite how relaxed Dooley was throughout the season, when it came to the Kansas State Finals match, he was not relaxed.
“I was very tense, because I knew that everything I had ever worked for was on the line,” Dooley said. “I actually walked onto the mat with tears in my eyes, because I was so pumped up for the match.”
Wrestling is said to be the most character building sport in the world. Wrestling teaches the lesson that “you are only hurting yourself” more than any other sport in the world.
“Wrestling has taught me discipline”, said Dooley. “It has taught me that when you need to get things done, it depends on you, and it doesn’t really depend on anybody else other than you. If I hadn’t had wrestling in my life, then I would rely on other people to get things done for me.”
Perhaps the most important characteristic of a wrestler is toughness. The way one rises after falling is what defines one as a person. Dooley believes that toughness is a very key aspect necessary for success in wrestling.
“…It’s going to be tough to the point where you want to quit,” Dooley said. “I was one win away from tying a career record, and I wanted to quit. I felt like I was never going to be good. You’re going to face adversity, and that’s normal. You’re going to have to overcome adversity, because that’s just part of wrestling.”