Kevon Powell is a Champion Essay Example

The ref blows the whistle and suddenly every worry he has drops in an instant, the spotlight is on him and his opponent. This is the reality someone like Kevon Powell faces as a world renown wrestler and coach of the Archbishop Rummel wrestling team. Mr. Powell has a very decorated accomplishment list in his life as a wrestler boasting being a three time state finalist, a Junior World Champion, a Greco Roman National Champion, and a six time All-American. He is very short in stature with a muscular physique and short brown hair. His body helps show off the weight class he wrestled and the hard work that got him to the point he was. I decided to interview Mr. Powell due to his experiences in the world and how his life has reached from a small town in Illinois to Metairie, Louisiana with the final career path he has chosen. 

Kevon’s wrestling career began in a somewhat unexpected way; stating that The Rock was his main inspiration of joining a wrestling program at only six years old along with his dad encouraging him towards the sport. First starting out he never took the sport seriously nor did he ever become good until he began to grow up. His friends, getting better at wrestling, are what inspired him to start taking the sport seriously and improvement began. His younger days would show his work and hopeful future that he has always envisioned. His wrestling career never was truly shown off until highschool going to Montini Catholic, one of the best schools in the state of Illinois at that time. When talking about his highschool life he stated, “by 9th grade I was extremely nervous when it came to wrestling... it wasn’t until I placed 3rd in state that year I felt more confident in myself.” Moving from this third place victory he was able to grow exponentially from the year before and started beating those nationally ranked. Many of these individuals were those beating him not so long ago, and suddenly he was coming back demolishing these same match ups with pins and techs. He would finally end his highschool career with one state championship win and two second place finishes. To this day his picture still hangs up in the wrestling offices of Montini Catholic High School in Illinois and he remains as someone looked up to by the students there today. 

Kevon’s high school wrestling career, however, is not what defines him as a wrestler. Greco-Roman wrestling, a separate version of the sport that involves only upper body wrestling moves, is his true specialty. When asked about why he chose greco over freestyle, another version of wrestling, he stated that his coaches made him feel more comfortable, which allowed him to be able to progress much faster than the ladder. His coaches would put him to the test everyday and it showed in the end with National Jr. Greco Championships coming up in late 2011. He soared through the brackets taking everyone down with what seemed like relative ease and finally would make it to the finals. After a hard fought match, he would come out victorious with a score of 2-0, sementing his name in history for wrestling. Victory after victory and at this point he felt content, like he had accomplished all of the goals he had set for himself many years ago; however, his journey is still far from over. 

As he continued in his career as an athlete, he faced many hardships along the way. The several injuries took both a physical and mental toll on him as it was his passion and outlet. Having to pause his devotion to wrestling had him fighting battles harder than any match or tournament he has had to go through. After receiving surgery on his shoulder, he was put into a tough place to get out of, gaining forty pounds within only three days. He then turned to friends and family for support and soon landed back on his feet; however, this memory is something that will never pass. It would take a lot of dedication and motivation to come back as detrimental as it was, especially in a weight class organized sport. Once he was well again, he went immediately back to the sport of wrestling to pick up where he left off.

Finally, Mr. Powell has been able to take his life lessons and tremendous talent with wrestling to teach the next generation of young athletes as a coach. Arguably one of the most notable coaches in the state, Kevon has taught the best of the best allowing those to enhance further in their skills. “I see wrestling much more differently after becoming a coach, I try now to teach these kids lessons now to avoid harm down the road… one of these is being held accountable,” stated Kevon when asked about how his view has changed from athlete to coach. Being held accountable is important for many reasons but it is only because of his hard work over the years that he found that lesson so crucial.

Kevon Powell is a name well known across the nation in the world of wrestling. Through all of his achievements and successful seasons nothing helped push him more than his family support. To him, family meant virtually everything as his dad got him into the sport. It was only through the support of his family that he was able to get as far as he did at such an early age. Everything seemingly was going well for the up and coming wrestler, until tragedy would strike with the death of his father. This hit very close to him, but he only used it as motivation to push through and be the best he can be. Through all of this even today he tries to carry on his dad’s life through his students motivating them to push through even when the world seems dull. He gives them a person to trust and someone to fall back on when something like he had experienced happens in their lives. He finally leaves all of his students with his meaning of success in the world of wrestling, completion. He states, “everyone is not gonna be the best in the world and it is poor leadership thinking that, but I believe it is important to stick with a program or activity because that is what success is as a man, completion.” He wants and gives everyone an equal opportunity to succeed just as he did long ago, leaving them with the feeling of pushing themselves to their absolute limit. 

Kevon is someone with immense dedication and mental strength. He has overcome many challenges faced throughout his life and it is because of this that I respect him. There were many things I had not known about his life but after hearing his story and challenges, I myself feel motivated to be better than what I already am. He truly is an amazing athlete and coach, teaching his students to become better than what they were yesterday. From tough opponents to mental battles, he has faced them all with never complaining even once or thinking of just giving up. Kevon Powell is a champion.