the annual match

I used to be a youth leader at a group in Victoria.

It was great, I hung out with cool teens, got to counsel at summer camp, did some amazing hikes and camping trips.

Josh was 13 when I first met him, he was a gangly little kid who was in that teen guy stage of wanting to challenge anyone who was bigger then him. One event he spent the entire night saying how easily he could take me down, that even though I was bigger he could totally take me in a fight.

By the end of the night I had enough and threw down the gauntlet. We laid down some wrestling rules, a crowd gathered and we started. I won't lie, Josh was not hard to pin down, in fact I managed to wrap his arms around his legs and keep him pretzeled with only one of my hands. I let him loose a couple times only to pin him again. After about 10 minutes I figured I had made my point and I let him stand up.

"You may have won this time," he said, "but I'm only 13, I still have a lot of growth left."

That night Josh and I agreed we'd try to have a wrestling match once a year. Age 14 and 15 were pretty easy. Josh had started to grow but it was mostly the awkward long arms and legs growth and less the muscle growth.

Then he started playing football in high school and at age 16 I noticed a gleam in his eye. For the first time I think he legitimately thought he had a chance. Still my 'old man cunning' (as I called it) trumped his 'young dude strength'.

Then I moved to Toronto and the matches became a bit harder to set up. When I returned for Christmas Josh was 17, an inch taller then me and about the same weight. I even thought he might be able to take me. I asked for an impartial ref because I figured the match may be a bit harder to call.

It was a tough match. I actually left it shaking because I had worked so hard. The judge ruled that although it was a close call, I was still the winner.

Josh is now 19 and has already contacted me to set up a match for this summer when I fly back to the west coast. Only time will tell whether my old man cunning has one more year to trump young dude strength.

I'll fight long and hard for the win . . . but I think this year might just be the year I lose.

In the end I'm alright with that, I've gotten to wrestle Josh through almost each year of his teenage life. Now he's a youth leader with the same group I once led.

I might just be ready to pass the torch.