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Patterson Mill Wrestling Team Hosts Co-practice with the Maryland School for the Blind Wrestling Team
On Monday, November 20, the Patterson Mill High School wrestling team had a joint practice with the Maryland School for the Blind wrestling team.  This eight-year tradition started when a mutual friend of the two wrestling coaches at the time introduced them.  Since the first year, it has been a huge learning experience for both teams, and the two schools have really come to know each other.

Each year, anywhere from six to 12 wrestlers from the Maryland School for the Blind come to partake in this tradition. These athletes have varying degrees of visual impairment and physical capabilities.   The program at the Maryland School for the Blind is relatively new, so the Patterson Mill wrestlers use their experience to teach moves and provide an opportunity for the visiting wrestlers to practice. 

For the Patterson Mill athletes, the experience is about more than learning wrestling.  During the practice, the wrestlers from Patterson Mill are given the opportunity to be blindfolded while wrestling. 

Patterson Mill Head Coach Ryan Arist explains, “When we sit down as a team to discuss this experience, it is always amazing to hear how the wrestlers felt when their vision was taken away.  They definitely gain a new respect.”

Coach Arist continues, “It’s truly amazing to watch our kids work with these athletes.  To see their kind hearts at work while they are so patient in teaching the moves of a sport they love. While this event is about wrestling, this is one day out of the year we practice where it’s really about so much more.”