Along the Path With Tela

By Katie Downing

I find it interesting when you look around any wrestling room how everyone may be doing the same things and working toward the same goals, but may be coming from any number of different approaches toward the sport. Each wrestler displays all that he or she has on the mat in competition. It’s interesting when you get to know a wrestler enough to see a glimpse of what got them to the point you saw on the mat. You may know Tela O’Donnell as an Olympian, or you may know that she’s good with a two-on-one. I’d like to tell you a bit about Tela to give you a piece of the picture to add to your understanding of Tela’s approach to wrestling.

Tela’s house is filled with a guitar and sheets of music, artwork (both her own and others’), laid back music coming from small speakers, and her very big and very friendly dog. If you sit down and talk to Tela long enough, you are bound to see a certain look she has. It’s kind of a confused look, one eyebrow raised and her lips pursed a bit and pushed to one side. I’ve seen her with that look on her face when I know she was confused about something, but I’ve also seen it when she’s simply thinking something over, or when she’s not happy about something, or when she may be disagreeing with something someone said. I even saw that look one time when she was trying to look intimidating. I don’t think it came off the way she intended. That’s ok though because threatening isn’t her thing. I’ve seen her before major matches with a small contented smile on her face. That’s what works for her.

I wanted to take you ‘along the path with Tela’ because it is very much about the path for her. Tela keeps in mind the broader path rather than every stone along the way. Tela may have ideas for the things she wants to work on for a given practice, but she says that her plans often change once she’s there. This ‘go with the flow’ outlook shows in her wrestling style. Her moves are rarely cut and dry, and her matches usually consist of a series of scrambles because one of her strengths is being able to adapt and change from one situation to the next without feeling out of control.

Tela’s drive and motivation come from her simple love of wrestling. She says that she is at her best when she remembers how much she loves to wrestle. Practices are not effective for her if she comes into the room worrying about hundreds of outside tasks. Also, when wrestling practices or the training schedule gets frustrating or tiring, Tela finds that it helps to remind herself how she loves the process of putting everything she has into wrestling, and that she loves it that wrestling has brought her into contact with so many different people and relationships, and loves the opportunities and places wrestling has taken her to so far. Tela feels excited about wrestling every day, and she knows that she has to get things back into order if she isn’t excited every time she wrestles. Tela feels that she must be a balanced person in order to be the best wrestler she can be. She tries to balance school work, friendships, errands, and her relaxing hobbies like playing the guitar, with her goals and work in wrestling. When she feels nervous before a certain match, Tela thinks about things that make her happy and comfortable. And she just brings her mind back to the idea that she loves to wrestle, so each match isn’t a scary event, but simply a chance to do what she loves to do.

Tela learned early in her life from her mom the power of positive energy and the value of thinking positively. She says that thinking negatively only limits people, and that you can grow when you work through things that may seem negative. Tela doesn’t worry about losing because she realizes that everyone wins and loses in wrestling, and losing a tough battle on the mat can still feel good and show her which situations she needs to work on.

One of Tela’s every-day goals is to get the most out of every situation in training and competition. She says that she has to make an effort to keep outside worries from affecting her practice time. She also makes an effort during competition to keep bringing her focus back to her love of wrestling. She reminds herself that she is prepared, she has done all of the work leading up to the competition, and she loves being there. She uses ‘go to’ or cue words like, ‘score now’ during matches to keep refocusing. Keeping herself focused is one way that Tela gets the most out of every match. Tela believes that in order to be the best at what she does, she must balance the priorities in her life, and she must also balance her outlook in wrestling. She knows that she has to be able to work on her weaknesses in wrestling, and she must also find the best way to capitalize on her strengths.

Tela considers struggle and the process of learning as important as success in wrestling. She says that she gets so much out of trying. Tela recognizes that she got a lot out of putting so much effort into wrestling even when she was the only girl on the team. She learned to trust herself and to show confidence in her decision to wrestle even when others questioned it. She likes wrestling because it is such a clear goal to always try to better oneself. She discovered through wrestling that hard work can overcome any disadvantage on the mat or in life. Wrestling also gave Tela the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. The most significant benefit she got from the Olympics was the joy she felt to be a part of something so grand. Tela says that the Olympic experience was special and different from any other competition because there was always a sense of being a part of something bigger than any of the athletes and bigger than any individual sport. Tela has not tried to force her path to lead to success, but she has had a lot of success in wrestling by focusing on the path, the process, and the experiences she enjoys so much through the sport.