Patterson Mill Wrestlers Practice With Maryland School For Blind

BEL AIR, MD — Wrestlers at Patterson Mill held practice recently with a team they don't usually meet on the mat during the regular season. The high school wrestling team hosted students from Maryland School for the Blind before Thanksgiving in what has become an annual tradition.

The special event started several years ago, after a mutual friend of both wrestling coaches introduced them, according to Harford County Public Schools. When they convened in Bel Air on Nov. 20, it was the eighth year of the joint practice.

"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," Patterson Mill Head Coach Ryan Arist said in a statement. "While this event is about wrestling, this is one day out of the year we practice where it’s really about so much more."

About six to 12 wrestlers from the Maryland School for the Blind attend. Students from the school in Baltimore County have varying degrees of visual impairment.

During the session, Patterson Mill students are given the option of wearing blindfolds while wrestling.

"Coach Ryan and his staff, as always, have been welcoming to our team every year," Maryland School for the Blind Coach James Gardner told Patch. "The wrestlers looks forward to the experiences and learning if not refreshing their moves on the mat. They hung in there and took whatever was thrown at them."

According to Gardner, his team practices with two or three schools each season.

The Maryland School for the Blind is part of the Eastern Athletic Association for the Blind, which ranges from Massachusetts to Florida. It has three meets scheduled during the season: One is at home, while the others are in Philadelphia and New York.

Practicing together in Bel Air helps members of both teams to understand the sport better.

"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," Arist said. "They definitely gain a new respect."

Photos of Patterson Mill and Maryland School for the Blind wrestling teams courtesy of Harford County Public Schools.