Max Pogline CO Goes to the Max
Go to the Max: Falcon’s Max Pogline
By Bill X. Barron
“People love to watch him wrestle, because he’s aggressive and keeps moving,” Lindsey Brewer relates about her son, Max Pogline, who is rapidly becoming one of the best 8th graders in Colorado.
Observers can tell that Max thoroughly enjoys what he’s doing, as he has a perpetual smile even in the midst of battle. It is clear that he is “unafraid to be himself,” as his mother likes to say.
Last summer, Max traveled to Indianapolis with Team Colorado to compete in USAW’s 14U Schoolboy National Freestyle and Greco Duals.
In folkstyle, Max went undefeated in his junior high season for Falcon, east of Colorado Springs, for which he was named Team MVP.
He looks forward to every opportunity that he has to compete in RMN Events. Traveling to New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska in January and February, Max wrestled at 13U 109 and 15U 119 pounds. Max made the finals in five out of six brackets, earning two championships.
While he would rather wrestle now than do anything else, the decision to wrap his entire schedule around working out, practicing, and competing came after he took a few years off as a young athlete.
With the encouragement of the local club coaches and his older brother, he’s as committed as they come. Falcon’s Wrecking Crew club team, now in its 8th season with a growing talent pool, is coached by Lucas Watson and Randall Flowers.
Coach Luke cites: “Whenever Max is in the room, we are the better for it. He pushes everyone to their best, and he makes his practice partners work their hardest.”
To practice with older, more experienced wrestlers, he has a second set of practices with Duane Goldman’s Wrestling Academy of the Rockies (W.A.R.).
Goldman was a 4-time NCAA finalist and a highly successful head coach of Indiana University. He cites: “Max has a positive learning attitude. He’s a sponge who absorbs everything we teach.”
“I tried football, but I like wrestling best,” states Max. ‘If you make a mistake, it’s only on you.”
Max will often be creative in finding his way out of situations. “If I get behind, I keep on coming until I wear down my opponent and take advantage of his mistakes.”
At RMN’s Warfare Tournament in Nebraska, Max came from behind in the 3rd period to spadle his older opponent in 15U, earning his second title of the day.
Max’s all-out double is difficult to defend. “On his feet, Max is very technical with quick reactions,” relates Luke. “He relies on his natural ability; he’s never out of it, and he keeps coming after you. A tough competitor to defeat!”
Opponents who take top find that they can’t keep him down as hits a sit-out, switch, or granby roll in succession, if need be. If you get underneath Max, you are likely to be twisted like a pretzel in a variety of leg moves or a power half.
In order to allow for more practice and travel, Max does his schooling online. His day begins at 7 am with homework before lifting weights at the recreation center. This is followed by one or two practices before he collapses into bed.
Weekend routines need to just as disciplined, as “travel takes sacrifice and dedication. I’ve spent the better part of some evenings in my car waiting for practice to get out on the other side of town. But it’s worth seeing his progress,” Lindsey reflects.
As a wrestling parent, Lindsey has learned that “it’s okay when your child loses because the sport of wrestling is a teacher. That’s how they learn, how they motivate themselves to get better.
“These life lessons come through developing mental toughness and building character. It’s admirable that, even with teammates cheering him on, he must perform all alone.
“The better part of facing adversity time and again is that you are no longer intimidated by it,” Lindsey concludes. “Max is not afraid to take on a challenge. He has the courage to do what he needs to do.”
Max displays the courage to be true to his own self: a committed nonconformist who at the same time instantaneously connects with peers and adults alike.
A person of his own design, Max will forge a path unique only to him, as he wrestles with life just as he is constantly inventing ways to beat opponents on the mat.