AUBURN, MI – Sight is a gift Brennan Draves has forever been denied.
Blind since birth, he has lived his 14 years in darkness, unable to see the electronics he plays with, the friends he chats with or even the mother who sends him off to school with an “I love you” each day.
But none of that stops him from being a boy of vision.
He imagines himself doing important things, pictures himself doing unexpected things, foresees himself doing great things. And he’s laser focused on that task.
“He’s always tried to do everything and anything since he was little. He’s always been very adventurous,” said his mother, Lindsay Goss.
“But I was absolutely scared to death when he said he wanted to try wrestling.”
With no vision and no experience – and no warning – Draves set his sights on joining the Bay City Western wrestling team as a freshman this year. If it was adventure he sought, he came to the right place.
Operating at a distinct disadvantage – namely not being able to see what his opponent is doing – he’s learned his share of hard-knock lessons, both in matches and in the daily grind of the Western wrestling room.
“Every day,” he said when asked if he ever gets his butt kicked as part of the learning process. “But that’s common for everybody. Wrestling is pretty hard.”
The first season of wrestling is typically a challenge for any athlete. But Draves has never been one to shy away from a challenge, whether it was playing baritone horn in the middle school band or training for karate and taekwondo. That would become a vital trait when he was thrust directly into the varsity lineup.
As the lone member of the Western wrestling program who fit the bill for the 103-pound weight class, he was called upon to fill that role throughout the season. It’s a division that many teams have trouble filling, so just his presence paid huge dividends for the Warriors as they finished on the plus side with a 13-12 dual record on the year.
Draves won by void 11 times, giving his team 66 points that would have otherwise went unclaimed. However, he also stepped on the mat and went to battle 16 times at the varsity level and, while he didn’t win any of those matches, he scored many triumphs.
“We can tell our guys ‘Look at Brennan. There’s your inspiration,’” Western coach Isaiah Thomas said. “Practice can be pretty tough, and it can be easy to say ‘Is this worth it?’ But he goes as hard as he can for as long as he can. Wrestling is about developing grit and overcoming adversity, and he’s been doing that his whole life.”
Clio's head coach shakes Brennan Draves' hand as Western coach Isaiah Thomas looks on after a match in the Division 2 team wrestling districts at Bay City Western High School on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Along the way, Draves discovered something important. He could indeed do this sport, as he envisioned.
In his first match of the season, he was pinned in less than 45 seconds. By the end of the season, he was taking opponents the distance and making a bid for victories. And when he got a chance to wrestle at the junior varsity level, something special happened.
Competing in the Bay City Central JV Tournament, Draves posted a 3-1 record that included his first on-mat victory, sending his coaches and teammates into wild celebration.
“He’s got a fight in him. He’s a true fighter,” Western teammate Dylan Reynolds said. “He comes to practice every day, no excuses, and gives 100 percent.
“Whenever he’s wrestling, everybody is on the sideline, holding each other back, waiting for something good to happen so we can jump on our feet.”
A referee guides Bay City Western's Brennan Draves before beginning his match during the Division 2 team wrestling districts at Bay City Western High School on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Draves said his teammates are invaluable to him in his venture. Not only are they helping him learn the sport but they guide him through routine facets, such as running sprints, where they almost always prevent him from running into a wall.
“It’s a little weird because teenagers aren’t used to the experience of taking care of someone else,” Reynolds said. “I think that really helped us become closer as a team.
“I closed my eyes and let someone else lead me around one day to feel what it’s like. I tried to put myself in his shoes -- and found out it was very challenging.”
That bond among teammates is not something Draves takes lightly. He made it clear that he could not accomplish his mission of competing without the assistance of his peers – and also made it clear that he does not like to have individual attention on him when he’s just part of a team.
“Their friendship means something to him,” said Goss, whose son was diagnosed with Leber Congenital Armaurosis at birth. “He’s a normal 14-year-old, smart-mouthed boy. He gives me a run for my money a lot of days. But it can be hard making friends, and you can see the difference it makes having his teammates around. He’s gained so much confidence, it’s amazing.
“They treat him like everybody else, and that’s all I ever asked. I just want him to be part of the team.”
That’s been no problem for Thomas, the fifth-year head coach who said he coached another blind wrestler when he was at Otto Middle School in Lansing and counts Michigan Wrestling Hall of Famer Larry Powell, who is blind, among his mentors.
“It’s never been about being blind, it’s about having someone who can wrestle 103,” Thomas said. “He’s going to take his lumps, but he’s a kid who is out there to compete, and that’s that.”
Thomas said he needs to be more hands-on when demonstrating moves with Draves, who doesn’t have the luxury of visual clues. During matches, the referees lead Draves into the starting position with each reset and the opponent touches hands with him at the whistle and must stay in contact with him at all times.
Other than that, there are no concessions given to blind wrestlers, and Draves must learn to adapt as he goes.
“After a lifetime of being blind, you get used to body movements,” he said. “You need to know what people do so you can anticipate it.”
The hard part is anticipating what comes next for the son of Robert Draves and Lindsay Goss. He mastered Braille and JAWS software as part of his daily life of being blind. Then he kept going, exploring the combat sport of Muay Thai and the cultural experience of playing the piano. He’s a strong student who has big ideas for a career in computer science.
And wrestling is part of his grand plan.
“It takes a lot of courage for him to try a sport like wrestling,” said Thomas. “But I always say wrestling is every person’s sport. It doesn’t matter how tall you are or what disability you have, you can be successful if you put the time in. And he’s done that all year.”
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