Sadly, Charley Weber didn't have that opportunity. On New Year's Eve 2012, the North Dakota high school freshman fell off a friend's snowmobile. He suffered a serious brain injury which forced him to relearn basic tasks such as walking and talking. At the time, Weber -- who had participated in four sports, including wrestling -- was told by doctors he would never play sports again. Not what an active student-athlete wanted to hear.
However, when Weber learned his high school -- West Fargo Sheyenne -- was launching a wrestling program, the senior went to work on his doctors to see if they'd let him return to the mat.
"I wasn't going to (wrestle), but when I heard we we're gonna open a Sheyenne program, I'm like, 'All right, I'm going to ask the doctors,'" Weber told InForum.com, the Fargo (N.D.) news website.
Weber made a powerful case, going so far as to put together a PowerPoint presentation on his smartphone to show his doctors why he should be allowed to wrestle again. The doctors gave him the go-ahead. He's taking extra precautions, wearing a facemask along with headgear.
It's been a while since Weber has wrestled -- way back to his freshman year in 2012, when he competed at a different high school.
"I've been wrestling my whole life," Weber said. "Yeah, I haven't touched a mat, but I've been working out. I've been lifting, I've been running, I've been doing a lot of things to stay in shape, just in case this happened."
After the accident, Weber's doctors told him he would no longer be able to play football ... or wrestle. "When they told me wrestling is not going to work out, I honestly cried," Weber said. "Wrestling is such a big thing in my life. But now I've got it back and I'm really proud of that, and I'm ready to make things happen this year."
Weber has set his sights high. He wants nothing less than a North Dakota state championship.
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