Club programs are the foundation for wrestling in the U.S.

By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling/Themat.com
gabbott@usawrestling.org

As we get deeper into the college and high school seasons, wrestling fans are focused upon the outstanding competition and tremendous athletes that compete in our academic institutions. The NCAA Wrestling Championships has become a major spectator event, and the college season is followed closely all over the nation. Likewise, the state high school championship is a major event all over the nation, as young men and women pursue their personal dreams within prep wrestling.

The junior high school, high school and college system provides one of the true strengths of American wrestling. Through our schools, young people are exposed to wrestling and participate in the sport as part of a team. The structure of the athletic programs within our educational institutions has allowed wrestling to grow and thrive in this nation. No country has wrestling so ingrained in its school program as the United States.

However, in so many ways, the club system is truly a foundation for wrestling in our nation. This is where so many young children first learn about wrestling, and where they develop the skills needed for the sport. This is where athletes go to get additional training and competition after the school seasons have ended. This is how our elite wrestlers get the support, funding and training opportunities to pursue World and Olympic medals for the United States.

USA Wrestling had 3,293 clubs all across America, a number which has been growing each year. These clubs are of all sizes, and range from youth programs to adult athletes. All of the wrestling styles are practiced in these clubs, and workouts are often year-round. In addition to those programs, there are other clubs that are affiliated with local groups such as recreation leagues and YMCAs. Most communities in the nation have a wrestling club somewhere nearby.

Many of these clubs are run by local volunteers, often parents who were once involved in wrestling, or former wrestlers who want to give back to the sport. Many are affiliated in some way with the school programs in their town, a “feeder system” for the high school wrestling team. Because of a high demand for additional training, many elite clubs have been formed, where outstanding coaches teach at a higher level and there is a charge for the athletes to participate.

You can ask successful international or college wrestlers, and in almost every case, they will tell you that they wrestled with a club program outside of their school team. This is where they experimented with the sport, learning new techniques and getting a different perspective than in the school program. Often, their club would take these wrestlers to additional competition, including many USA Wrestling state, regional and national tournaments. These wrestlers will tell you stories about the help they received from club coaches and other wrestlers who trained with them.

In a recent interview with three-time World champion Lee Kemp, who will coach our U.S. Olympic freestyle team this summer, he talked about such a club opportunity from his high school days in Chadron, Ohio. Kemp went to a YMCA program in Northeast Ohio that had workouts in the off-season. Many of the athletes were in college, or pursuing international wrestling careers. “Every good wrestler in the Cleveland area worked out there. Everybody who was anybody was there. It allowed me to rub elbows with great wrestlers,” said Kemp. This story is repeated all over the nation, as part of our vast club system.

The Olympic level also has a long history of club programs. When you see the results from USA Wrestling events on the national and international levels, all of the most successful athletes are affiliated with strong clubs. There are many national clubs across the nation, such as the Sunkist Kids, New York Athletic Club, the Gator WC and the Minnesota Storm, as well as clubs within our military branches (Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy). As well, many of the top college programs have wrestling clubs, such as the Hawkeye WC, the Cyclone WC, the Cowboy WC and the Wildcat WC, to name just a few.

The Sunkist Kids, which has won the USA Wrestling freestyle national title ever since 1983, calls their organization “the Dream Makers.” The New York Athletic Club has had a championship wrestling program since the early 1900’s, and has developed numerous World and Olympic champions. Wrestling plays a very big role in the history and the culture of the NYAC sports program. Each of these clubs offer so much to their athletes. Without these club programs, the USA would have tremendous difficulty competing against the top foreign teams, many which have government support for their wrestling programs.

Last year, USA Wrestling added a club division to two of its national events, the ASICS Folkstyle National Championships and the Beach National Championships. The inclusion of club standings added a special new reward for all of the hard-working coaches and athletes who train in clubs all year.

At the Folkstyle Nationals, the club division was in the youth age groups. Because of state high school rules about team participation, there can be no club awards at the Cadet and Junior levels. Trophies were given to the top two clubs in each division. This new club program was very well received, and will be continued moving forward.

The 2007 USA Wrestling Folkstyle National Championships club award winners included:
Bantam (ages 7-8): 1. Prior Lake (Minn.); 2. Red Cobra Wrestling (Ind.)
Midget (ages 9-10): 1. CMA (Mich.); 2. Brandon WC (Fla.)
Novice (ages 11-12): 1. Overtime (Ill.); 2. Pinnacle (Minn.)
Schoolboy (ages 13-14): 1. Pinnacle (Minn.); 2. Pascack Hills (N.J.)

At the Beach Nationals, a “Beach Belt Battle” was held, awarding a handsome belt to the club that scored the most points in the tournament. There was one overall team champion, combining results from the Senior, Junior, Cadet, Schoolboy and Veterans divisions. The first “Beach Belt Battle” was won by the Titan Wrestling Club, which has training opportunities in different locations across upstate New York.

The Titan Wrestling Club is very proud of winning the first Beach Nationals club title, and is very serious about winning it again. However, club coach John Leone and others in the Titan program would like to issue a challenge to all other clubs, all over the nation, to come out to the 2008 Beach National Championships in Rochester, N.Y., July 4-6. The Beach Nationals is a fun and competitive event, and any motivated local club that wants to show how tough it is should take the Titan Wrestling Club up on that challenge.

As we finish our school wrestling programs in the next few months, let’s also celebrate the club programs that have helped the athletes across the nation to grow within wrestling and to challenge themselves to be the best that they can be.

Gary Abbott is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling and is a founder of the National Wrestling Media Association and is a 2005 recipient of the NWCA Meritorious Service Award.

Gary Abbott