|
Wrestling Club FAQs
What safety equipment and
procedures are recommended?
-
All wrestlers must wear
headgear for matches and should at practice
-
Mouth guards are recommended
safety gear (a USAW requirement if braces are worn)
-
Finger nails must always be
clipped short
-
Showers immediately following
any wrestling
-
All cuts must be covered
-
Never wear wrestling shoes
outside
-
Do not leave wrestling gear in
a gym bag overnight, pull it out to air dry
-
Treat all cuts with antibiotic
ointment
-
Have all suspect skin issues
looked at by a family physician
-
Spray red spots immediately
with anti-fungal spray
-
Is wrestling right for
my child?
As my 7 year old says, "Wrestling
is great." However, wrestling is not for every child. We practice at
least two nights a week for two hours a piece during wrestling season.
Tournaments can last all day with only short periods of wrestling by
your child. They will be exhausted, sore and sometimes frustrated. They
will also learn how to be a better sportsman, a better competitor and a
better person. Our wrestlers learn, review and have fun at every
practice. They serve the community as a group, they learn self
discipline as they work and they make friends of all ages as they practice
together and work with assistant coaches from high school through former
college wrestlers. They even have the chance to meet International
competitors and coaches.
We initially started our child in
wrestling at the YMCA hoping he would benefit from a sport where he has to listen to
a coach. You can't skate by in wrestling - watching the other players to
see what you missed or daydreaming simply can't happen in wrestling. it
paid off for us and we later started in competitive wrestling for two
reasons. First, he loved wrestling and this was a natural step. Second,
competitive wrestling shows a direct benefit form his hard work. He can
see his progression in skills and he can watch his wins go up when he
works harder.
Only you and your child can
determine what is right for him/her. We would be happy to discuss your
situation if you have questions about your child's needs or personality.
Please use our contact page.
-
-
How old should my
child be to start wrestling?
SYWC accepts wrestlers from 5-14
years old. Within that age range, wrestlers will be ready at various
ages. We have had very young wrestlers who love the sport and are
attentive and on task throughout practice and we have seen older
wrestlers come in and have great first seasons against much more
seasoned wrestlers because they were willing to put the effort into the
sport.
-
-
Is this a competitive
sport?
Yes, our team is a competitive
team. This means that we do wrestle meets where there is a winner and
loser in each match and medals are awarded through a position determined
by each host. Coach Wait emphasizes that "Winning is not important,
wanting to win is."
-
-
What should I bring to
a wrestling meet?
Your child will need wrestling
shoes, mouth piece, street shoes, a singlet and headgear as a minimum for a meet.
Most wrestlers carry a gym bag as they cannot wear wrestling shoes
outside and cannot wear street shoes on the mats.
Recommended:
-
towel to wipe down between
matches
-
money for snacks or food
(coolers are generally allowed)
-
water bottle
-
entertainment if needed (there
is often a lot of downtime)
-
camera
-
shorts and a T-shirt for wearing
over the singlet when not wrestling
-
-
-
When is wrestling
season?
Isn't it always wrestling season?
Sign ups are in early November and
State tournaments are in late March. There are often events and
opportunities to wrestle or have fun with the team in the off season as
well.
-
-
When are practices?
Please see our calendar link for
the most current practice and tournament schedule.
-
-
What style wrestling
are you competing in?
Folk Style
-
-
How many tournaments
are there?
During wrestling season there is
generally at least one meet each weekend. The team calendar will show
which ones we are attending as a team. Each wrestler should make as many
as they are able. Live tournaments are great wrestling experience and
great fun. You learn wrestling in the practice room, you learn how to
wrestle at tournaments.
-
-
What should I expect
at a tournament?
If remote weigh ins are allowed,
we will weigh in at the last practice before a tournament. Otherwise,
please aim for the earliest you can during the listed weigh in time at
the tournament. It can get hectic as time closes and it's easier to have
it out of the way. If your wrestler is over their listed weight some
tournaments will bump them up and rebracket (which will make you glad
you were early), some will remove you from the meet. Keep a scale at
home so that you can keep track of your wrestlers weight.
Tournaments generally take place
in high school gyms. Coach will let the team know when to arrive at
each. Generally this will be at least 30 minutes before the tournament
begins so that we can stretch as a team. Since wrestlers need to prep
(shoes, head gear, singlet) before stretching, aim for at least 45
minutes. If there are loose shoelaces showing, we'll tape them with
athletic tape (it helps to have a roll is this is an issue with your
shoes). Most wrestling shoes now come with
lace guards on the tongues of the shoes (little Velcro pouch) to tuck
your shoelaces inside of.
We sit together as a team - look
for the Grapplemaniac parents. You can spot them sometimes with a sign,
sometimes by the Grapplemaniacs gear, sometimes by the people yelling
for you as soon as you walk in. of you don't see them, a coach can point
you in the right direction as they are usually watching the doors for
our wrestlers.
Brackets will be posted in a
hallway. This is a list of when and where your wrestler will be
competing and against who. It helps to have a pen and paper to copy this
down. In the stands, we'll write the round numbers on your wrestlers arm
to keep everyone heading to the right place at the right time. Different
meets have different set-ups for when and where the wrestlers go -
generally these are explained at the beginning of a tournament. It will
also help to be sitting with the other parents since many have done this
before and will help keep an eye on the whole team.
We cheer as a team for anyone on
our team. There is a lot of downtime for wrestlers since the matches
often have hundreds of wrestlers. Paying attention to our team helps
build the team, encourage everyone and entertain our wrestlers in their
downtime.
When your wrestler is up, if they
are under 6 - sit back and enjoy. If they are over 6, please keep track
of win/loss/pin and who they wrestled along with a score. This will be
helpful as the season ends and we apply to districts.
Depending on the tournament,
medals may be handled in different ways. Unless it is a
district/state/national tournament they will most likely be handed out
as soon as your bracket is complete and tallied. There are no podiums at
these tournaments and medals are picked up and you are free to go (or
even better, watch the rest of our wrestlers).
Some tournaments are operated
split session which runs the younger children first and the older
wrestlers after lunch (or as close as possible).
-
-
What if we cannot get
to a tournament?
Going to every tournament is not
required of a wrestler. However, we have wrestlers at every tournament.
If you have a scheduling conflict, we can always find a coach, board
member or parent who can take your child to the tournament. Please
contact any of the board on the contact page for specific event
questions.
-
-
What are the parent
responsibilities?
-
Having the correct attitude
-
Always telling your child you
are proud (let the coaches tell them what they did wrong on the mat)
-
Being passionate and believing
in the sport of wrestling
-
Make your wrestler go to all
available practices if at all possible
-
Help your wrestler get to as
many tournaments as possible
-
Educating yourself on the sport
of wrestling
-
Helping your wrestler attend
summer camps and clinics
-
Volunteering for service
projects our club takes on
-
Volunteering to help the club in
its fundraising endeavors and in getting corporate sponsors
-
Volunteering for Grapplmania -
our annual team hosted tournament
-
-
-
What are the
wrestler's responsibilities?
-
Being your own best coach
-
Having the correct attitude
-
Being passionate and believing
in the sport of wrestling
-
Being coachable
-
Keeping your grades up
-
Coming to all available
practices
-
Hand/grip exercises at home
-
Running at home
-
Educating yourself on the sport
of wrestling
-
Eating correctly
-
Sleeping correctly
-
Using visualization
-
Lifting weights (if old enough)
-
Watching your matches on tape
and critiquing yourself
-
Summer camps and clinics
-
Volunteering for community
service projects our club takes on
|
