Archived Feature: Spread the word: there is room for everyone in wrestling

Photo of the Bethea wrestling family of Trenton, N.J. from the Beat the Streets Philadelphia website.
Whether you’re an athlete, an official, a coach, or just a fan, wrestling offers something for everyone. That's why those involved with the sport are so passionate and dedicated to the world's oldest sport. It's also why they encourage young athletes and parents looking to try something new, to give wrestling a shot.

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy," wrestling great Dan Gable once said. And once you wrestle, you quickly learn about the unique opportunity to be welcomed into a close-knit fraternity and family of wrestlers, parents, coaches and fans, says T.J. Ruberg, a youth wrestling coach from Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

"The sport of wrestling is a family sport," says Ruberg, whose son, Jake, wrestles in high school. "Everyone looks out for everyone. A wrestler can count on his or her friends to always be there on and off the mat, for life."

Wrestling has the ability to open doors that might otherwise be closed, says Shannyn Gillespie, a coach with the Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, Illinois. Gillespie is the former USA Wrestling National Team women's coach at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Thanks to his role as a coach he’s traveled the world—completing 10 overseas coaching trips while leading some of the best young women wrestlers in the country. 

“Wrestling creates opportunities for big, small, fast, slow, male, female,” says Gillespie. "Wrestling is a sport for all people that develops character, discipline, commitment and friendships.”

"Wrestling shapes life skills such as work ethic, goal setting, and perseverance in the face of adversity." - Sam Barber, Head Wrestling Coach (United States Air Force Academy)

Consider the unique opportunities wrestling provides. Where else could someone like Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg, go on to win an NCAA Division I wrestling title, as he did in 2011 for Arizona State. Likewise, Nick Ackerman, a double amputee, overcame his disability to win an NCAA Division III national wrestling title in 2001 for Simpson College. And there's Jacque Davis, now a coach with Beat The Streets Wrestling Club in New York City, who used the sport as his ticket out of a tough upbringing and is now giving back to the next generation.

Wrestling has a long track record of producing famous people who excel in their field long after they spot competing on a mat. There have been 10 Presidents and five astronauts who have wrestled. Well known actors (Tom Cruise and Vince Vaughn), entertainers (Garth Brooks and Ludacris), and pro athletes (Kyle Beckerman and Roddy White) have all wrestled.

The sport offers membership into a lifelong fraternity (and sorority). There are countless parents driving kids to and from practice and sitting next to each other to cheer at tournaments. There are moms setting up booster club meetings and new wrestler meet-and-greets. There are dads volunteering to coach and organizing spaghetti feed fundraisers. There are groups like the Mat Maids, a student organization at Oklahoma State that promotes wrestling throughout the school year.

All these shared experiences, both on and off the mat, is what makes wrestling special, says Sam Barber, the head coach of the Air Force Academy wrestling program. It's what keeps generations of family members involved in the sport; and what attracts newcomers looking for a new challenge, a new way to get involved. Most dedicated wrestling fans are former wrestlers, friends of wrestlers, parents of wrestlers or siblings of wrestlers, says Barber. "It's the culture,” he says, “the mountain that we have all climbed, that is the glue that bonds us.”

Wrestling teaches life skills too, Barber adds. And that's what current wrestlers and parents can use to entice newcomers looking to join the sport. Parents can become involved in a close-knit family environment where there young athlete quickly learns about accountability and commitment.

"Wrestling shapes life skills such as work ethic, goal setting, and perseverance in the face of adversity," says Barber.

Wrestling is an individual sport but also has a team component and each athlete's individual result impacts the team result, Barber points out. When your individual performance directly impacts every member of your team, you are learning the life skills of teamwork, service, and selflessness, he says.

"Wrestling, unlike team sports, teaches your child autonomy and independence by default," says Johnny Johnson, the Director and Founder of RAW 2-4-1, the Rock of Ages Wrestling Academy in Belmawr, New Jersey.  "It can develop a very creative and self-sufficient individual."

Kelly Stettner of Springfield, Vermont has a teenage daughter who has excelled at wrestling. When her daughter joined the sport, Kelly didn't know anything about the sport. But she's witnessed first-hand how the sport has instilled in her daughter a host of positive values: Self-discipline, physical and emotional strength, self-respect, humility, personal responsibility, situational awareness, problem-solving skills, physical and mental endurance, and sportsmanship. 

"These are life lessons," Stettner says. "They will serve you well in school, pursuing a career, in relationships and raising a family."

Wrestling teaches lessons in adversity says Jake Deitchler, a 2008 Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling and founder of Takedown Gym, a youth and high school wrestling and fitness training facility in Brainerd, Minnesota. Though his own athletic career was cut short due to symptoms of concussions, Dietchler finished college, earned his degree and is now a husband, father, and business owner.
"Whether it's a friend, family member, or former wrestler, the sport of wrestling can teach everyone lessons that can help both on and off the mat whether it be school, business or work,” says Deitchler.

So the next time someone asks why you wrestle, let them know about all the reasons above—and for the personal reasons that are near and dear to you. There's room for everyone in wrestling. Spread the word. Support the cause. Let everyone know that wrestling is something special and ask them to do their part by supporting, volunteering, and committing to keeping the sport great. 
Note: This archive featured first appeared in USA Wrestling's newsletter in October 2014.