The Benefits of Creating a Positive Wrestling Club Experience

Creating a positive wrestling club culture goes beyond producing championship-caliber wrestlers. It's no secret winning creates an environment kids and parents want to be a part of, but for sustained club wrestling success, club directors need to focus on long-term development and creating an environment where kids of all abilities, experiences, and skills can find success, on and off the mat.

Not every wrestler will become a champion on the mat, but they can certainly all succeed off the mat. That’s why when developing a wrestling club culture, coaches and club directors should think long term, says Mike DeRoehn, head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville wrestling program, and founder of the World Class Wrestling School in Wisconsin, which strives to assist young men and women in their pursuit of excellence through the sport of wrestling.

“At the start of each new year, host a parent/coach meeting and read/understand the concepts of the Long Term Athlete Development model, then have everyone agree to follow and apply that model,” DeRoehn says.

Coaches should also continue to pursue educational opportunities for best practices on setting up practice plans and goals, and apply those to their club strategy, he says.

Ty Swarm, head coach of Nebraska's Kearney High School, says it’s important to get parents to buy into the goals and mission of a wrestling club to ensure success.

“Kids have to find value in what they are doing in order to want to be part of it,” Swarm says. “Selling this to parents is equally important. If kids and parents value the experience then they will want more of it and will buy into the process.”

This can be accomplished through positive coaching, and creating an exciting environment for kids. That's why recruiting coaches who are great at working with kids—not just knowledgeable in the sport of wrestling—is also important.

“Kids have to have a good experience or they simply won't keep doing it,” Swarm says. “This is difficult with wrestling because it demands hard work and a mentally tough mindset. Coaches, parents, and all others invested in the club must teach and reinforce the positive values gained through the experiences with club wrestling.”

This can be accomplished through a club environment that focuses on a healthy mixture of excitement, challenges, and skill-building/learning opportunities. So incorporate wrestling-related games, or team-building activities outside the room, with wrestlers and families.

“It is important to venture out of the everyday routine of practice to make the culture something special,” Swarm says.

Jeff Wichern runs the JJ Trained Wrestling School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and is the youth wrestling director for Eden Prairie Youth Wrestling. The JJ Trained club motto is “we’re a family, not a factory” and the focus is on the everyday wrestler who wants to compete at the highest level.

“We want each kid to feel important, and make sure every kid is getting the attention, training, and wrestling experience they deserve,” says Wichern.

To ensure that, coaches walk around after every practice and shake hands with each and every wrestler. Personal attention can help young wrestlers feel welcomed and wanted, and a part of something special. JJ Trained coaches, wrestlers, parents, and other supporters also spend a lot of time together outside of wrestling. They participate in summer boating and barbecue get-togethers, and hold an annual parent Christmas party thanking parents for their commitment to being part of the club/organization. There are pool parties and group cabin trips as they fit into members’ schedules.

“We like to work hard but want to reward the kids outside of the room for their hard work,” Wichern says.

Sam Snow, Director of Coaching Education for US Youth Soccer, said the necessary components of a successful club, in any sport, are organization, planning, leadership, facilities, staffing, and programming. The benefit of clubs, says Snow, is that they drive the growth of the sport, and development of the athlete. Good clubs start with the “why,” Snow says. Why do we do it? Why do we exist? Clubs then address how we do it, how we develop players (wrestlers), which should focus on education of club members and training of club staff. Then focus on what we need to do to develop athletes and what steps should be taken to ensure player/athlete development. When making decisions for the club, Snow says it should be based on this formula:

1. Based first and foremost on the player (athlete/wrestler)
2. Based second upon the team
3. Based third on the club
4. Based fourth on logistics and the family

“Members of the club must always be at the top of the list as club leaders push out information about the club and its function,” Snow says. “Communication is then vitally important to keep staff on the same page for the mission and operations of the club.”

Youth sports, including wrestling, can get expensive. But creating a positive club culture and environment is inexpensive and only takes effort to implement, such as these additional suggestions, from DeRoehn, on how to build a positive club wrestling experience:

• Smile: Coaches—smile, use a positive tone of voice, and encourage kids to ask relevant questions. 
• Have fun: Weave in short, focused, purposeful games that include the entire group throughout your practice plan. If possible, use sport-related games to “trick them” into working really hard, getting better and excited about coming back. 
• Do not use physical activities as punishment: This is an absolute must. Do not require athletes to do pushups, run sprints, or other physical challenges as punishment. “Rather than negatively associating physical training with punishment, we want kids to embrace the concept of consistent hard work and how it potentially translates to eventual success,” DeRoehn says. Flip it around and make work a reward. For example, arm wrestle to see who can get a water break first. Whoever wins, “gets to” do 10 pushups, but whoever loses “only gets to do 5.” Make them love getting extra reps in, DeRoehn says.  

Building a positive club culture takes planning, preparation, practice—failure—and improvement. Coaches should strive to better themselves, to better the experience for wrestlers and their families.

Because wrestling clubs may not always produce champions on the mat, but creating a positive club culture and experience can produce champions off the mat. And in the long-term, that is what will be best for coaches, parents, and most importantly, wrestlers.