Mile High Wrestling Club is the No Missed Meals Club of the Month for September

Mile High Wrestling Club out of Wheat Ridge, Colo. has been selected as the Chobani/USA Wrestling ‘No Missed Meals’ Club of the Month for September 2017.
Check out how the Colorado club helps their athletes practice positive nutritional habits in and out of the wrestling room!
CHOBANI CLUB OF THE MONTH – SEPTEMBER 2017
Club Name: Mile High Wrestling Club
Club Location: Colorado, USA
Participating Age Groups: Ages 5 to 18 years old
Coaches: Tom Clum, Dan Clum, Todd Legge, Rory Roman, Jared Haberman, Nick Amuchastegui, Sonny Yohn, Cody Yohn, Jarion Beets, Chris Villalonga
How do you think about nutrition as it relates to youth athletes? What do you tell your athletes?
We tell our athletes that what you put in your body will be the building blocks for your training and performance. If you try to build your foundation of training with weak substance your performance will be weak, both physically and mentally. On the flip side, if you feed yourself rich nutrients, your body will be able to use that substance to perform efficiently both physically and mentally.
What do you tell an athlete that’s starting to cut weight too early?
We advise against it. For athletes that start at a young age it is important that they first allow their bodies to grow properly without any hindrances, and secondly focus on learning and loving the sport of wrestling.


What do you think the biggest misconceptions about weight cutting are?
The biggest misconception about cutting weight is how to do it. Whether you agree with it or not, it is a part of the sport. When you are the proper age and size, it is important that you do the research on how to train your body down without sacrificing nutrition, rather than taking the easy way out by skipping meals and not working out.


How are your athletes thinking about food?
To put it simply, they think of food as fuel for their engine. They understand that they need to use every bit of this fuel as they possibly can to perform to the best of their abilities.
Why do you think the weight-cutting culture is so prevalent?
It’s prevalent for a multitude of reasons. The biggest one being the perception of the advantage of being bigger and stronger than your opponent.


How do you keep young athletes (and/or their parents) focused on long-term development when there is always pressure to win now?
We constantly emphasize the relevant importance of success in the future versus the success of today. This wonderful sport of wrestling can unlock potential not only in yourself but opportunities down the road that can change your life. Luckily, we have a coaching staff that has been through multiple levels of competition, including NCAA Division I college wrestling and beyond that understand and try to push that message.
What resources do you wish you had to help in the nutrition space?
Creating meal plans would be a very useful tool for our kids. Instead of dealing with it on a practice by practice basis, we could build a system and schedule where we could track our athletes' nutritional paths and make sure they are properly fueling, replenishing, and building their bodies.


How do you promote positive nutritional habits to your wrestlers and their parents?
Being that a majority of our coaches have competed at the Division I level, we all try to express our nutritional journeys throughout our long careers. We explain not only the mistakes we made and how it hurt our performance, but we also share the vast knowledge we have gained and how it helped us accomplish our goals.


How do you ensure that positive nutritional habits are being practiced in your room?
We stay very engaged with our kids. As we all know, wrestling is not just simply a sport but a lifestyle. To simply teach wrestling technique for two hours a day and just go home isn't enough. We care very much about our athletes, so our concern isn't limited to success on the mat, but it carries into their personal growth and well being.


Why is positive nutrition important to you as a coach?
As coaches, we need to make sure that we keep our bodies healthy enough to teach wrestling as long as possible! If we lead by example, we not only show our kids the importance of nutrition through action, but we increase our longevity in this wonderful sport.

Thank you for Chris Villalonga and the coaching staff at the Mile High Wrestling Club for taking the time to talk to USA Wrestling about how they help their athletes make positive nutritional choices in their everyday lives!
Take the Pledge! Join the Mile High Wrestling Club, and many other USA Wrestling clubs, and become a ‘No Missed Meals’ club today! Click here for more information.
Each month from September to December 2017, Chobani and USA Wrestling will select a Club of the Month based on club philosophies and practices regarding positive nutritional habits. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the Senior level.