As the father of a wrestler, I have seen the sport on nearly all competition levels. Your local tournaments are at one competition level and your national tournaments are several notches up from there. This also holds true in terms of training centers. Most school based or recreational programs train a handful of days per week, typically 2-3. There is a mix of beginner wrestlers and wrestlers with some experience. In most cases, the coaching can be mediocre to say the least. This is why training centers are crucial to the growth of wrestlers with big ambitions, and to the growth of the sport of wrestling as a whole. Most training centers practice no less than 4 days per week, practice partners are typically at a higher skill level, and the coaches are typically very accomplished wrestlers in their own right. The practices are tougher than that of a school based or rec program as well. So, the question here is "Do you have to attend a training center to be successful?" In terms of everything in life, including wrestling, competition breeds success. So, in my humble opinion, I think the answer is Yes. If you have "wrestler A" training full time 3 days per week with a practice partner with a lower skill level and lesser coaching, do you really think he is going to beat "wrestler B" who trains 4 days per week with a practice partner on a higher skill level and better coaching? In a 16-week youth season (November-March), "wrestler B" will have had 16 more practices than "wrestler A" and against better competition. Over the course of months, and years, the separation will be massive between the two wrestlers. So yes, to be more successful as a wrestler, joining a training center is a must. Now, success is different for different wrestlers. Some wrestlers will be happy to win their school league, while another may want to win nationals. So gauging success is based on the individual goals of the wrestler themselves. Training centers can develop wrestlers to a higher level at a faster pace for sure, but some wrestlers may not have the means to join one as they are typically quite expensive, or a wrestler just may not want to practice again after a school practice or do more than is required. Which in that case, they won't improve much over time anyways. But in terms of the wrestler that wants to train hard and just doesn't have the means to pay, reach out to your school coach and ask to be introduced to former wrestlers they may know. Ask if they know anywhere you could get additional training that isn't too expensive. I spoke about Cleveland wrestling in a previous blog. They have an open room and allow kids to catch a workout anytime. I am sure there are programs like this in most areas. At the end of the day, wrestlers will find ways to improve if they want to. If there's a will, there's a way. But joining a training center is absolutely crucial to the development of a wrestler, especially in the middle school and high school years. Look at the current best in the country. Most are from training centers like Young Guns in Pennsylvania or Sunkist Kids in California. They train at training centers and improve at a rapid rate. Simply going to school practice and not finding other ways to improve full-time outside of that, will not take you far as a wrestler. Kobe Bryant talked about this once in terms of time spent in the gym. He mentioned how his competition would go and shoot an hour or two maybe twice a week. He would have multiple workouts per day. Over time the separation he is making over his competition became massive, as we all saw during his career. The same principal holds true in this situation. The more time you spend honing your craft against wrestlers who are better than you, with coaches who can truly develop you, the better off you will be short-term and long-term in your wrestling career.
To find a club/training center in your area use the link below.
https://www.teamusa.org/usa-wrestling/membership/find-a-club
-Jesse Drennen
Founder $Bmoney Beastin' Athletics LLC
Info@bmoneybeastinathletics.com
