Today I am going to speak on our local area as that is what I am most informed about, but I do think anyone will agree in the ideology I mention in this blog.
$Bmoney Beastin' Athletics LLC. is located in north Georgia near the Tennessee state line. In our tri-state area (Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee) the number one program year after year is Cleveland High School in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Why is that you ask? Cleveland truly is a special place. Over the years we have went up and trained with their club "Higher Calling" and been around their program to have a bird's eye view of their success.
During any time period money is needed to cover expenses of a program, and Cleveland has the entire communities support in fundraising efforts of any and all kinds. Every summer they set up a fireworks stand and every video that is posted has people buying fireworks. They run summer wrestling camps that bring in guest coaches from other clubs and teams. Various parents and community members cover meals for specific days to ensure all wrestlers are fed throughout the duration of any camp. At any given time, from four years old to a senior in high school, these wrestlers have the opportunities to improve as a wrestler WITHIN the program itself. I am a big advocate for training centers, but how amazing is it that there are programs that can develop wrestlers within their own program! I would say at one point in time similar to St. Paris Graham up in Ohio when Jeff Jordan was the head wrestling coach and on a near 20-year streak of state championships! Cleveland will enter this winter looking for their 8th straight state championship for the boys and 2nd or 3rd straight for the girls. They win so much I truly lost count.
Most programs complain about not having the revenue to do this or that, but the majority of these programs don't even make an attempt to fundraise! You're asking your wrestlers to work hard and expecting dual wins and championships, yet you can't take a day or two out of your schedule to set up a fundraiser? To be successful on the level of a Cleveland you have to be all in all the time. You have to have the parents, community, wrestlers, and coaches all on the same page.
Cleveland has its doors open nearly year-round at a minimum of four days per week. Most high school programs wrestle the season and may do two days per week through the summer and not really enforce it. How can you compete on that level when a program like Cleveland is doing twice the amount that you are? Also, the majority of their team does their practices and still manage to hit training center practices as well. So, more than twice you are.
Most youth clubs begin around January (at least here in north Georgia) and end in March. Cleveland begins sign-ups in October for beginners and run until Christmas and then bring those kids into the actual club through the remainder of the season. Every single season. I personally know of a two-time state champion they currently have that came out of that beginner program. It is impressive to see how they run their beginners' program. Instead of forcing the parents to sign up for tournaments every single weekend and sit for hours to maybe wrestle two or three times, they have a small sign-up fee (like $40 or something to cover a t-shirt and shorts) and they practice a couple of days a week, then bring them in after club practice on Sundays and match them up and wrestle! High school wrestlers pitch in to ref the matches and it is a simulated tournament experience. At one point, they had a van picking up kids from the community centers in town and dropping them back off to even ease the transportation on the parents. Will you keep every kid from a beginner program in the sport? No, but you just may find a couple of state champions. Cleveland sure did. They consistently have two months on everyone in our area in terms of the beginner groups and people wonder why they go to a local beginner tournament in January and the Cleveland kids are smashing everyone else. It's not rocket science people. Its consistency. From the short beginner season, the kids that want to keep wrestling go to the main club practices for the remainder of the folkstyle season. So, the kids from Cleveland have nearly five months on the mat, while other youth teams have around two. Year after year that adds up. It's almost like a higher interest rate on a CD.
Cleveland city schools are very supportive of the wrestling program and never seem to make an issue for them constantly using the facilities or running camps and clinics. I saw a few months ago that 2A state champions from this past winter in Georgia, Rockmart were told they couldn't use the wrestling room past the high school season, and they are now practicing at a church gym three times a week. Luckily a community member stepped in and allowed them a place to work during the summer. This goes back to the entire community needs to be on board. The school system included! The school system shouldn't ever prevent a team from using its own facilities to improve! That is just ludicrous! Without the communities' support, there's truly little to no chance to sustain a program at a highest of levels.
Teams that want this level of success have to follow the formula that works. It really can be as simple as that. School systems need to support the vision. Community members and alumni should pitch in where they can. Opportunities for all ages should be available throughout the year, as not all parents have the resources or means to drive an hour to a training center and pay the monthly fees. It takes maximum effort! Cleveland has that in droves. Their boys and girls head coaches and club coaches basically live in that facility. It is truly a way of life. They even have a full-time Freestyle/Greco program and go to Fargo every year. The wheels don't stop turning!
Here is a checklist that I feel over the years of seeing sustained success, will elevate your program.
- Build a year-round wrestling club for the community. Folkstyle (October-March) Freestyle/Greco (March-July) Preseason Folkstyle (August-September) Get the school system on board that you are building for the future!
- Set a schedule for your club that doesn't overload the parents or wrestlers but gets them a good number of matches per season. Possibly throw a couple of regional/national events in there to see what level you're trying to reach as a team.
- Utilize social media and branding. If nobody knows what is happening in the program except for what is in the local paper, nobody is going to get involved.
- Build a sustainable and structured weightlifting and conditioning program.
- Get out in the community to fundraise and find sponsors to assist in covering costs of the entire program.
- Invite alumni to be involved in the program. Whether it be to come in and coach a practice or give a speech about their time in the program. Invite all alumni back! Get them involved!
- Build a top-notch coaching staff that has the same goals. The majority of middle school programs have a gym teacher that was a JV linebacker in high school coaching wrestling. You truly need competent coaching at all levels. Youth, Middle and High School. Find a former alumni or coach that would be willing or interested in running a club. Ensure their credentials and work out the pay structure with fundraising. Maybe the club head coach gets a percentage of the sign-up fees for the season. Maybe they get an upfront amount, but either way it should be seen as an investment and not a burden. Try to fill open teaching jobs with former wrestlers! I know, it's easier said than done, but not impossible. The more the merrier.
- Be consistent in every aspect of the program.
- Encourage wrestlers that want to go to a training center to do so.
- Create relationships with the communities' leaders. Explain what you are looking to accomplish and find ways to do so.
- Create structure within your program.
- Lastly, WORK HARD.
At the conclusion of this rant, I just want to say that I know a perfect world doesn't exist for every team in the country. Some teams are more fortunate than others. That is also true at times in life itself, but those who are willing to help themselves, always seem to get assistance from others.
See the story of Cleveland wrestling at the link below:
The Story of Cleveland Wrestling - Retrac Productions - YouTube
