According to NCAA statistics, 3% of all high school wrestlers will wrestle on a college team from division 1 through division 3 each year. With NAIA programs, I would say that number is roughly 5% overall. Wrestling has no professional league like the NFL in football or the NBA in basketball. So, what is the true end goal for wrestlers? It differs depending on which wrestler you ask. One may say to be a division 1 national champion, where another may say to simply compete and hang with his buddies. Answers will also be anywhere in between. With no way to build a full career outside of being the top guy in the country at your weight (unrealistic for most) or moving into coaching, what should be the end goal for wrestlers?
Wrestling is unlike any other sport available. In wrestling you're alone. You're the offense and the defense. When you win, it was on you. When you lose, it was on you. In team sports, blame will always be tossed around. Point fingers at a fumble during a football game or missed free throws in a basketball game for example. Wrestlers work harder than any other athletes on the planet. One wrestling practice is typically harder than multiple practices in any other sport. So far, we've mentioned accountability and work ethic, great qualities to obtain, no? Weight management is also a big part of wrestling. In my personal opinion it has gone too far at times, but also forces wrestlers to eat healthy and exercise even outside of the practice room. Now we have accountability, work ethic and healthy eating habits. With obesity rates in the United States up to 1 in every 6 kids between the ages of 10-17 being obese, weight management and healthy eating habits forming through a sport can be an amazing trait a wrestler will take throughout their life. Forming lifelong bonds with coaches and fellow wrestlers. Wrestlers and coaches within the wrestling community is quite the tight nit group. I'll tell a quick story without naming names to prove my point. My son (the original "Bmoney") Bryson had a rivalry with another wrestler that lasted several years between ages 6 and roughly 10. They would beat each other back and forth and some of their matches would look like MMA fights with bloody mouths and noses. Today, those two are friends with a mutual respect for each other. They've suffered together in practices and workouts. They've competed with each other and felt victory and defeat. They bonded within the grind of the sport of wrestling. In ten years if they see each other, they will pick up right where they left off. If one could help the other get a better job or help coach a friend or nephew or whatever, I'm certain it wouldn't be an issue. That kids' dad coached Bryson recently with his former rival cheering him on. Wrestling creates solid bonds between kids, even ones they compete against. They learn respect for one another. It truly is a remarkable aspect of the sport. So now we have accountability, work ethic, healthy eating habits, and lifelong bonds. I'll stop there.
My point is the end game from the sport of wrestling should be what you can take away from it. Above are just a few examples. If your goal is to wrestle in college and you are willing to put in the work to achieve it, go for it! If your goal is to hang with your buddies and compete for your school, do that! There is really no wrong answer here. But at the end of the day, putting your kid in the sport of wrestling will change said kids' life for the better. Forget wins and losses. They will become more accountable, build a work ethic that carries over to other aspects of their life, become physically healthier, meet people that will be a big part of their journey into adulthood.
It doesn't have to be division 1 national champion or bust to be a successful wrestler. To be a successful wrestler at the end of your wrestling career is to take the lessons you learned from the sport and apply them to your daily life. This should be the end game the majority of wrestlers shoot for when their careers are finished.
In my humble opinion.
Jesse Drennen
Founder $Bmoney Beastin' Athletics LLC
Info@bmoneybeastinathletics.com
