- Inclusivity – Wrestling is the most inclusive sport on the planet. Tall, short, fat, lean, athletic, uncoordinated, big, or small, the sport allows for techniques and tactics where almost anyone can be successful.
- The sport can be easily taught in groups of participants of similar size and experience or by blending various experience levels together and incorporating varied techniques and tactics into the blended group setting.
- It is one of the only sports that have successful performers who have had significant physical limitations that can compete at the highest level. Look up Kyle Maynard or Anthony Robles as examples.
- Age group and weight classes make this sport very safe for most beginners.
- Everyone gets to participate– Unlike team sports like football and lacrosse, there is no riding the bench. No politics or favorites. Every wrestler has a chance to participate, learn, and compete (when ready).
- Wrestling provides acceptable safe haven for physical contact.
- Kids get to grab each other, and it is ok. – Kids spend most of their lives getting yelled out for touching other humans or invading someone else’s personal space. A wrestling practice provides a special opportunity to buck that social norm and move away from the “be careful, be gentle” world that most kids live in.
- Kids learn how to fall, land, tackle, sprawl, grab, hold, lift, roll, and become comfortable in traditionally uncomfortable positions. Like when a partner squeezes your head. There is a valuable life lesson here – both as the squeezer and squeezee!
- Mats – Playing, learning, and competing on a surface that is soft is amazingly fun. All games are more fun on a mat – gymnastics, wrestling, tag, relay races, dodge ball.
- Real transferable athletic skills– Wrestling improves body awareness, balance, coordination, special strength, and promotes the development of physical traits that aid in injury prevention.
- Athletic Stance Development. Wrestlers spend more time in an athletic stance than almost all other sports. Wrestling teaches athletes to be comfortable in a position with their head up, elbows in, knees bent, with their shoulders aligned vertically over their knee(s). This fundamental position is the starting point for many sport movements.
- Wrestling develops cat reflexesbetter than any sport. Wrestlers learn to be aware of their body position in space and spend a significant amount of time learning how to efficiently get to safe and strong positions, where they can react. This is very transferable to other sports where return to base positions is important.
- Isometric strength development. Wrestling is the greatest sport for maximizing core strength and stability and grip strength. This core strength is foundational for postural control in other sports and can significantly help in balance situations – reducing the likelihood of injury. Strong grip helps in all sports that require catching, holding a bat, club, racket, or tackling. Wrist, grip, and hand strength have special implications for softball or baseball pitchers, volleyball players, tennis and golf players, and football players of various positions.
- Neck strength development– this is extremely important in other sports as a primary way that athletes can minimize their risk for a concussion. Many sports concussion occur not from an actual direct impact to the head, but from an athlete’s head hitting the ground after a fall. A strong neck significantly reduces this risk. Wrestlers put time and effort into strengthening their necks in conjunction with technical training that teaches the wrestler to maintain a head up posture in almost every position. This training and ability to maintain a head up position in other sports also helps reduce injury risk.
- First step power development – Most wrestling attacks (and defenses) begin in a traditional athletic position. Wrestling teaches athletes to explode horizontally, vertically, and sometimes down (sprawling). This power development transfers to first step movements in other sports. Increasing first step power usually corresponds to power improvements in throwing, swinging, and jumping skills as well.
- Technical skill learning – the learning of wrestling technique is unique in that the athlete must learn an individual movement pattern and sequence that they control + also learn to perform that movement pattern on partners with different body types and reactions. This dynamic technical learning requirement often allows wrestlers to learn other sport specific technical skills quicker than non-wrestlers. Wrestlers often learn skills faster and can become proficient at new techniques at a much faster pace than non-wrestlers.