10 Reasons YOUR Child Should Wrestle

1. Anyone Can Do It–  You are grouped by age and weight, so it doesn’t matter if you are small, short, tall or big.  Every size and shape has a style that can be successful.  Wrestling is one of the few sports where a child’s foot speed, ball-handling skills, hand-eye coordination and size do not matter.
2. Everyone Gets To Participate– Unlike team sports , there is no riding the bench.  No politics or favorites.  Every wrestler has a chance to participate and compete.
3. They Learn Valuable Life Lessons:
   1. Personal Accountability–  When you win, it’s because you did it.  No one else takes credit; no one else to blame.
   2. Persistence– Today’s generation on-demand technology has conditioned kids to turn off their games if they die or change the channel if they don’t like a show.  Wrestling puts you in situations where you have to dig in and fight to reap the rewards.  It’s all you in a wrestling match and there’s an incredible feeling of getting your hand raised when winning a hard fought match.
   3. Learn How to Handle Adversity– In every match someone will win and someone will lose.  Losing in a team sport is disappointing but it’s different when it’s only you.  In wrestling, you learn how to lose gracefully and more importantly, how to quickly put it behind you and work hard to improve for the next match.  You approach defeat as a part of the learning process.
   4. Humility– Nothing teaches humility better than 1-on-1 sports.  Winning and losing in a 1-on-1 setting brings humility.  There is nowhere to hide and no one to blame but yourself.  All wrestlers will lose at some point and doing so in these conditions teaches humility.  Hard work and discipline are two keys to success in wrestling and both teach humility.
   5. Discipline– Wrestling is discipline.  Repetition of drills, hard work, and continually doing the best thing instead of the easiest thing is discipline.  Wrestling requires postponing instant “wants” to gain something more valuable long term.  It takes discipline and focus to reach goals.
   6. Confidence– Confidence is built through accomplishing hard things.  Praise is fine, but only lasts for so long.  When you master a skill, score with a move you’ve been practicing or win a match over a tough opponent, it’s because of the work YOU put in.
4. Foundation Sport– Many get into wrestling because they are football players or in other sports and they want to improve their skills.  Wrestling improves body awareness, balance, coordination and the ability to control someone else.  And lastly, it builds a mental grit you won’t find in other sports.
5. Energy Outlet– Kids have a ton of energy and they need a way to channel it.  Wrestling practices and matches are non-stop with no downtime.
6. Camaraderie- Adversity has a way of bringing people together, and due to the challenges that a wrestler faces on a daily, basis in practice and competition, the bonds between wrestlers become very strong.
7. Economically Reasonable–  All you need to get started are some wrestling shoes, headgear, a singlet and some workout gear.  Glasgow Wrestling Club’s membership fees are some of the lowest in the nation and we vow to keep them that way.  Make friends with other families and share rides to tournaments for an awesome experience and budget saving tactic.
8. Toughness–  Wrestling is a physical, contact sport.  You learn that sometimes you just get poked in the eye.  Physical and mental toughness go hand in hand.  You learn that a little pain or struggle is part of the process of doing great things.
9. Roadmap to Success– Wrestling is the perfect example of what it takes to be successful in life.  Goal setting, hard work, determination, focus, love of challenges, love of competition, confidence, being coachable, mental toughness, discipline, creativity, team work and accountability.
10. Fun– It’s fun to win, it’s fun to compete and it’s fun learning and executing new moves.  And while it’s an individual sport, there’s a special bond that wrestlers have.