Welcome to the 2025-2026 Season!

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We are so glad you are here! We hope the information in this letter will help prepare you for our upcoming season. As many know we are transitioning this year as our head coach moved on to another position and the New Underwood group has also separated to form their own youth club to support their own middle school and high school programs.  With this transition we hope to continue to be a successful program and are excited to form a pool of coaches that can all help with teaching and guiding our youth to find a love for the sport of Wrestling. If you have a desire to help coach please reach out to us at [email protected]

 

Practices:

Beginners- we consider all brand new wrestlers to be a “beginner”.  Most beginners will only have participated for 2-3 years, but this can also vary by age and skill level of each individual athlete.  All beginners will practice on Monday evenings from 6:15-7:30 pm. As your wrestler advances a coach may recommend for them to move up to the intermediate/advanced practices- if you have any concerns or questions you can always talk with a coach.

 

Intermediate/Advanced- typically this type of wrestler will have participated for 3+ years and have a very good knowledge of wrestling fundamentals, a good grasp on learning, and the ability to follow directions and be a great partner. Intermediate and advanced practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15-7:45 pm.

Practices will be held in the boys wrestling room in the Douglas High School. Please have your athlete arrive 5 minutes early so that they can get proper shoes on and be ready to start when practice begins. Warm up exercises are one of the most important part of practice and it’s important that they are not missed.

It is important to note- we are very blessed to be able to utilize the boys high school practice room. This room just got en entire makeover with brand new mats and wall mats. The only footwear allowed on our mats is wrestling shoes or socks. No exceptions. Please also make sure appropriate attie for practice is worn- nothing with zippers or things that may damage the mats.

If you have other children with you during practice please do not allow them to wander the school, run up and down halls, and cause too much disruption especially during other activites.

If there is ever a change for practice due to conflict or weather a notice will be posted on our Facebook page/group and also the team stack app.

As the season progresses we will sometimes add additional practices depending on numbers and room and coaches availability.

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Parents are welcome to observe practices however sometimes they can be a distraction. If you’re worried your athlete will be distracted - parents are welcome to wait in the hallway for their wrestler. We do ask that parents be easily reachable should something happen during practice that would need your attention. Remember wrestling is a physical sport and bumps can happen.

 

To participate as a coach or help on the mat you are required to be a current non athlete AAU card holder. This is for protection for you, the club, and the athletes.  If you need help getting signed up for a card, a member of our club will be happy to help. You will be responsible for the fee and you will want to apply as soon as possible so that a background check can be conducted. 

We are actively looking for volunteers to help with coaching and you are able to learn right along with your child when they are shown drills and moves. Our coaches are happy to make you comfortable with the sport.

 

Parent Participation:

Our club does not do any traditional fundraisers.  Our one ask for a volunteer commitment is help with our home wrestling tournament tentatively scheduled for Sunday February 22^nd at the Douglas Highschool. We will need help setting up the evening before, running the tournament all day Sunday, and tearing down on Sunday after the tournament is over. It takes a lot to make our tournament successful and we will accept help from any family members willing to help.  If you cannot help with these dates please reach out to a board member.

 

Uniforms:

Proper practice clothing consists of shorts or leggings and a tight or tucked in shirt. We ask that athletes have their name on the back of a T-shirt for the first few weeks as our coaches learn their names. This can be an old T-shirt with the name written on it or a piece of tape. Please do not wear a singlet for practice as these are for competition only. You may wear your DWC shirt and short warm ups if you want. A mouth guard is required if the athlete has braces but is never a bad idea for all children. Headgear is optional. Wrestling shoes are required- please be sure these are worn ONLY on the wrestling mat and NOT outside.

Hygiene is incredibly important in a sport like this so please have your wrestler shower after every practice!

Uniforms for competition are a DWC singlet (you can purchase or rent one upon registration) and DWC warm up tshirt and shorts provided with registration.  It can be tempting to wear your own singlets but it is much easier for our coaches to see which of our kids are up to wrestle if they are looking only for our issued uniforms.

 

Tournaments:

Parents are responsible for getting their athletes to tournaments and covering any entry fees. Usually there is a coach at each local event, our club will share flyers for each tournament and have coaches sign up for who will be at each one. We encourage everyone to try to sit near the rest of the team. This is a great way to foster relationships with families and athletes, cheer each other on, and meet other parents and offer help if there is any needed. Experienced parents may know how certain tournaments are run or can offer great advice.

Most tournaments are open to anyone who wants to participate but it’s important to keep in mind that matches are usually assigned based on age and weight and they aren’t always able to separate based on experience. It is encouraged that beginners attend a few weeks of practice before competing. We want to create a love for the sport and keep kids having fun and assure they are ready for competition. If you have any questions or concerns on if your child is ready, please reach out to a coach or veteran parent. Ultimately it is your decision when and where your athletes will compete.

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We will have a parents meeting on December 1st at 7 pm at the High School Lunch room and practices will start on Monday December 8th at 6:15 pm.

Again, we are so glad to have you and hope to make wrestling an enjoyable experience for both you and your athlete(s). Please if there are ever any questions or concerns reach out to a board member. And if you are interested in getting involved either as a coach or bard member we would be happy talk.

Cheers to a great wrestling season!