General Inquiries…

How old does my child have to be to wrestle?

Generally, we say no one below kindergarten, but this really depends on the maturity of each individual child. As long as they are able to follow directions and can safely participate, they are welcome to join us at practice. While there technically is a 4u age division at some tournaments, sometimes it can be difficult until they are 5 or 6 years old.

Can my daughter wrestle?

Definitely! Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the country right now and we love that girls can now benefit from all that our great sport has to offer. Each year we have more and more girls joining and are expecting quite a few again this year. We are hoping to soon have our own dedicated girls team.

Can we try it out before registering?

Yes, you can. We understand that this sport isn’t for everyone, but we encourage everyone to give it a try! All wrestlers must register, but if you are unsure we can delay payment for two weeks to see if it’s a good fit before committing financially.

What type of equipment does my child need to wrestle?

For practice we require a t-shirt, athletic shorts/sweats, and a pair of wrestling shoes (We do not allow street shoes or bare feet on the mat for sanitary reasons) and a water bottle. For competition they will be required to wear a singlet, wrestling shoes, and possibly head gear depending on the event. We recommend that every athlete brings a water bottle to practice. 

If we don’t have wrestling shoes can my son or daughter wear their tennis shoes or practice bare foot?

No, we require wrestling shoes because they are specifically designed to help with the execution of moves on the mat and they protect the athlete’s feet. In addition, wrestling shoes also protect all wrestlers by decreasing the risk of skin infections brought in from normal athletic shoes worn at school and on the playground.

If you do not have wrestling shoes, you can always practice in your socks.

Is headgear required?

We do not require athletes to wear headgear at practice. But depending on the tournament or event we compete at head gear may be required. Our suggestion is to own a pair of head gear that has been properly fitted for the athlete, so if the need arises it’s ready for competition.    

Which practice do we attend?

Our general practices are split into two separate groupings. These are based on age/size, regardless of wrestling experience level.

Our “Green Team” practices are for everyone in the 10u age division and below, while our “Black Team” practices are for the 12u and 14/15u age groups. This is just a starting point, after evaluating things over the first couple weeks we may move some kids around to make sure they are in the appropriate practices.

We also have secondary optional practices for our advanced level wrestlers. If you aren’t sure if this is for you, please let us know and we can discuss.

*age groups are defined by how old you are as of September 1st of this year. (if you turned 11 on 9/2/22, you are in 10u)

What are wrestling practices like?

Wrestling practices can feel like a chaotic and intense place if you are new to the sport, but everything we do has a reason. Our practices vary greatly depending on which level, but we always make sure everything is safe and age appropriate. Our goal is to not only develop great wrestlers, but make sure everyone enjoys themselves and is on track to becoming great people.

• “Green Team” practice has a huge emphasis on body control, spatial awareness, learning what wrestling is all about and having fun!

• “Black Team” practices begin to look more like traditional wrestling practices, meaning we start to focus more on technique, building skill sets and competition.

• “Advanced” practices are for wrestlers that already have a strong base in wrestling and are ready to be challenged. We work very hard, cover more advanced concepts and are focused on achieving high level goals.

Does my wrestler have to “cut weight”?

Unfortunately, a stigma still lingers around the sport from how weight management was handled in the past. Rest assured, the days of running in plastic suits and dehydrating yourself is a thing of the past. Not only do we not allow ANY form of weight cutting in MGWC, but we actively encourage our wrestlers to get bigger, stronger and healthier.

Are all practices mandatory?

With the exception of our wrestlers participating in national level events, no practices are mandatory for any level. Wrestling is a very difficult sport both mentally and physically. Along with that comes a great deal of attrition. The season can be very long and the last thing we want is for anyone to feel burned out and not want to be there. So, please feel free to take a night off if you feel that a break is needed. We do emphasize commitment and pushing through hard things to achieve your goals, so we look to and rely heavily on the parents when it comes to understanding what is right for their child.

What do my registration fees pay for?

Your registration includes…

• a required USA Wrestling membership

• limited liability insurance

• MGWC T-shirt

These fees also cover things like league dues, facility fees and other general operating costs.

MGWC is a fully volunteer operated non profit organization. All funds generated go back in to providing the best platform we can for our wrestlers and families.

What is a USA Wrestling membership for?

As a USA Wrestling Chartered Club, we require ALL coaches and athletes to have a current USA Wrestling Membership. A Full USA Wrestling Membership provides $1,000,000 in secondary sports accidental coverage for all styles of wrestling with no limitations on geography. Please see the requirements for each team as it lists the type of USA Wrestling Membership required for that team.

What is Track Wrestling?

Track Wrestling is an online platform that manages all forms of wrestling competition. Everything from youth level through NCAA competitions are hosted on the site. This is where you will find all the necessary tournament details such as brackets, flyers, etc.

Are there any parent volunteer opportunities outside of coaching?

While coaching duties are a major role that we are always looking to fill, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure our club runs well.

Anyone interested in helping out in any capacity whatsoever, can always volunteer. If you shoot us an email at info@mountaingrapplers.com, we can chat about helping out!

Why are parents discouraged from attending practices?

All MGWC practices are limited to wrestlers and coaching staff during practice time.

There are a litany of reasons why we prefer to NOT have parents attend practices. However, the primary reasons have to do with distractions and child safety.

While wrestling is a very safe activity in relation to other contact sports, it does require complete focus while on the mat. Even if those attending are attempting to be quiet, when there are 30-40 present it still causes a major distraction to practices. Most injuries that occur during practice occur when a wrestler isn’t paying attention to their opponent.

Beyond those reasons, our club practices share the gym with the Conifer high school wrestling practices. The ONLY way we will be allowed to use the space is if there is no interference or distractions whatsoever during those practices.

Please feel free to drop off your wrestler, run some errands or simply enjoy some child-free time to yourself. The Conifer Public Library is just down the hall and all parents/siblings are welcome there during practice if you don’t want to run back and forth.

If you would like to attend practice and help out as a volunteer coach, please let us know!

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please feel free to reach out anytime!

Does MGWC offer private coaching sessions?

While we do not have any private coaching sessions scheduled as of now, depending on interest and coaches availability we may chose to offer this at some point.