Sticking with wrestling

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The single biggest reason many people list for not giving wrestling a try is the singlet.

But for those who single out the singlet – the wrestling uniform, or lack there of some feel – as their reason for not getting involved in wrestling, they are missing out on a lot of benefits of being involved with the sport say three YCMHS students who have been involved in the local wrestling school scene for the past five years.

“Don’t worry about the singlet, it’s not that big a deal,” says Grade 12 student Alex White. “You get out there, you wrestle and that’s it. No one is really that picky about how you look.”

In June the local school wrestling club at the Yarmouth high school and Maple Grove ‘graduates’ its first students. Actually White, Ashley Riddell and Justin LeBlanc are graduating from high school, but the three athletes were among the first to get involved when wrestling was introduced to local students. They were in Grade 8 at the time and stuck with it.

“I grew up with five brothers, so we were always wrestling around,” says LeBlanc, when asked about what first pulled him into wrestling. “I always wanted there to be a program and when I found out there was one I signed up right away.”

For White and Riddell, they used to watch wrestling on television and wanted to try it out in real life.

“I just thought it would be fun, a way to get in shape,” says Riddell, pointing out she quickly learned that wrestling was not like what she had seen on TV. And that was just fine.

“I actually liked it better than I thought I would,” she says. “And you learn a lot of discipline skills, self control, leadership.”

When it comes to leaders, these three students, and others that followed behind them, have been leading a lot of the results on the mat. Riddell is a five-time provincial champion, White has medaled provincially four out of five years and LeBlanc has one gold provincial title. Plus they’ve got plenty of other hardware to show for their efforts. And Riddell recently attended nationals in Guelph where she placed fifth in the senior division.

The success of these athletes, along with others in the club, is something coach Rick Card is very proud of, even though as a coach Card is not a win-at-all-costs type of person. “It’s the kids coming together as a group and the kids supporting each other,” he says about what matters most. “When one’s on the mat, the rest are in the corner cheering them on, supporting each other. It’s taken an eclectic group of kids and brought them together as a team.”

Now a key, says Card, is trying to get more students, and in particular more schools, interested in the sport. Ideally it’s best to get athletes started in their junior high years, he says, because by the time students hit high school they are wrestling more than just their opponents.

“Once they get into high school you’re competing with part-time jobs, boyfriends and girlfriends and everything else,” says Card. “But if you can get them hooked in the junior high years…”

One of the most daunting things for schools looking to start up a wrestling program isn’t the singlet, it’s the wrestling mat, which can range from $8,000 to $10,000.

“We were lucky to get a grant through the department of recreation through the province, otherwise we’d still be struggling to fundraise to get the mat,” Card says.

But what about the singlet?

“For the junior high boys it seems to be the biggest obstacle, they don’t want to wear the spandex,” Card says. To them, he says, come out to a practice, try out the sport, and worry about that later.

Eventually, he says, they likely won’t worry about it at all.

“As they get older there are times where the kids, if they’re wearing the wrong colour singlet, they’ll just stand in the corner and strip down to their underwear and switch right there, they have no qualms about it.”

Meanwhile, the three wrestlers who are graduating from high school don’t intend to leave their wrestling behind on the mat. Riddell is hoping to attend university in Regina where the school she’s looking at has a well-established and reputable wrestling program.

White will be sticking closer to home to attend community college, although he intends to help with coaching and plans to still compete in open tournaments with the local club.

As for LeBlanc, he recently obtained his provincial A referee ranking. He’s planning to go to Dalhousie, with his ultimate goal being to become a phys-ed teacher and maybe begin a wrestling program at a school.

“For all of them, I hope it works out,” their coach says. “And I hope they do continue because that’s the thing that keeps it going, building it for the future, getting the younger group to give something back to the sport.”