sammyslamma Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I have a son who is 4 years old right now. I've brought him into the wrestling room a few times to let him watch the elementary kids and mess around a bit. I want him to get a good knowledge of the sport but I don't want him to start to early and later get burnt out. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Dragons Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Sounds like you're on the right path already, letting him feel it out a little on his own, and then see where his own curiosity takes him. If he's having fun, he'll want it for himself and probably let you know all about it! Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtv2112 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 One of the biggest obstacles for youngsters that I have noticed over the years is size. When boys are bigger at a younger age they sometimes get thrown against older competition. There are often large differences in strength at small age differences at the younger ages. If this is a potential problem foryou, be careful that he doesn't get too discouraged. It isn't as bad of a problem in tournaments and in large population centers, but you have to keep an eye on the rural areas and elementary duals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt2mat Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Shoulda started right outta the womb...straight from the delivery room...maybe a minute bloodtime...then right to the mat. I'm sure he already had his singlet (onesie) on! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awood2 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Shoulda started right outta the womb...straight from the delivery room...maybe a minute bloodtime...then right to the mat. I'm sure he already had his singlet (onesie) on! LOL Nice Matt! You must be single :-\ If you are looking for a 'one size fits all' rule of thumb than I am worried. Every kid is different. I have seen some kids that take to wrestling and love it while they are barely out of diapers. On the other hand, I have a cousin who was pushed into it at a young age, graduated HS and never got near a mat again! My nephew was about 7 when we were at a FS tourney and he said, "dad, I would rather be playing baseball with my buddies..." I was heart-broken, so my brother moved the family out of LaPorte! Just kidding, thank goodness my sister-in-law doesn't read this :-X My nephew is a sophmore now and he is finding that he loves wrestling again. My point is, listen to your kid. Let them try everything and let them find out what they like. Dragging anyone down a road they don't want to go never works out. As much as it might suck for you follow your KID'S dreams (hopefully wrestling). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1oldwrestler Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Nice Matt! You must be single :-\ If you are looking for a 'one size fits all' rule of thumb than I am worried. Every kid is different. I have seen some kids that take to wrestling and love it while they are barely out of diapers. On the other hand, I have a cousin who was pushed into it at a young age, graduated HS and never got near a mat again! My nephew was about 7 when we were at a FS tourney and he said, "dad, I would rather be playing baseball with my buddies..." I was heart-broken, so my brother moved the family out of LaPorte! Just kidding, thank goodness my sister-in-law doesn't read this :-X My nephew is a sophmore now and he is finding that he loves wrestling again. My point is, listen to your kid. Let them try everything and let them find out what they like. Dragging anyone down a road they don't want to go never works out. As much as it might suck for you follow your KID'S dreams (hopefully wrestling). Couldn't agree more. My oldest didn't start wrestling until 7th grade even though I asked him if he wanted to wrestle every year for 2 or 3 years before that. I would only ask him once a year and when he said "no" it was end of discussion. He's finishing up a wonderful H.S. career this season but a couple of years ago he asked me why I didn't push him into wrestling sooner (he wished I would have). I explained that had I pushed him, I was afraid he'd run from the sport. His younger brother, however, started much earlier because he had the example of his older brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phscoach Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 My son is 6 and has been wrestling since he was 4. You would think that since Dad is the head coach at the high school, he would be all about it. But it has taken him some time to warm up to it. The biggest thing I have learned is that their interest level should guide how much you push. Kids know what they like and what they don't like. Offer a variety of activities to keep them active. It's not how bad you want to do it, but how bad they want to do it. By the way, my son also mentioned playing basketball at a local church this winter. When I asked him why, he replied, "I just wanted something easy to do on the nights I don't have wrestling!" I'm so proud of him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachbum21 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 IMO it will vary by individual. My son started going up to the room at age 5 (part-time, hit and miss), there were times he would not want to go (and did not make him at that age), he would rather stay home and play with the neighborhood kids. No tournaments until he was 7 or 8 then it would only be a couple tournaments a year. By the time Little League came around he was leaving baseball practice early to go to wrestling (his preference) and then it was all wrestling from then on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boot Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I started at 4, but if my son or daughter is interested I would start when they can walk. Never too early to learn a good stance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 All good responses. no wrong answer to this one. It really does very. Sean started practicing at the age of 7 and competing at 8. As long as your kid is "getting it", and it's not just play time. Then I say any age to start is better than not starting at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awood1 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Nice Matt! You must be single :-\ If you are looking for a 'one size fits all' rule of thumb than I am worried. Every kid is different. I have seen some kids that take to wrestling and love it while they are barely out of diapers. On the other hand, I have a cousin who was pushed into it at a young age, graduated HS and never got near a mat again! My nephew was about 7 when we were at a FS tourney and he said, "dad, I would rather be playing baseball with my buddies..." I was heart-broken, so my brother moved the family out of LaPorte! Just kidding, thank goodness my sister-in-law doesn't read this :-X My nephew is a sophmore now and he is finding that he loves wrestling again. My point is, listen to your kid. Let them try everything and let them find out what they like. Dragging anyone down a road they don't want to go never works out. As much as it might suck for you follow your KID'S dreams (hopefully wrestling). OH DON'T THINK YOUR SISTER-IN-LAW DOESN'T READ THE BOARD!! ;D BTW, that nephew that wanted to play baseball is 9-0 2 weeks after his last football game and was named All Tnmt. at 189 today....the younger nephew wrestled his 1st tnmt. ever today and went 0-3, but has all been his choice and if he didn't want to do it, he would be done...after his last match he bought a pair of shoes from a kid that quit after his 1st loss...AWESOME!! Nowhere to go but up baby!! HAHA P.S.S. That baseball thing is still working out for him too mid 80's fastball got him pitcher of the year last year as a freshmen (after starting a month late while he finished the wrestling season) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive2246 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 My grandson was born on Tuesday, so I'm hoping he'll be ready to practice right after the 1st of the year.. ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCard Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Well I would say at the point of conception would be the very best. During the 9 months in the womb, I would say start dieting, but by the time he is high school age, it probably will not matter because the lowest weight class will be 130. Oh and he really does not have to be that tough, becasue there will also probably be about a 10 Class system in place. Once he is born, hopefully he comes out right away and takes down the doctor, after news of this has spread, Mater Dei, Mishawaka, Merrilville, Crown Point, etc. will probably be sending you letters to persuade you to come and wrestle for their schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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