Chaparral Wrestling Club is a local non-profit youth wrestling club that is dedicated to providing local youth (ages 3 - 18) opportunities for physical, mental, emotional, and social development through the sport of wrestling. The club is made up of the high school team and multiple youth teams ranging from first-year wrestlers to elite level kids that wrestle year-round competing across the country.

To accomplish the goals of our athletes, we currently break down our youth club into five different groups:

• High School & Elite Youth
• Big Men 
• Advanced/Intermediate Youth
• Novice Red
• Novice Blue

After reading the team descriptions below you will see that there is a lot of overlap in age and experience level between teams and that is intentional. Some kids may wrestle for 2-3 years before they are mentally and physically ready to advance and to begin competing. Others are ready after only a couple of months in the room. Kids mature and develop at different rates and to get the most out of each kid we must remain flexible and adjust to each wrestler.  

**The decision on which team your wrestler is most qualified for and belongs on is determined by the CWC coaching staff. The input of the parent and the wrestler will be considered, but the ultimate decision on which team is best for your wrestler's development is made by the coaching staff. Wrestlers will have the ability to advance teams and "test out" throughout the season based on how they progress. Many variables and factors will be considered in making the determination on which team each wrestler belongs on and whether they have mastered the skills necessary to advance teams. The criteria and skills that we evaluate each wrestler on includes, but is not limited to: 

• has the wrestler mastered the fundamental skills, techniques, and movements required to advance to the next level
• understanding of the rules of the sport
• ability to pay attention and focus at practice
• attitude on and off the mat
• consistent attendance at practice
• attention span
• coachability
• ability to be a good practice partner
• emotional maturity level
• ability to handle winning and losing
• do they demonstrate respect at all times to coaches, parents, competitors, and officials
• ability to push themselves mentally and physically
• availability of practice partners close to the same age and skill level 

You will notice that win/loss record is not considered in determining what team your child belongs on. At a young age, aggression and athleticism can lead a child to a lot of success during competition. But as kids mature, their ability to have prolonged success is based on their ability to use proper technique, control their emotions, have good mat awareness, and develop muscle memory so that they react without thought. Our club focus is on having fun, instilling a passion for the sport of wrestling in young athletes, and developing your wrestler to be successful in high school and beyond. We have little concern for wins and losses at a young age and our decision on which team to place your child will have nothing to do with a win/loss record.

HIGH SCHOOL & ELITE YOUTH TEAM

• The Elite Team is reserved for all high school wrestlers and middle school wrestlers who travel to national tournaments, consistently seek out the best competition every weekend, who compete in the advanced bracket of Peak 2 Peak tournaments, and rarely, if ever lose matches in these local tournaments.
  

• On average this group is for 12-18-year-olds with 5+ years of wrestling experience and those who have graduated from the Advanced Team and that are placing in the top 5 year-in-and-year-out at the state tournament.
  

• Very few kids under the age of 12 can handle the Elite team practices because of the extremely high level of intensity that this group of kids practices with and the high level of technical skill and knowledge needed to hang with kids in this room.  

• The Elite team requires an ability to focus and stay engaged for extended periods of time, display extreme attention to detail, a demonstrated understanding and mastering of fundamental techniques, and the ability to push yourself mentally and physically outside of your comfort zone for an extended period of time.
  

• Most of the kids on the Elite team wrestle year-round and have made the sport of wrestling their passion and have dreams of winning national titles and wrestling at the collegiate level.
  

• The Advanced Team is for the most experienced wrestlers who compete in the advanced bracket of Peak 2 Peak tournaments and who tend to train and practice year-round.
  
• On average this group is for 10-14-year-olds with 4+ years of wrestling experience and those who have graduated from the Intermediate Team.
  
• There may be a few rare 9-year-old kids who belong in this group, but the majority of this team is comprised of 5th - 8th graders as this team requires an ability to focus and stay engaged for extended periods of time, display extreme attention to detail, a demonstrated understanding and mastering of fundamental techniques, and the ability to push yourself mentally and physically outside of your comfort zone.
  
• Advanced team members are those kids who win multiple matches in national and state tournaments, but who are one or two steps away from becoming elite and finding themselves on the podium at these high-level tournaments
• Advanced team members are strongly encouraged to attend off-season camps, practices, dual meets, and participate in the Freestyle and Greco-Roman seasons.

INTERMEDIATE YOUTH TEAM

• The Intermediate Team is for those kids with 3-4 years of wrestling experience, who routinely compete in the "B" bracket of Peak 2 Peak tournaments, who have not yet mastered the fundamentals of the sport, but who are competing regularly and showing continued growth and development.
  
• On average this group is for 8-14-year-olds with 2-4 years of wrestling experience and those who have graduated from the Novice Red Team.
  
• There may be a few rare 7-year-old kids who belong in this group, but the majority of this team is comprised of 8-14-year-old kids as this team requires the ability to focus, pay attention to details, and to understand the importance of being a good partner.
  
• This is the level where we will begin preparing the kids to take that next step in terms of competition and success on the mat.
  
• Kids will be pushed to test their comfort limits and expand their wrestling arsenal at this level. However, there will remain a strong focus on technique, fundamentals, muscle memory, and mat awareness at this level
  
• Kids at this level will be encouraged to compete as much as they feel comfortable with and with the goal of getting at least 25+ matches during the season.
  
• Intermediate wrestlers are encouraged to participate in off-season work (practices, camps, Freestyle/Greco Roman) to help with their continued development.

NOVICE RED YOUTH TEAM

• The Novice Red Team is for kids ages 6-10, with 1-3 years of wrestling experience.
• The Novice Red team is often our largest team and the team that most kids spend several seasons on before acquiring the technical, emotional, and physical skills necessary to advance to the Intermediate team. It is also the team that we often see the widest variety of age and skill levels within the team.
• This is the level where we spend a significant amount of time drilling and wrestling live so kids can acquire "a feel" for body position, pressure, balance, and develop the critical muscle memory that is needed to excel in the sport of wrestling.
• Participants on this team are discouraged from competing more than once or twice a month, and many kids will not compete at all during their first year on the Novice Red team.
• Development is the goal and many 6-10-year-old kids are not emotionally mature enough to handle winning or losing at this stage and the pressure that comes from competing on a 1-on-1 basis.
• As coaches, we will focus on skill development, proper technique, fundamental wrestling, and developing a love and passion for the sport.

NOVICE BLUE YOUTH TEAM

• The Novice Blue Team is for kids ages 3-6, with 0-2 years of wrestling experience, and are just being introduced to the sport and physical contact.
• The Novice Blue team is our youngest kids who often struggle with paying attention or focusing for extended periods of time.
• This is the level where we will begin introducing kids to physical contact, tumbling, body awareness, balance, toe pressure, using their hands as the first line of defense, wrestling games, and the basic rules of the sport.
  
• Participants on this team are discouraged from weekend competition and instead, we will focus on having fun and working toward graduating to the Novice Red Team.

If you have questions about why the coaching staff is recommending your wrestler be on a certain team, please reach out to Coach Becker with questions or concerns. Just keep in mind that the team your wrestler starts the season on may not be where the team they end the season with. It is our goal and hopefully the wrestler’s goal to move up a team level as the season progresses.

Also, if you belong on one team but cannot make those practice dates or times work in your schedule, please reach out to Coach Becker. It is our goal to ensure every kid who wants to wrestle has the opportunity to do so. We are simply breaking the club into different teams (levels) to offer a better experience to each kid ensuring that what we are teaching every day is applicable to all and that no one is being left behind.