Questions & answers

Injury rates in wrestling are lower than in football, hockey, and soccer. There are no collisions at speed, no hard surfaces, and no equipment flying around. The most common wrestling injuries are sprains, bruises, and the occasional skin infection.

The first thing we teach — before any technique — is how to fall and how to protect the head and neck. Coaches are on the mat within arm's reach the entire practice.

Wrestling is organised around exactly this problem. Wrestlers compete in weight classes, so your child faces opponents their own size. In practice we pair partners by weight and experience, and beginners are not put in live situations against much larger, experienced wrestlers.

It is a real thing in wrestling, and it is manageable. We disinfect mats before practice, and any wrestler with an open cut, rash, or suspicious patch gets checked before stepping on. At home: shower right after practice, wash gear after every use, and do not share towels. Skin checks are routine and nobody gets embarrassed about them.

No. At the youth level we do not cut weight at all — wrestlers compete where their body is. For older wrestlers, we follow USA Wrestling and UHSAA guidance on healthy weight management and teach fuelling and hydration properly. If you ever hear a coach here tell a kid to skip a meal, tell us immediately.

They sit down and a coach looks at it. That is the whole policy. We would rather lose a wrestler for one practice than for a season, and nobody here gets called soft for saying something hurts.

No. Tournaments are optional at every level of this club and always will be. Many wrestlers train the whole season without entering an event, and they are full members of the team. When a coach thinks your wrestler is ready, we will say so — and the decision is still yours.

Yes. Girls wrestling is a sanctioned UHSAA state sport in Utah and the fastest-growing high school sport in the country. Our girls train in the same room with the same coaching, drill with partners their own size, and compete in girls-only brackets.

The club is the feeder program for Riverhawks wrestling, and the two share coaching philosophy and technique. Club membership is not a guarantee of a high school roster spot — that is the school team's call — but wrestlers who come up through this program arrive knowing the system.

Folkstyle is what American schools wrestle in winter, with an emphasis on control and riding. Freestyle and Greco-Roman are the international styles wrestled at the Olympics, usually in spring, and they reward big scoring positions. Freestyle and Greco are excellent for development. Most wrestlers do folkstyle first and add the others later.