Wrestling is not as simple as you may think. The discipline of wrestling can come in many different forms and offers a lot of different pathways. Here are a few ideas to consider to help you better understand the journey of wrestling.
What is Wrestling?
Wrestling is a martial art, where individuals can learn techniques and strategies to control, defend, and attack an opponent in a hand-to-hand physical contest, with throws, takedowns, pins and other grappling holds. In order for someone to effectively wrestle, they must consistently train and develop techniques, positions, and skill-sets over time. This process of development requires hard work, discipline, dedication, and sacrifice in order to master the martial art.
What is the Sport of Wrestling?
The sport of wrestling is an athletic contest where two individuals or teams compete, under specific rules that determine the objective as well as the scoring of the contest. The sport more broadly is a performance community where athletes from all over the world train to be the best and want to test themselves against other people. There are numerous competitions to test oneself, some of which are local, others are national, and some are international. These competitions can be a mixture of public and private events, however, the athletes and fans choose which events hold more significance.
Wrestling as a Martial Art
A martial art is any form of fighting and an art that has a set way of practice. There are many martial arts that come from certain countries. They are practiced for many reasons: fighting, self-defense, sport, self-expression, discipline, confidence, fitness, relaxing, meditation.
Those who consistently engage in wrestling training can develop behaviors and mental habits that positively impact their human potential. When individuals engage in the process of trying to be the best at wrestling, they will learn how to be accountable for their actions, develop work ethic and discipline, understand sacrifice, and learn how to control their emotions and mind.
Wrestling can also provide other benefits to those who engage in it consistently. Wrestling simply as a repetitive workout, no different than crossfit or yoga, can help with stress relief, and overall health and fitness.
Competing In Wrestling
As a sport, wrestling can present multiple opportunities for those who choose to compete.
College wrestling is one of the main arenas for elite competition and where the most athletes choose to compete following high school. There are roughly 395 colleges throughout the D1, D2, D3, NAIA and NJCAA levels that offer wrestling. College wrestling follows the Folkstyle ruleset and the season typically runs from November to March.
World and Olympic opportunities exist for those who qualify through the respective tournaments. These competitions are under Freestyle and Greco-Roman rulesets and typically run in the Spring and Summer months.
The internet is quickly becoming a new venue for individual and team competition as well. Private companies and individual creators have begun putting on “cards” and other events, broadcasted on streaming services like Flowrestling, Rokfin, and YouTube. These events can happen at any time throughout the year and don’t currently have a season.
College Scholarships & Professional Wrestling
There are roughly 78 division 1 wrestling programs in the country. These programs can offer athletes scholarships to wrestle for the university, however, each university is limited to 9.9 scholarships per team.
In addition to athletic scholarships, the NCAA has recently started to allow athletes to earn money with their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL).
The policy provides the following guidance to college athletes, recruits, their families and member schools:
- Individuals can engage in NIL activities that are consistent with the law of the state where the school is located. Colleges and universities may be a resource for state law questions.
- College athletes who attend a school in a state without an NIL law can engage in this type of activity without violating NCAA rules related to name, image and likeness.
- Individuals can use a professional services provider for NIL activities.
Student-athletes should report NIL activities consistent with state law or school and conference requirements to their school.
What this means is that athletes are now able to find professional opportunities through their name, image, and likeness, that will no longer restrict their ability to compete in collegiate sports. In the past, any type of compensation would have led to being ruled ineligible for college athletics.
A professional athlete is an individual who is paid to play a sport, and with the new rules around NIL, athletes are now able to consider the idea of being a professional athlete. Being paid to wrestle can come in many different forms.
One situation could be that you are paid in the form of a scholarship. The average cost of college in the United States is roughly $35,331 per student per year, including books, supplies, and daily living expenses. There are only 9.9 scholarships per team at the D1 level, making them very difficult to get in full. There are also NIL deals that are being negotiated that guarantee certain athletes a fixed amount of money for attending a specific university. These NIL deals are very new and not entirely understood quite yet, however they are dramatically changing the landscape of college wrestling.
In addition to college scholarships and NIL deals, individuals can also utilize the internet for generating revenue as a wrestler. Depending on the size of an individual’s personal brand and social media following, they could be paid to promote a business or product to their audience. They could also leverage that audience to sell their own products, like t-shirts or camps. The internet also offers the opportunity to compete in showcase events or alternative leagues that pay the athletes for their participation.
Knowing What You’re In It For
In order to go through the sport and intentionally use it to your advantage, you need to remind yourself why you’re in it in the first place. Whether you’re an athlete or a parent of an athlete, you should remember what you’re looking to get out of the sport, so you won’t be distracted by what others want out of it. Everyone has different motivations and those motivations often change over time. I hope this blog was able to help you better understand the journey of wrestling.