A lot of people wonder when kids should start wrestling. It’s common that many elite wrestlers started wrestling as early as 5 years old. Although not necessary it seems that starting young is helpful when it comes to reaching the higher levels of success. At 5 years old a kid is able to start running, rolling around, and grappling with other kids their age and size. This is also an age that kids are starting to communicate well enough to take instructions and be guided through an effective workout.
Is there a benefit to starting wrestling early?
There are many benefits that come with starting at this age. First, getting comfortable inside a wrestling room only comes from experience inside of a wrestling room. Second, developing motor skills like running, jumping, and rolling takes time and the earlier you get started the better later on. Lastly, assuming the environment is a positive influence these early years can help create an identity with wrestling.
What role should competition play?
When discussing what age that kids should start wrestling, competition should be discussed. It’s extremely common for coaches and clubs to encourage kids to go to weekend competitions even when they are just getting started. I don’t think this is a good idea because competition itself is a measuring tool for an athlete’s abilities and skills, and when first starting there’s really no reason to be measuring these components. Wrestling skills can take years to develop and understand, and if you’re just starting it’s extremely rare to find someone capable of implementing them right away. As a coach, I would prefer kids that young only compete occasionally or not at all. At least until they really develop an understanding for what competition is.
How do you coach young wrestlers?
One of the issues that wrestling has is that coaches at the youth level are often parents with little experience. When you have a coach that lacks experience they often default into thinking you coach all kids the same, this is wrong. When you coach young wrestlers you should focus on the things that are important. For example, the physical development of a child is more important than competitive success.
When you focus on the physical aspect you’ll be able to help a child develop coordination, strength, and overall fitness. If this is neglected then in 2-3 years the child won’t have the physical qualities that someone needs to actually learn technique, understand competitive strategy, and put themselves through harder more experienced workouts. We should coach young wrestlers with the idea in mind that we are simply preparing them to become someone who could compete in wrestling later on. I think we would have a lot more 8 and 9 year olds ready for the journey to become an elite wrestler if we did this, and that is where all the benefits come from.
If you want to check out some of the important foundational techniques check out our technique library. You might also like to check out our practice example for youth and high school wrestlers.
How do you reduce the attrition rate?
The attrition rate is the rate at which kids quit the sport. I don’t think we will ever be able to get this number to zero, however, I do think we can do things to dramatically reduce it. One thing we can do immediately is to stop putting an emphasis on how well you compete. Like I said earlier in this post, competition is simply a way to measure your progress in the sport. Everyone has a different developmental process and while some kids get better quickly others might take years to make adequate jumps in skills. Things like physical and mental maturity can influence this. We know that kids mature at different times and because of this it can seem like they are struggling, however, they might just be waiting for puberty.
Also, things like motivation will come at different times. When someone lacks motivation it can be because they don’t see themselves being able to have success. With more practice and preparation kids can start to see themselves in these positions and as a result become motivated. Motivation is also something that needs to be fostered. Coaches, parents, and teammates should be encouraging kids to believe in themselves and their skills, as a result this will build confidence and with confidence kids will start to find motivation.
Additionally, we must always remember that a main reason for involvement in the sport of wrestling is the behavioral and mindset skills that someone develops through consistency in the activity itself. Someone does not have to be a competitive athlete in order to receive the education that wrestling can provide.
How should parents think about the sport at that age?
Parents who get their children involved in wrestling should think of the participation in sports as an opportunity to make their child a better person. What does that mean? Well, I think it means that someone should value things like hard work, the development of skills, and emotional resilience. All of which are beneficial to individuals when they become adults. When parents look at sport as an opportunity to cultivate these behaviors and skills, and focus less on the competition of the sport, it will help kids focus on the things they can control. If you focus on what you can control and things that matter long after their involvement in sport ends, the pressure of participating will lower, thus keeping a lot of people engaged in the process.
Here’s a blog post about “Why Kids Should Wrestle”.
Parents also must understand that an elite competitor is someone who has a passion for the sport. Someone who enjoys training and the process of getting better. This cannot be forced upon someone and oftentimes when someone tries to force it, kids start to dislike it.
In conclusion, when someone asks “at what age should a child start wrestling” remember the nuances with what that means. The involvement in wrestling is a lifelong process and regardless of when you start you need to respect the stages of development.