My son had no one at home to play with and I was an older parent and I didn't want to try to inhibit his bountiful energy by trying to make him be quiet or quite running around the living room like a wild animal. I decided to try to find him an activity to participate with other kids his age. I mentioned this idea to a businessman in Salina one night and he said it would be the best thing I could do. He said his son was 8 years of age and already having problems in school with both discipline and grades. He entered him in Stein's wrestling club in Salina and said it was the best move he ever made. His son liked wrestling and did very well. Eventually his son won at State and his selfconfidence and selfdiscipline improved dramatically. The kid's grades went from c's and d's to b's and c's and there were no more disciplinary problems. I went home and called the Abilene Recreation office the next day. They refered me to Dave Robson, who was the Abilene Kids club coach at the time. Dave said he could come to a 2-week trial period and see if he liked it. Well, my son loved being with other kids and wrestling is playing at that age. How much do little kids love to wrestle on the living room floor? Fortunately, Dave had lots of patience with youth and parents were there to help. My son turned 4 on Sept. 21 and went to his first wrestling practice in November. He didn't know anything about "left" or "right" or what an "elbow" or an "ankle" was. He learned very early to WATCH what the older kids were doing and do the same thing since he didn't understand the meaning of the words. Fortunately, Abilene had beginners practice early in the evening and older more experienced wrestlers practice after the beginner session. My son enjoyed wrestling practice and he put all of his energy into it---fun playing. When we drove out of the parking lot to go home after practice he would be asleep in the back seat before we got a block away. When we went to his first year tournaments he learned to put on the ankle band, shake hands, roll around on the mat with people yelling at him to try to get him to get on top, shake your opponent's hand after the match, shake the official's hand after the match and go shake the hand of the opponent's coach after the match. Then, he would come to me and ask me if he won. I always told him, "yes son, you did a fine job" wether he won or lost. That was enough to satisfy him and he would have a big smile on his face. He never really knew if he won or lost until dad told him after the match. Eventually, he learned that the winner was the one who got his hand raised. He worked hard to be the one getting his hand raised. He progressed and began having some success. Fortunately, he was too young to have learned about Netindo or other forms of entertainment. I think it was the best thing I could have ever done for him. He is an honor student and a good athlete in any sport he tries. He is very confident in himself. I have never had to get after him to get his school homework done. I think wrestling is an activity that teaches some very important things to prepare your child for life. I think it gave him a chance to develop a positive identity in himself. If he had not wrestled, he would not feel confident in himself, because he would not have had an opportunity to excell in something. I think there should be lots more sports available to 4 year old kids. If I am not mistaken, there are a couple States that have tried a 4 and under wrestling bracket. I would suggest getting your kids to participate in something before they become electronic game and TV junkies. Let them be "doers" instead of "watchers". They may not learn a lot of wrestling at a very young age, but they learn some good habits that will improve their lives in all areas, and they will have fun wearing themselves out with the other kids at practice.
Kids that are 10 or 12 years old when they start may learn wrestling technique a lot faster than kids who are 4 or 5, but chances are those 4 or 5 year old kids will have already gained confidence in themselves and be more positive in their approach to all activities.
