FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Where does practice take place?
We hold all of our practices at Nichols Gym in the MG21/Monona Grove School District Building. Enter through the back.
What should I wear to practice and/or what gear is required to compete?
I see you have several practice options available. How do I know what practice group is right for my child?
White practice - Tuesdays 6 - 7:15pm: This practice is our most introductory. For this practice, we always start and finish with a game, include lots of wrestling related movements (tumbling, etc), and keep the instruction very basic. This practice is meant for all our Pre-K and Kindergarten kids, along with other first-year and novice 1st and 2nd grade Silver Spartans. We have no lower limit on the age of wrestlers we’ll allow in this group, but the trade-off is that we expect parents to kick off their shoes and join their wrestler on the mat. Mostly, the job is herding, but repeating individually, what’s been taught in a large group, is also extremely helpful. As kids grow and advance, we’d expect some to swap it out for the Light Blue practice, or maybe add the Light Blue as a second practice for the week.
Light Blue practice Thursdays 6 - 7:30pm: Tweener practice. Kids as little as kindergarten will end up in this practice, as well as the full age-spectrum of elementary kids (1st-5th), all new or novice. The level of instruction will mirror closely to our Navy practice but practices will be shorter. We expect to have White practice kids graduate into this practice, to have Navy kids attend when they have scheduling issues on Monday and/or Wednesday, and even serve as a third weekly practice for those newer/older elementary kids, ready to ramp up quick!
Navy practice Monday & Wednesday 6 - 8pm: This is for new and novice older elementary wrestlers. This practice will run concurrently with our Silver practice, in the same gym. The instruction will include a smaller pool of moves than in Silver, and we’ll be more repetitive in reviewing and re-enforcing them.
The Navy and Silver kids will be together for warm-ups and end of practice games. Also, the hope is that everyone will graduate from the Navy practice during the season, and we’ll finish the year practicing as one big Navy/Silver group by the end of the season.
Silver Practice Monday & Wednesday 6 - 8pm: We’re building a state championship squad in this practice. This session is for seasoned elementary wrestlers, as well as a spattering of middle school wrestlers with scheduling conflicts after school. The instruction will dive right in, as though you’ve got a base-level of wrestling knowledge. We’ll move quicker between moves, getting more instruction in every practice. This practice will be detailed and intense, and we’ll also spend more time on wrestling strategy.
Middle School Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays 4 - 6pm: This practice will run concurrently with the high school practice, with the idea being to ease the transition from Middle School to High School, by exposing middle schoolers to high school-level instruction early. Middle schoolers will do high school moves, high school strength and conditioning, and will practice with high school intensity. We will have coaches available for newer wrestlers though, early in the season, to help them “catch up.” We know middle school kids will have conflicts with other sports, so we have no issue if their schedule only allows them to attend “some” practices at certain points of the season. Some > None.
Is competition mandatory?
Competition is optional. One of the great things about wrestling, maybe the greatest, is the self-reliance it creates. It’s just you out there, toe on the line, standing up for yourself. The flip-side of that is that defeat feels worse. No one else to blame. No one else to help diffuse the disappointment. Plus, a loss isn’t just two scores, yours lower. It’s physical domination. Losing in wrestling is hard. That’s why we’re very careful about when we direct kids to compete.
If my child wants to compete, what options are available?
Youth Tournaments: Essentially every day, of every weekend, all season, there’s a tournament somewhere ~close. Each season we lay out a schedule, as we get a better idea of when tournaments are taking place, and those will be where we have coaches available.
Beginner Tournaments: There are a couple in the state during the year. Note that you can go to traditional Youth Tournaments and register as a "Beginner," but even then, the competition is slightly tougher.
Dual Meets: We love these. There’s something less harsh about a loss when your teammates are stepping out there right before you and right after you. This is the main way Middle School will compete, but with us not having an “official” middle school team, they’re sometimes challenging to schedule.
National Tournaments can be found on the USA Wrestling Membership website. These tournaments are for advanced wrestlers, and there is not usually a coach present.
Is financial assistance available?
Yes! One of the cornerstone principles we've built MGM on is that we won't let money get between a kid and the mat. We believe in the importance of wrestling, not just as a sport, but in the types of people it forms. That's the reason we are diligent to be sure everyone has shoes and headgear available to loan for free if they need them. We also offer singlets to use for competitions, free of charge. In addition, we offer several forms of financial assistance:
Enrollment Fees - If you are having trouble paying either of the $60 enrollment fees, please reach out and ask for help. We won't let those fees be the reason you don't wrestle.
Lake City Competition Fund - Every year, we offer several opportunities for kids to wrestle, free of charge to them. In addition, if you'd like to compete at youth tournaments, we will reimburse competition fees for those who ask. No proof of need is required - funds are available as long as they last.