In a world of stick and ball recreation sports, wrestling is probably something that is not near top of mind in middle Georgia.
But that’s where the newly launched Greyhound Wrestling Club, which held its first workout in the JCHS wrestling room last Tuesday, comes into play.
Roughly 20 kids of around elementary school age took part, going over basics and fundamentals of the sport with the work being led by Greyhound coaches and wrestlers.
The Greyhound Wrestling Club, open to those in grades kindergarten to fifth grade, is held each Tuesday and Thursday, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., enabling those taking part to engross themselves into wrestling and hone their skills toward being able to compete in wrestling tournaments later in the wrestling season. “It’s not necessarily something that most kids grow up doing. Most of them are used to throwing a football or baseball or shooting a basketball,” Greyhounds head coach Adam Gillhouse said. “So wrestling is not something you see a lot right now in Middle Georgia.”
Last Tuesday’s opening session took place on the heels of growing interest in wrestling after the recent Main Street Dual in downtown Gray.
“We’ve had a lot of people asking about it, and obviously with us being out there last Saturday, that was a huge advertisement,” Gillhouse said. “A lot of people found out about it. Some people maybe had never thought about (wrestling) before and saw it.”
There’s an inherent benefit for the Greyhounds wrestling program as local kids learn about and have fundamentals of wrestling prior to reaching the high school and middle school levels. And while there’s an upside to that, there’s another key driving point for the Greyhound Wrestling Club.
“You just want to have a foundation built up over time. That’s that I am passionate about,” Gillhouse said. “Wrestling at this age helps with some basic athleticism, football and leverage. It helps you understand how to use your hands and things like that.”
The cost of the Greyhound Wrestling Club is $100 per year. For info, email jcgwc2024@gmail.com
