It’s been a recent banner stretch for products of the Jones County wrestling program. Earlier this month, one former wrestler, Nate Carr Jr., was named head coach at Davidson College, and another former standout, Torrez Finney, remained unbeaten as a professional MMA fighter.
Now, the Greyhounds wrestling program, in partnership with Storm Wrestling Center, will begin the Greyhound Wrestling Club starting Sept. 7.
It’ll meet each Monday and Wednesday, from 5-6 p.m., allowing younger age groups to be exposed to wrestling and possibly take up the sport long term.
“The big thing is that it’s a way to get our community interested in wrestling, and that’ll help grow our program in the future,” Greyhounds head wrestling coach Adam Gillhouse said. “Getting kids interested at an early age is big to get us where we want to go as a program.”
A wrestling club, although new to some in Jones County, is not new overall. Sports such as football, basketball, baseball and softball have feeder programs through the youth sports angle.
In that, younger ages are introduced to respective sports, and by the time they reach the middle school level, are more prepared to compete, meaning coaches have to spend less time teaching basic fundamentals.
“If a kid comes to us in sixth grade having wrestled with us before, we can kind of fast-track things and get to higher-level stuff,” Gillhouse said. “The goal then is for us to be able to finetune things.”
Plus, it’s a proven strategy used by higher-level programs in the state, those on the level of which the Greyhounds one day seek to consistently be.
“You look at schools like Jefferson, Social Circle, Cass and others across the state, this is the model that they do,” Gillhouse said. “This is a great way to get people excited about wrestling.”
And even if those taking part in the wrestling club don’t stick with the sport, there are no shortage of benefits, says Gillhouse.
“At a young age, even they don’t stick with it, the lessons they learn make an impact,” Gillhouse said. “You learn things like physical development, balance, leverage and being able to compete. When you wrestle, it’s you against an opponent and no one else. To be able to develop confidence at a young age is big.”
For more info on the Greyhounds Wrestling Club, visit www.facebook.com/ GreyhoundWrestling
