Georgia Military Preparatory School hosted Wrestling Camp July 15-17 to teach 10 elementary school campers the basics of wrestling.
High school wrestling coach Gavin Tierce hosted the camp on the main GMC campus to teach basic fundamentals. Campers participated in both hands-on and formal learning to understand. Over the three-day camp, the high school wrestling team also assisted campers as mentors and, according to Tierce, ran the camp by day three.
“The main goal was to introduce them to the sport. We currently do not have a youth program in our school, which is something I am working on,” said Tierce. “A big part of hosting the camp was gauging interest for this program.”
Fundamentals taught included stance, basic tie ups, a single leg shot, and more. On top of learning the fundamentals, campers participated in conditioning to prepare their bodies. By the third day, according to Tierce, the campers could complete a controlled wrestling match.
“For the first two days, the high schoolers were having their own practice and assisting the campers alongside that and by day three everyone was ready to take initiative. Our high schoolers took a more active role as the teacher and our campers were ready for simulated matches,” said Tierce.
Currently, Tierce is working with the Bulldog family to be able to host the wrestling program after the junior pro basketball season ends.
The program would include third through fifth graders. The goal is to be able to host both programs without conflict so students may participate in both if they wish.
“Everything we did in camp was super structured and controlled.
There was not a single time that the campers were able to practice without supervision. It is why we spent the camp honing in on fundamentals,” explained Tierce.
“We want families to feel comfortable knowing that the program, like camp, will be very safe and structured.”
As an example, Tierce explained that campers participated in ‘turtle wrestling,” where they wrestle from their knees over standing. This type of wrestling is safer and was used to ensure no campers were injured while learning the fundamentals or participating in simulated matches.
“Camp was super positive. We received good feedback from both campers and their parents,” said Tierce. “I feel great about what we did, and I feel that we sold the sport of wrestling to some kids for the future of our program. We hope to gauge more interest in the future.”
Tierce has been coaching wrestling for five years and it is his second year as the head coach at GMC. Hosting a youth program has been a goal for him for a while and plans to officially start the program at GMC Prep are underway.