Greco wrestling training at NMU
MARQUETTE — Today, wrestlers from the Olympic Training Site in the Superior Dome at Northern Michigan hosted students from downstate Allendale High School for a different kind of wrestling.
Allendale is located about 16 miles west of Grand Rapids and their wrestling team took to the mats to learn the ins and outs of Greco Roman wrestling. But this isn’t your typical summer camp. Rigorous training goes down and so far the students are really into it.
“The kids are really hard workers and it’s great to see that. You can tell they’re having a lot of fun. We’re pushing them a little bit hard. It’s good to see that. But the overall reception, I would say, is really good. I can definitely see they are enjoying it,” Morrow said.
All high school and college wrestlers train for what’s commonly known as folk-style wrestling. The difference between that and Greco Roman is that the former allows for the attacking of the legs, while the latter concentrates on the waist up. However, the trainers here know that it’s a challenge to coach wrestling because most of it is mental.
“You do everything in wrestling so it’s tough. It’s a tough sport so I think the big thing with coaching wrestling is just teaching those kids to get past their wall, get past where they don’t think they can get anymore and just mentally help them get better,” said Noa.
NMU is only place in the United States where college athletes can earn their degree and train at an Olympic training site for Greco Roman wrestling.