AAU wrestling practice starts for young kids

Daniel Skoglund

Last month, 12-year-old Daniel Skoglund began preparations that he hopes will lead to another state AAU wrestling title. His first major test will come in January at the Ozark AAU Challenge regional meet.

About 60 kids were on hand for start of practice at the Rockwood Summit High School wrestling room. They belong to the Rockwood-Lindbergh Wrestling Club, which will host the Ozark AAU meet.

Daniel is a 6th grader at Seeger 6th Grade Center in Webster Groves. Most of his teammates on the Rockwood-Lindbergh club are students at either Rockwood South Middle School or Sperring Middle School.

Daniel won his state championship last year with a narrow 1-0 win. He scored an escape in the third period for the only point of the match. He said he had pinned his opponent twice earlier in that season.

"But, he was really good that day," he said.

That Daniel should score on an escape with his opponent wrestling from on top didn't surprise him. He said his winning on an escape point was to be expected. "When I'm on the bottom, I'm good at escaping," he said.

He said one thing he needs to improve is his ability to take down an opponent when both are standing. "I don't have perfect form when I try for a one- or two-leg shoot," he said.

That maneuver involves shooting forward to grab either one or both legs of an opponent.

Michael Baer

Fourteen-year-old Michael Baer of Fenton said he also has trouble on takedowns. "I even went to a 4-day 'takedown' camp this summer," the 8th grader said.

"We got up in the morning, had breakfast and wrestled. Then, at noon, we ate and wrestled. At night, we ate and wrestled again and went to bed," he said.

Baer said he started wrestling in 4th grade after basketball practice. Eventually, he dropped basketball and stayed with wrestling.

"I liked more contact that came with wrestling.I was a little rough when I played basketball," he said.

The Rockwood-Lindbergh Wrestling Club is a combination of two smaller clubs. The co-coaches are Dave Streibig and Christ Colona. The two men had wrestled together when they were in school and now are both coaching.

Coach Streibig said, "Both of us had small clubs. If you're going to have good practices, you have to have lots of kids. That way, you can pair with kids close to each other in size. In small clubs, there aren't enough kids in every weight class for good pairing."

Most schools don't have wrestling teams until high school. The AAU program gives kids wrestling experience before regularly organized school teams start.

And, some of the kids start early.

Danny Stackle

Danny Stackle is a 3rd grader at Truman Elementary School in Fenton. He's been wrestling since he was five years old.

He finished 2nd in a 6-and-under Liberty national tournament in Kansas City. He classes that as his best experience in wrestling.

His worst experience? "Last year at state, I was leading on points in the third period but my opponent pinned me," he said.

Dylan Heiney

Thirteen-year-old Dylan Heiney of Fenton said he started wrestling when he was in 5th grade. He's been with the Rockwood-Lindbergh club the whole time.

He described his best wrestling experience as "beating an opponent that I didn't think I should be able to beat." He said that happened last year in a tournament.

As for his worst experience, he said, "That's when I get pinned real fast."

Most of the kids plan to wrestle in high school. Some of them hope to wrestle in college.

Several of the boys play other sports but consider wrestling to be their best one. One thing that attracts them is the chance to compete against kids their same size, unlike such sports as football and basketball.

But, Coaches Streibig and Colona urge kids not to try to lose weight in hopes of competing with smaller wrestlers. They stress young kids don't want to do anything that interferes with their normal growth.

Sometimes, even one year, makes a big difference for growing kids. For instance, last year, Michael Baer wrestled at 80 pounds. This year, he'll compete in the 95-lb class.

(If you'd like to know about various AAU sports, visit www.eteam.com/aauozark. The Ozark chapter of AAU sponsors a number of sports choices for young kids.)