FREE Wrestling Camp for new wrestlers June 13-15, 2023

This free clinic is designed for all kids between the ages of 4 through 11.  This camp places emphasis on the smaller kids to learn their bodies and how to move their feet, roll on the mats and learn to keep and use their balance.  We place a lot of emphasis on agility and focus a lot of effort on the fundamentals of wrestling.  We  incorporate a lot of exercise into the training as well as introduce wrestling games into the training.  At the end of the three days, the kids will have learned some very basic wrestling fundamentals, their muscles will be sore, they should be extremely tired and hopefully they will have made some new friends and had a lot of fun along the way.  

If your high schooler is considering wrestling then this is the camp for them.  This is  designed to introduce the athletes to the sport of wrestling.  During these three days the athletes will do a variety of activities to include cardio conditioning, strength training and learn the basic fundamentals of wrestling.  Throughout the three days, there will be a lot of material covered and opportunities for each athlete to participate in the rigors of the sport.   They will work on footwork, hand fighting, takedowns, top and bottom wrestling.  They will drill with various other wrestlers and participate in wrestling type games.  At the conclusion of this three day camp, your wrestler will have learned how to take down an opponent, escape from the bottom position and turn their opponent from the top position.  

Did you know that wrestling is the FASTEST growing for for girls at the high school and collegiate level?  Every year our girls program has grown in size which is why this year we have decided to has girl clinicians for our girl wrestlers and have separate training areas JUST for our girl wrestlers.  This should be a fun and exciting time for our girls especially since this will be the FIRST YEAR that Florida has SANCTIONED Girls wrestling in FHSAA competition.  This is truly an exciting time for our girls in Florida! 

Pictured above is US Olympian and Gold Medalist, Ken Chertow stopping in our wrestling room and offering one of our girls some strength and wrestling tips.  

 Coach Ketler is the founder and Executive Director of the American Warrior Wrestling Club.   As the leader of Florida's largest youth wrestling program on the west coast, Coach K leads a team of the best coaches in the entire state.  Coach Ketler wrestled in Pennsylvania for PA Wrestling Hall of Fame Coach Joe Kiefer.   Coach Ketler also coaches Pennsylvania's largest youth wrestling team, the Philadelphia PAL for four years under head coach, PA Wrestling Hall of Fame Coach Ed Schneider.  As a military professional he has trained Soldier's and Marines in mixed martial arts and he has trained law enforcement officers in defensive tactics and the use of force.  Coach Ketler is an expert in ground fighting, grappling, and submission fighting.  He has over 20 years of mixed martial arts experience and has trained with the worlds top professionals.  

Coach J. Edward Ketler (R) pictured above with wrestling legend Dan Gable (L) at the Iowa Athletic Club in Coralville, IA.  

Coach Eric Smith is new to the Wiregrass Ranch family this season and his impact was immediately known.   Coach Smith is a NCAA wrestler from NY and a Fargo Greco Roman Champion.  He has competed all across the country and was one of the top wrestlers of his time.  

Since joining us at Wiregrass he has quickly established himself as a top coach and earned himself as the teams coach of the year.  

At the conclusion of our beginners clinic, each wrestler will be afforded the opportunity to wrestler the FIRST wrestling tournament.  We provide a "Takedown" tournament which is modified from a traditional tournament in that the wrestler's do not get an opportunity to wrestling on top or bottom.    

Takedown tournaments allow our new athlete's to focus on one of the main skills they just learned, a takedown, and place their focus and effort on just that skill as they develop their wrestling skill set. 

At the conclusion of the tournament we issue medals to the participants depending on how they place, 1st, 2nd or 3rd and allow each wrestler to actually "Take the Podium" as they receive their medals.  

Its a fun and exciting time for those that place in the top three but its a learning lesson for those that did not place they can refocus their efforts and figure out where they need to improve.   

Coach Ketler is the founder and Executive Director of American Warrior Wrestling.  He is the head coach and curriculum developer of the program.  He has assembled the best staff in the Tampa Bay area to offer your children the best summer experience available.  Coach Ketler wrestled for two years at Pennsbury H.S. and trained under PA National Wrestling Hall of Fame Coach Joe Kiefer.    Coach Ketler's notable H.S. accomplishment was being the 1991 PIAA Sectional Runner up and District qualifier.  Coach Ketler Coached his first youth team at the Philadelphia Police Athletic League with PA Wrestling Hall of Fame Coach Ed Schneider for three years.   Coach Ketler wrestled while serving in the Marine Corp and became a mixed martial arts instructor while in the Army.  Coach Ketler has a wide range of experience in grappling and MMA to include being a certified defensive tactics instructor at the local college's police academy.  

Coach Jacques is in his third year as the Assistant Head Boys Coach.  Jacques joins us from the Miami area, South Broward, and is a FL State Champion and 2x FL State placer.  Coach Jacques is a 2x Regional Champ, 2x District Champ and a 2x Conference Champ.   He is a protégé of US Olympian Ken Chertow.  We are excited to have Coach Jacques on our team.   

Coach Smith joins us from New York where he was a NY State Campion, Champion of the Empire State Games.  He is a former NCAA D1 wrestler at Morgan State University where he was a 3X Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion (MEAC) and qualified for the NCAA National D1 Championship tournament three years consecutively.  Coach Smith Coached Freeport H.S. for 30yrs producing five NY State Champions and three National Champions at Fargo.  Coach Smith was recently names Wiregrass Ranches 2022-2023 Coach of the Year.    

Group A will consist of children between the ages of 5 to 11.  These kids will be the first kids that train for the day.  We will expect them to show up at 7:45 so they can get an 8:00 am start.  Their training will be concluded at 12:15 p.m.. 

The summer camps will be divided into two groups.  The older kids will come in at 1:00pm and their training will conclude at approximately 4:45 each training day.