Fabulous Winter Sport!

      I know I have blogged about this a little bit before, but I had to blog again about wrestling because team sign ups are just around the corner. Some teams have already started signing up! Why wrestling? I love to encourage my students to wrestle because it is a sport that does not require vision in order to be successful. Wrestling is also a team and individual sport. This is a great thing because it allows our students to compete without needing to coordinate with teammates in order to participate. But it still gives that team feeling. Make sense? There are special modifications for our students when they wrestle. They have to remain in constant contact while competing. If wrestlers break contact for more than two seconds, the ref blows the whistle and they have to reset in contact with each other. 

This is a picture from the wrestling weekend program we ran in November. Our wrestling coach, Greg Schultz, is teaching Brian, a Braille reader. It is important that coaches teach by touch and ensure that blind wrestlers understand correct body form.     

 I've been running wrestling at my program for a little over a year now and it has totally taken off! I've had to purchase more mats to accommodate more students. I've also had students decide to join their school/community wrestling clubs. 
     Check out this feature on wrestling I found. The interview starts 45 seconds into the video: http://blindhow.com/posts/362#content. This clip is from the site BlindHow, http://blindhow.com/, a new site that I've discovered. It has a lot of useful resources. 

Still wondering about wrestling? 

Allow me to share some favorite pictures from some of my wrestling program....

Here's another picture from my wrestling weekend. This was my favorite from the weekend! The students competing are two Braille readers.

I also wanted to include a picture from the athletic conditioning portion of the wrestling program. I loved that we added these modules in! Our students ran a mile, did push ups, sit ups and worked out with free weights. This is my other favorite benefit from my students participating in wrestling!! It encourages physical fitness!!

And last but not least, I had to include this picture (with permission) from our big wrestling program. This one includes my student who is a GIRL! That's right, she's a girl wrestler and she is fabulous!! She is actually our most aggressive wrestler and has pinned almost every boy that she has wrestled. So parents don't be afraid to sign up your lady wrestlers :)

So.... are you feeling inspired to help your child sign up for wrestling? It's never too early to start!! Some community clubs start at age 6 (I've had my youngsters wrestle, too). Have questions about how to help your child get on a team or have a coach who feels overwhelmed (sometimes they do...), email me and I will get my wrestling guru, Greg in touch with you. 

Even if you don't choose wrestling, choose an activity that is a lifelong activity such as running, swimming or judo. Look for these awesome activities in your community :)