Originally Posted by Big  Personally, I don't see much need for a 4 year old to start wrestling. He should learn to ride the bicycle first, fishing, skiing, skating and playing soccer or basketball. He can start wrestling around 8 or 9 or later. He needs to build up his physical development first. Otherwise injuries and bad habits will likely happen in wrestling practices. Also, I don't think 4-5 year olds have the mental maturity to learn the complexities of wrestling. |
I agree but also would like to point out a few issues with this idea.
I just started my son this year (he is 11, 5th grade). He had done gymnastics for 4 years so he was in pretty good shape. Also did all other sports but always gymnastics.
Starting later means they will have to deal with losing, and losing a lot. There are quite a few kids who have been wrestling for years by 11. So the mental ability to deal with this is important. We tried to go to novice tournaments but it seemed these were tougher than the normal tournaments (supposed to be only 1st year kids, what a joke).
I would advise looking very hard to find a very good youth club (I did). And look around for a long term camp, also. My son attended an 8 week camp (2 x week for 2 hours) that only did drilling. Very little live wrestling. And we will attend again in the fall before the season. This should will get him to a level we (him and I) hope that will allow him to compete. My son enjoys wrestling but getting hammered all the time is not much fun. Another thing about starting later at a good club is that the kids his age will be very tough. At my sons weight and age he had the Nuway and Myway champion, and one weight up he had another Nuway champ. So practice was tough but he has gotten muuuuuuuch better (he may not see it yet).
I would say 4-5 is a little young. But 8-9 is probably perfect. 11 is a little late to introduce but some kids do not get it offered until 9th grade so it is all perspective. I love watching him mature and learn about himself. Wrestling is such a great sport. Nothing compares to it IMO.