Big

Loved the sport, wasn't very good, but filled a spot on the team.

Next thing I knew I was the coach.


I just love the American way!

Avallone

Karissa
1. How old were you when you started wrestling? - 5

2. Why did you start wrestling? Did you have a family member or someone else that was close to you who had wrestled and encouraged you to do so?
I was at my brothers practice and thought it looked fun. My brother

3. What city and state are you from originally? - Newkirk, Oklahoma
Did you live in an urban area when you started wrestling or was it more country/suburban? - Country

Tell me a little about the demographics of the area you lived in when you began wrestling. - Farming,Ranching area.

__________________
http://www.youtube.com/TonyAvallone

Dad of Karissa 103lb Fr. & Brantley 86lb Middle School

PEACE

Davidio

1. How old were you when you started wrestling? 6th grade, 12 yrs. old


2. Why did you start wrestling? Did you have a family member or someone else that was close to you who had wrestled and encouraged you to do so? Or did you start on your own? Brother was 1 year older and had started in 7th grade. I was out for basketball and a coach announced the last chance to go out for wrestling. I dropped the ball, walked over and entered the dungeon and never looked back.

3. What city and state are you from originally? Did you live in an urban area when you started wrestling or was it more country/suburban? Tell me a little about the demographics of the area you lived in when you began wrestling.
Started during 6th grade in Osage, Ia. Moved to Charles City, Ia for the 7th grade year. There was only Class A and Class B during those years. We were probably one of the smallest towns in Class A. Charles City, Ia was a medium size town for that time. Apx. 10,000 - 11,000 at that time.

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"IF WISHES WERE HORSES, ALL BEGGARS WOULD RIDE"[/quote]- Frank Osten

mac 'n cheese

1. How old were you when you started wrestling?

2nd grade I was 7 years old.

2. Why did you start wrestling? Did you have a family member or someone else that was close to you who had wrestled and encouraged you to do so? Or did you start on your own?

My father had wrestled since he was young and all of my brothers did it so of course I was going to do it.

3. What city and state are you from originally? Did you live in an urban area when you started wrestling or was it more country/suburban? Tell me a little about the demographics of the area you lived in when you began wrestling.

I am originally from Long Beach, CA. I grew up wrestling for a club that my dad ran. The local high schools had great programs but the area was horrible.

quick_single

The history of quick_single:

1. How old were you when you started wrestling?

12/7th grade

2. Why did you start wrestling? Did you have a family member or someone else that was close to you who had wrestled and encouraged you to do so? Or did you start on your own?

My brother, who is 6 years my senior and an amazing athlete, began wrestling in 10th grade. I watched some of his duals and went to tournies but never really understood it. I do remember that it looked fun, that you'd get to hang out with your teammates all day, and that some of the guys had pretty good looking girlfriends, so that appealed to me.

Anyway I was never really much of an athlete aside from gymnastics and I knew I couldn't play a sport that required any significant amount of hand/eye coordination or used a ball, so I went out for the Jr. High wrestling team and quickly found that I didn't really like it. I used to get the crap kicked out of me. I remember traveling to our first match sitting on the back of the bus being so nervous I was shaking. I think I lost that match. My parents told me that I wasn't allowed to quit and that I needed to finish the season and if I still didn't like it I didn't have to go back out the following year. But I needed to finish the season. Anyway as the season went on I slowly began to improve and ended up with a 4-4 record and went 0-2 in the Jr. High Counties.

My brother encouraged me but I don't think he saw any dedication so he kinda just went through the motions with me.

That Spring my dad took a me and few of my teammates to watch a USA v. USSR dual at Nassau CC. I had never seen an International match before. This was 1986 during the height of the Cold War and there was such a mystique surrounding the Soviets that just kept pulling me in more and more with each match. They were so fast. I liked all the ooh's and aah's from the crowd. I saw arm throws, saltos, leg laces -- and that was just in the 48 kg bout. I was like WTF? I saw Sergei Beloglazov literally wipe the mat with our hero Gene Mills. I was hooked. From then on I was dedicated to the sport.

That Summer CBS showed the dual meet in its entirety and I taped it. All Summer I sat and watched this meet, along with the first Goodwill Games which I also taped, and analyzed every move of every match. This sparked my interest in watching and studying films: My HS coach never wrestled (football coach who was offered the position) and by my Freshman year in HS I was already more knowledgable than my brother, so the VCR became my coach.

8th Grade season rolled around and while I still didn't really understand the finer points of the sport like developing a good single leg and defense, I was hitting lateral drops, arm throws, and double overhook saltos. I went 8-0 in the pre-season and placed 4th in the Jr. High Counties. I just knew that I couldn't wait for the Freestyle season. It turned out pretty good: I ended up winning both FS and Greco NYS for Kids 13-14 and won the Northeast Regional in Greco.

My brother's College team had dropped their program his Sophomore year I believe, so once he saw I was dedicated he got more involved and came home any chance he could to see me wrestle. He was a great motivator and always cheered me on and traveled with me and sat in my corner at the offseason Freestyle tournaments like the Northeast and Southeast Regionals, etc.

3. What city and state are you from originally? Did you live in an urban area when you started wrestling or was it more country/suburban? Tell me a little about the demographics of the area you lived in when you began wrestling.

I am from Nassau County, LI on the South Shore. It is 100% Suburban. My town is middle to upper middle class, with some blue collar pockets here and there, which is typical for the South Shore. It is mainly comprised of Italian, Jewish (or both) and Irish families which make up roughly 97% of the population. There were 0 Blacks when I went to school. A few Asians here and there. Total population is a little over 20,000.

As you know from LIMarty (ha ha), South Shore LI has a rich history and tradition for wrestling. In 1987 Nassau County won the team title at the NYS Tournament. It was a proud time and those guys were who I aspired to become.

arm-spin

1: grade 8
2: no family involvement. I thought wrestling was cool (it is) and would help fend off bullies (it did)
3: I wrestled in Edmonton, Canada. A lot of high schools have wrestling, and there are two main sr clubs and one varsity CIS team. Not a wrestling hotbed by any means but has produced some olympians.