Traveling Team

Team Dynamic competes at A-level national tournaments against similarly-stacked teams. The boys come home with sore bodies and black eyes. There are always tears. These are very emotional weekends for both the athletes and the parents.

With that said, it is a truly great experience for these young men; they get to put everything on the line and test their mettle. Nothing builds character like wrestling someone of comparative or superior skill.  I can assure you, no matter how good your child is, they will be doing a fair share of losing and winning.  These tournaments are not easy, but they are necessary. This level of competition will make you a better wrestler and a better person.

We do not poach wrestlers from other clubs! Team Dynamic’s traveling team holds a mandatory practice once per week so that there is solidarity between team members and a unity in spirit.  We encourage wrestlers to stay with their local clubs and train other days of the week.

There are a few reasons for this. First, I pride myself in having a good reputation, and it is wrong to take the credit for what another coach has helped to create. Second, it is important for these young athletes to give back by assisting in the development of wrestlers less skilled than they are. The technique flows downwards in a wrestling room, everyone learns from the best wrestlers in the room. Without strong local clubs, the talent pool on Long Island would not reach its potential.

Lastly, there is almost an equal amount to learn from wrestling with inferior opponents (as opposed to training with superior and equally matched wrestlers all of the time). Your local club is a good place to work on your new moves, which are likely not ready for wrestlers of your caliber. It is ideal to have a good balance of partners (much better, slightly better, evenly matched, slightly worse, beginner), this is the best way to augment improvement.

The team is chosen on a tournament by tournament basis. I have the ultimate decision on who will wrestle in each starting position but I do my best to be fair.  I do hold wrestle-offs from time to time; it sucks to lose… but tough, welcome to real life.

You don’t get a ribbon for participating.  You get the experience of losing and decide whether or not you should work harder to earn your spot.  We do bring back-ups, and they often get as many matches as the starters.

If you wish to apply for a spot on the team, please contact me via email with your child’s age, weight and credentials: [email protected].

If you wish to wrestle for Team Dynamic, it is mandatory that both parents read my article “Avoidable Problems with Youth Wrestling”