 "Photo: Jeffrey McWhorter")
| |
| Launch Photo Gallery |
The coach blows his whistle. It is the end of another two-hour practice. They just finished their last drill and are cooling down from a tough workout. Sound familiar? Well, you won't find a football or a helmet in sight.
These athletes are wrestlers and the newest addition to club sports, the Longhorn Wrestlers Club.
With sponsorship from the Recreational Sports Center and the National Collegiate Wresting Association (NCWA), the University of Texas at Austin now has a student-organized and student-run competitive wrestling club.
Two years ago, William Doggett, currently a history junior, came to UT after competing as an All-American wrestler in high school, but to his disappointment, the University had no place for him to continue competing.
"Texas has not been thought of as a wrestling state," Doggett said. "But for the past five years, high schools in the area have gotten better, and it just made sense to me that the biggest state would have a place to wrestle."
Doggett decided to take the initiative and get a program going through fund-raising and by finding local support in the area.
"My biggest hurdle was finding mats for us," he said. "They are really the only expense in wrestling."
Doggett reached out to wrestling supporters he knew from his Houston-area hometown and began fundraising.
"I knew a lot of parents who were committed to the sport and had talented sons who had to leave the state to continue wrestling, so once they saw I was serious and wanted to get this started, they helped."
After raising enough money to purchase mats, Doggett contacted other students that he knew were interested.
"We had a Facebook group while the idea was starting, and, once I told the guys I had it going, they were pumped and ready."
Doggett and the guys who joined the club spent the rest of the year getting back in shape to promote wrestling.
This year, the Longhorn Wrestlers are ready for competition and are growing in size. They have a qualified coach who has taken on the team and is committed to helping them succeed.
"We have high hopes for what we can accomplish this year," said volunteer coach Robert Moore. "We have guys out there who are passionate about the sport."
Moore came to Austin and started a program for youth wrestling in the area. There are now 450 kids in the youth programs and it continues to grow. He is now a personal trainer and is working with the wrestling club on a volunteer basis.
"The executive director of the NCWA met with me at a high school state wrestling championship in Austin this past March to see if I would help get the project up and running," Moore said.
Moore wrestled throughout college and has been involved in the sport since he was 10 years old.
"He is really special to us. He is kind of known as 'the godfather' of wrestling in Austin," Doggett said. "He got a lot started here and has a lot of experience: he is really helping the club out this year."
The team will compete with other clubs that joined through the wrestling association, including Texas State University and Texas A&M University.
"The other schools in the state do not have division one teams either," Moore said. "We can compete with our rivals and most of the guys have wrestled with the competition in high school."
Moore described the club as a "solid group of good guys." They are expecting to have a group that competes and also encourages students who are just looking to get involved in the sport.
"Our problem currently is trying to reach people," said Justin Belle, a physics junior and Longhorn Wrestlers president. "No one really knows we have a team, so we are trying to get the word out and get more people."
The club has around 10 members so far, but is hoping to get a full squad of 11 people.
"I am really looking forward to putting my shoes back on and getting a change to wrestle for UT," said William Sommers, an English sophomore.
Sommers was involved in his wrestling team in high school and also competed on the Texas Senior Dream Team, a group of the best senior wrestlers in Texas who competed against Team USA, the best seniors in the country.
"One of the reasons I chose not to wrestle in college was because there was not a power house school in the state, so I am happy we are getting this opportunity to start something."
They are hoping to recruit talent and represent UT at wrestling tournaments to "help keep the talent in Texas instead of leaving the state," said Daniel Ayoub, a chemical engineering junior.
The club is focused on getting students involved and on promoting wrestling. Kinesiology freshman David Hein, Moore's assistant coach, is helping recruit members after a shoulder injury that will keep him out of competitions.
Continuing to promote the club and practice, the Longhorn Wrestlers are preparing for competitions that will begin in November.
"I am really excited that when I graduate I will be able to come back to UT and see a flourishing club with guys ready to compete. It is definitely something that I expect will happen," Doggett said.
