Nobody settles a fight with free throws
Inevitably, when your kid has a disagreement with someone in life and it turns confrontational, they're not going to settle it by shooting free throws.
"Oh yeah? You got a problem? Let's shoot for it."
Said no one ever.
My recommendation? Put him in a sport that's going to develop real skills. Then, inevitably, when there's a confrontation, he's calm, cool, and confident, because he knows how to handle himself.
Genetics are real
Let's be honest. Dad's not 6'6". Neither is Mom. Genetics are real. Your kid's probably not playing Division I basketball, much less in the NBA.
So put him in a sport where, no matter his size, speed, or attributes, he can be successful.
Or keep hanging on to that pipe dream, because maybe he is the next Spud Webb or Muggsy Bogues. May the odds be in your favor.
Look at the odds
Several hundred kids play youth basketball in your hometown. On the varsity team, only five play at a time. Five. Across grades 9 through 12, fewer than 15 will ever be starters. Everyone else winds up being a fan of basketball.
So keep being a fan. Shoot hoops in the driveway. But spend his seasons on a sport where he isn't waiting on the bench for his turn.
Life doesn't blow the whistle
Since we can both agree your kid's probably not going to play in the NBA, the sport he plays should be about preparing him for life.
In life, when something goes wrong, no one's going to blow the whistle, call a foul, and give you two free shots from the free-throw line. When things don't go his way, he's going to have to bear down, grit his teeth, and fight through the adversity.
That sounds like a wrestling match, not a basketball game.
No more arguing about playing time
No more "if Coach would've just put me in." In wrestling, the coach doesn't call the play or pick the starter. Your kid does, on the mat. Every kid gets a fair shot to be the superstar.
All the whining you've heard through baseball, football, and basketball season? It's out the door. This is the chance he's been asking for.
Already convinced? Registration is always open, and his first week is free.
Start Free Week →Life is an individual sport
In basketball, someone else can make the play for you, and the team still wins. But life isn't like that. Life is an individual sport. No one else is going to do it for you. Adults and leaders all understand this.
In wrestling, it all comes down to you. That's the best and the worst part. When you lose, it's no one else's fault. Not Coach's. Not Mom's or Dad's. It's yours. That's hard. But it's also empowering. Because if you're willing to do the work (study, learn, practice, do the right things the right way), there's no limit to what you can achieve.
Every parent tells their kid, "You can be anything you want to be." Wrestling is where that's actually true.
Height doesn't decide it. Weight classes do.
Remember #2? In basketball, height wins. In wrestling, it doesn't matter, because your kid only wrestles other kids his own size. The small kid finally gets a fair fight. No one's towering over him, shooting over his head.
And the big athlete who's been six inches taller than everyone, the one who calls himself a competitor? Now we find out if that's actually true. Match him up against someone his own size and see how he does.
This kind of true, honest competition brings out the best and the worst in everyone, so every athlete is refined and made better. That's one of the many reasons wrestling makes you better at every sport. It makes you a better person, which makes you a better athlete, a better student in school, and a better son or daughter at home. Wrestling refines us in a way other sports simply can't replicate.
Wrestling makes you better at all sports
Don't take my word for it. Ask any football coach. They love wrestlers: balance, footwork, hips, hand-fighting, conditioning, toughness. Love basketball? Wrestling will make him better at that too.
Baseball player? After six minutes alone on a mat with someone trying to break him, stepping up to the plate with two strikes won't feel so heavy. Wrestling teaches kids to handle stress and failure, and that pressure doesn't scare them anymore.
In every sport, ball players learn to use their feet and hips and build balance, coordination, and body control. It unlocks their athleticism, because they finally learn how to use their own body.
Your family comes first
We believe families should schedule practice, not practice scheduling families.
Your kid misses basketball practice, and the team can't practice without him. Coach gets mad. Players get mad. It might cost him playing time or his starting spot. And honestly, is that fair?
What if there's a wreck and traffic is backed up? What if a project runs late at work? Or, heaven forbid, your kid surprises you with a last-minute school project. Does that ever happen? Or maybe something's going on in the family that's none of Coach's business.
Families need and want this kind of flexibility. Let's face it: basketball doesn't offer it. Wrestling does. Practice isn't required. Can't make the tournament on Saturday? Don't sweat it.
We offer practice five to six days a week, at multiple times, in multiple communities, all within driving distance. That's for your flexibility, not because it's what we recommend for your eight-year-old. Anyone pushing more than two or three days a week at the elementary age has their own agenda, and it's not one that puts your kid and your family first.
Confidence basketball can't build and money can't buy
Look back at this list. Settling conflict without free throws. Fighting through adversity with no whistle to save him. Earning his spot. Owning the result. Losing in front of the whole gym, shaking hands, and coming back next week better.
Every one of those builds the same thing: real confidence. Not from a trophy or a pep talk, but from character and competence. He did the hard work, and he knows he can do hard things.
A kid who knows he can handle himself doesn't need to prove it. That's the kind of confidence that fends off bullies and has your kid standing up to defend the weak. A kid who sorts it out on the mat every day doesn't go looking for a fight, but he doesn't walk around afraid of one either.
You can't fake that kind of confidence and depth of character, and you can't hand it to him. It has to be earned. And a wrestling mat, not a court or a field, is where he earns it.