FAQ’s(Answered)

– Folkstyle Season Lasts Nov-Mar(this is the main style wrestled in HS’s and College’s in the USA)

– Typically Children Aged 3-14(3&4 years olds should be enrolled in little hammers only)

– Practices will be at Washburn Rural High School(Mar-October) 5900 SW 61st St, Topeka, KS 66614 and Washburn Rural Middle School(Nov-Feb) 5620 SW 61st St, Topeka, KS 66619

– Practices are NOT MANDATORY although we recommend at least 2 practices a week in the regular season for all levels.

– Weekly schedule will be communicated via discord

– Any cancellations will be sent via discord. Please add the important updates channel to send you push notifications to your phone. We will use this a infrequently as possible with only need to know information.

Description of Practice Levels:

Little Hammers (1st year wrestlers in pre-k. Some kindergarteners are better suited here. Must be fully potty-trained.
Elementary Novice (1st and 2nd-year wrestlers in K-6)
Elementary Open (3rd Year + wrestlers in K-6)
Elementary Elite (3rd+ year K-6)
Middle School (6th-8th)
Note: Reach out if you have questions about where your child fits.

– These classes are not concrete but rather general guidelines.

– Freestyle Greco Season Lasts April-Early June

– We do not recommend that ANY little hammers compete. We do not recommend that all novice wrestlers compete. The child’s emotional and physical maturity should be what dictates that decision.

– Costs involved can be found on our home page

– Little hammers season ends February 5th.

– Novice season ends around the 1st of March(unless they wrestle in the Open State Championship series of tournaments then they will wrestle until the end of March)

– Weekend tournaments are held at HS’s and venues throughout the state almost year round $ cost $20-50$ on average.

– In order to practice you must have wrestling shoes(30-50$ish for basic shoes which do just fine)

– Best practice attire = pocketless shorts and well fitting t-shirt

– In order to compete you must have headgear(20-50$) and a team singlet.(not required for practice)

– We rent team singlets/headgear AND order a new design of singlet($50ish) every year.

– Can I sponsor the club?(Click here)

Coaching Information:

– In order to coach for TBTWC you need to complete a background check, complete safesport training, and purchase a Wrestling Leader membership from USA Wrestling.

– Go to USAW’s membership website and create a profile.

– Under that profile on that website you will be able to do the BG check/ follow a link to SS training/and pay for your USAW wrestling leader membership.

– BG check and SS training must be done b4 it will let you purchase WL membership.

Expanded Information about Little Hammers/Novice/Open/Elite classes

Little Hammers – 1st of its kind class for the Topeka Blue Thunder Wrestling Club!

The little hammers practices are geared towards 3-5 year old potty trained 1st year wrestlers who are not quite ready for requirements of the novice room. A younger wrestler(3yo or 4yo) MAY be best suited for 2 years of little hammers before moving into our novice program but the goal is to progress up through the levels as soon as possible by learning all of the required technique in each level.

Our novice room is very structured and requires a child to be somewhat self motivated, non interruptive, and able to function without their parent in the room. This leaves a lot of young wrestlers in the making without a place to fall in love with the sport. That is why we created the little hammers. If we can drive a love for sport into them at a young age, we can keep more kids involved in something that benefits them personally, socially, physically, mentally and spiritually FOR LIFE.

Little hammers will focus on:

Basic wrestling movements and positions

Tumbling

Games

Early mindset training

!!!!!IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED THAT LITTLE HAMMERS COMPETE!!!!!

Novice – This group is geared towards a slower pace of learning with more fun and games. The goal of this group is to teach the wrestlers to love the sport while also teaching the most basic fundamentals in USA Wrestling’s Level 1 core curriculum. We do a lot of agility and tumbling with this group and usually end the practice with a game. We demand your wrestler’s attention in practice(regardless of level) and we do call them out for being a disruption to the group.

Open – This group is geared toward accelerated learning of the fundamentals of wrestling and wrestling movements. The goal of this group is to get wrestlers’ competition ready as quickly as possible through teaching all of USA Wrestling Level 1 core curriculum and some of USA Wrestling Level 2 and 3 core curriculum. We do some agility and tumbling with this group as well as a fair amount of wrestling specific conditioning.

Elite – This group is geared toward continued mastery of our “go to” offenses and defenses and keeping our wrestlers in the best wrestling shape as is possible. This group is expected to know and be able to perform USAW’s level 1 curriculum completely. We are constantly introducing new techniques to our elite wrestlers. The expectations are that the wrestlers in our Elite room are training to become State/National Placers and Champions. These practices are all gas and no brakes and can be VERY physically and mentally demanding for your wrestler(s). Our goal has always been and remains to be to break down your wrestlers physically and mentally so we can then build them back up stronger. Lots of blood, sweat, tears, and puke have been shed in these practices. Once your wrestler is ready for the Elite room, it is in my and all of our staff/boards opinion that the treatment they get in that room will have a tremendous and invaluable impact on them both on and off the mat for the rest of their lives!