Cavalier Wrestling Club

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Scholastic Club

About

About the CWC

The Cavalier Wrestling Club scholastic program is based out of Charlottesville, VA. We provide a safe, supportive, competitive, and fun environment for young athletes to learn the sport of wrestling. More experienced athletes are able to interact with and learn from some of the best coaches/athletes in the country and we foster a fun and exciting introduction to the sport for beginner wrestlers. We are proud to offer several seasonal sessions for K-12 wrestlers in the central VA region. Our goal is to teach life lessons, such as teamwork, discipline, courage, humility and a healthy lifestyle, through sport.

Youth Wrestling FAQs

The CWC welcomes K-12 athletes. They can start in any session. Fall is pre-season, and Winter is our main competition session for Folkstyle wrestling.

Our Beginner/Intermediate level is for wrestlers with 2 years or less of experience. Our Advanced level is for older, mature wrestlers with at least 2 years experience. Please reach out to a coach, or email us with questions.

Most importantly is a good attitude, willingness to learn, and respect for you coaches/fellow wrestlers. Additionally, you will need the following:

  • USA Wrestling Card
  • Wrestling shoes
  • Headgear (optional for practice, required for most competition)
  • Singlet (optional for practice, required for competition)
  • Knee pads (optional) 
  • Mouthguard for wrestlers with braces

USA Wrestling is the national Olympic governing body for wrestling in America. CWC is one of approximately 3,500 USAW-sanctioned wrestling clubs. All CWC members are required to become members of USA Wrestling. Additionally, the CWC requires that coaches (and ANY volunteers on the mat with the kids) obtain a USAW Wrestling Leader card; the process to get this card includes a background check by USAW. The CWC is committed to providing a safe environment for our wrestlers by ensuring that the adults who are interacting with our young athletes are certified by this process. 

Practices will vary for the different program levels but are typically 1-2 hours. The CWC Scholastic Program Director and coaches have put together a set program targeted to each program level. Typically practice will include: warm-ups, stretching, learning new technique and reviewing previously shown technique, live wrestling with practice partners, conditioning, and even mat games for fun! These practices aim to help the wrestler learn and improve, but also are structured to keep the fun and focus of the sport intact. These key ingredients are scaled to the different program levels and skill levels of the athletes.

The CWC offers (non-mandatory) opportunities to compete at local tournaments. There are numerous tournaments offered in central VA area and around the state (a listing can be found at http://www.virginiawrestling.com/page/show/980380-tournaments). Of note, there are both standard tournaments and “Rookie” tournaments that are targeted to wrestlers with less than 2 years of experience. The CWC typically attends 1-2 of these tournaments as a team but encourages and will try to support individuals or small groups of wrestlers that want additional opportunities to compete. 

Every tournament/dual competition is run differently but on average they range from 2 hours to all day, where a wrestler can expect 2-6 matches. Young athletes are matched based on weight, size, and experience. Reach out to CWC coaches if you have specific questions.

  • 3 points are awarded for a takedown. This is when a wrestler takes his
    opponent to the mat and is in a top position with control over his opponent.
  • 1 point is awarded for an escape. This is when a wrestler who escapes to his
    feet from the bottom position and his opponent no longer has control of him.
  • 2 points are awarded for a reversal. This is when a wrestler who is in the
    bottom position is able to switch to the top position and gain control of his
    opponent.
  • 2-3 points are awarded for back points. Back points are when a wrestler who
    has control of his opponent and turns his opponent’s shoulder blades to be
    less than 90 degrees from the mat. The ref then starts counting seconds that
    the wrestler holds his opponent there. After 2 seconds, the wrestler will be
    awarded 2 back points, but it takes 5 seconds to be awarded 3 back points.
  • There are two ways to end the match prematurely. The first way is called a pin
    and is when the wrestler holds his opponents shoulder blades flat to the mat for 2 seconds. The second way is called a technical fall and is when the wrestler is winning the match by 15 points. 

Just like any sport there is a natural progression that occurs in wrestling. The best place to start is in youth wrestling. Here you learn the fundamentals of the sport and develop a foundation of knowledge and experience from which to build. As you continue to build this knowledge and experience, the next level is middle school wrestling, then high school wrestling, then college wrestling, and lastly USA wrestling in an Olympic and world setting. Just like every sport, you cannot just practice to get better, you have to compete. This involves participating in tournaments and wrestling in matches. Tournaments are held all around the country. Some are optional and some last all day, but the key is getting match time experience you only can get when you compete.

Policies

Athlete Conduct

We feel it is important that we our young wrestlers operate in a respectful manner; this is expected at both practices and competitions.

  • Respect the coach by listening during instruction and attempting the drills.
  • Respect the wrestling facilities by following the rules and using equipment in the proper manner.
  • Respect your fellow wrestlers by being a good partner and not distracting others as they try to learn from and listen to coaches.

The sport of wrestling is exciting and fun. The CWC will scale the sessions to ensure they are age appropriate and keep all age groups engaged. However, it is important that young athletes learn to respect the rules, coaching staff, and their peers so that we can ensure a safe, fun, and informative experience for all of our athletes.

Athletes In Need

The CWC does not want a difficult financial situation to deter families from the opportunity to have their children have fun and learn the life lessons inherent to wrestling. If such a difficulty exists please reach out to the CWC personnel so that we can work with you to enable this opportunity for your child.

Parent Involvement

We encourage and appreciate parent involvement in the CWC, this is particularly important for the pee-wee and young elementary wrestlers who may need extra assistance. However, to ensure the safety of our athletes we ask that any parent that wants to assist on the mat will (1) coordinate with and reinforce the techniques being taught by the CWC staff, (2) ensure that they have a USA Wrestling Leader card (which can be obtained for relatively low fee and requires that USAW performs a background check), and (3) that you speak with the CWC staff prior to assisting.

Spectator Conduct During Practice

We encourage parents to enjoy watching their children learn and grow as wrestlers during practice. However, we ask that parents will please refrain from loud conversations and other distracting activities during practice. Wrestling rooms can be hectic with the coaching and drilling, as such additional distractions can deleteriously influence the ability of the athletes to focus and learn. We also respectfully ask for the same quiet and non-distracting behavior from younger siblings.The sport of wrestling is exciting and fun. The CWC will scale the sessions to ensure they are age appropriate keep the all age kids engaged. However it is important that the young athletes learn to respect the rules, coaching staff, and their peers so that we can ensure a safe, fun, and informative experience for all of our athletes.

Registration

2025-26 WINTER SESSION: DECEMBER 1 – FEBRUARY 26

REGISTRATION

Drop-Ins are welcome to any of our practices. USA Wrestling Card required. $20 fee at door or in advance online. Email paulsonwrestling@gmail.com for details/questions.