Some of these College wrestlers are good.
Think if I was in a US school I would definitely go for the wrestling team.
I mean good grapplers are not just Japanese or Brazilian
Some are good? Any kid who starts in D-1 college is very good. Even the D-2 and D-3 kids are very good.
Legit top D-1 guys are great. They have been through the gauntlet.
Most all were State Champions or runners up and the better ones are multiple State Champions.
They will absolutely destroy you.
This is American Folkstyle not the stupid Freestyle or Greco in the Olympics (my opinion).
The wrestlers who became the early UFC champs were folkstyle guys. Most of them also did freestyle but that was not their main style.
The best wrestlers most always come from public schools not private prep schools.
Public schools in the USA are not like the UK where the term has a different meaning.
Public schools in the USA are just that. Taxpayer supported "free" public schools for all those residing in each particular district.
Wrestling for the serious begins as young as 5. There are private wrestling clubs with excellent coaching. Also highly competitive weekly tournaments that you take your kid to.
These tournaments are not like bullshit martial arts tournaments. They are not fun. They are full on, vicious, high pressure, all out "kill or be killed", survival of the fittest competitions.
Some parents spend well over $10,000+ a year for training, equipment, travel and entry fees for their kid. Heck $10,000 was 20 years ago. Now it's probably $20,000.
Many schools have wrestling teams starting in middle school (age 11-14). High schools then have teams that compete in leagues ultimately leading to the state tournaments.
However, by the time a kid gets to high school, the best kids are already at a high level from their club experience. The high school coach really doesn't have much to do with it. Most of the top kids have won junior state championships at the club level and even competed nationally in freestyle.
The kids who start out wrestling in high school, with an occasional rare exception (who is usually in a heavy weight class), are cannon fodder for the experienced kids.
So that's how it works.
