Gear

What gear does my child need?

• Wrestling shoes (We have some used shoes available)
• T-shirt and shorts or sweatpants
• Water bottle
• Other/Optional
  • Headgear - required for competitions
  • Kneepad(s) - optional, start without them
  • Mouthguard - optional, not often used in wrestling
  • Braces Mouthguard - required in competition for braces

Do you have any loaner shoes or headgear?
There is a box of donated shoes that are first come first serve. This box is perfect for progressing through shoe sizes over time, “give a pair, take a pair”. There are only a couple headgear available. Each wrestler who is competing needs their own headgear. They will last many years.

Where can I buy wrestling gear?

• Dick’s Sporting Goods (in-person and online)
  • Fair Oaks DSG has the best selection of shoes in the area.
• Rudis (online)
• Wrestling Mart (online)
• various brand online stores

Practice

What is the weekly practice schedule?
Practices are held at the wrestling rooms of local high schools, primarily Madison HS though occasionally Oakton HS and Marshall HS. The schedule is ideally Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 7-8:30pm and 7-8pm for our youngest wrestlers, with occasional deviations based on wrestling room availability.

For the 2025-2026 season we are trying to start earlier for at least our K-2nd grade kids. However, with the promotion of High School Girls Wrestling to a varsity sport, the high school teams are using the wrestling rooms longer. After the first few weeks of the season we may be able to adjust the start time. 

What if we can’t make a practice?
We encourage athletes to attend as many practices as possible, but we recognize that conflicts are unavoidable.  Some athletes will only be able to attend two practices a week.  We conduct regular review and offer additional training after practices for athletes who are interested.

Competition

Does my child have to compete?
While we think competing is an important part of the sport, the majority of our athletes last year did not compete. 

How is competition organized?
Athletes are grouped by age, weight, and experience. There are no weight classes for the Northern Virginia Wrestling Federation development league. First year wrestlers are grouped with other first years, so even if your child has never wrestled they will have matches against others at their experience level.

When and Where are competitions?
We compete in a local development league run by the Northern Virginia Wrestling Federation. NVWF tournaments are held in high school gyms across the region on Sundays. There are time slots ordered by age group so the youngest wrestlers usually start in the morning and oldest in the afternoon.

How long do they take?
Age groups start at different times throughout the day.  Generally, an athlete will spend a few hours at each tournament beginning with weigh-ins and continuing through several matches.

How many competitions are in a season?
There will be at least 6 tournaments. We will know more once final schedules are published, but like practices, athletes can take part in as many or few competitions as they want. Qualification for post season tournaments requires a minimum number of competitions.

Do parents need to come to competitions or does the team go with coaches?
We do not provide transportation to tournaments.  Also, we will be coaching all age groups throughout the day, so we may arrive several hours before your child’s weigh-in.

Is there food available at the competitions?
Yes, although it may not be healthy or to your child’s preference.  We recommend bringing snacks and lunch if appropriate.

Do they get trophies or medals?
Yes.  Most of the tournaments provide ribbons, with some providing medals or trophies.

Is there an award ceremony or end of the season celebration?
We have a party at the end of each season and recognize achievements.

Is there pressure for kids to “make weight”?
None.  In fact, all of the regular season tournaments that we compete in do not have set weight classes. Wrestlers are grouped in the tournaments by weight based on who is competing. We do not allow sweat clothes in practice or any other sign of weight cutting.

What is the progression of competitions? Regional? County? State?
There is only a small progression. NVWF has regular season tournaments and one end of season tournament that may require qualification. There is a state-wide tournament in early Spring which some of our wrestlers attend.