USOEC offers training in two types of wrestling.
Read more: Local, Olympics, Wrestling, United States Olympic Training Center, Marquette, USA Wrestling
MARQUETTE -- Superb strength, style and strategy. Wrestling is a sport conquered by few men and even fewer women in the U.S.
But the United States Olympic Training Center at Northern Michigan University is working to increase those numbers. They train not only college wrestlers, but also some standout female high school wrestlers as well.
"All these guys have potential," said Greco-Roman Head Coach, Dennis Hall. "It just matters what their inner drive is and how hard they want to work. The guys we're bringing in here, a lot of the guys are the toughest kids in the country at their age level. So, they got a good shot. It's basically up to them and their desire."
The men there train in Greco-Roman style wrestling. The women train in Freestyle.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, it's all wrestling from the waist up. In women's Freestyle, wrestlers can use their legs.
"You get used to it," said Freestyle wrestler, Amber Miracle. "You go to learn how to fall and sometimes you fall the wrong way, but you really learn how to fall. Tumbling helps, any kind of somersault will help."
While earning a diploma, these athletes are looking for a spot on a future Olympic team, but the program offers much more.
"The confidence that's built within you, the self-esteem that you gain from striving and working hard and going toward something," said Freestyle Head Coach, Shannon Gillespie. "That's what I think education and sport is all about."
The USOEC programs are helping to build wrestling across the country with an eye toward the Olympics in 2012.
"So, the plan is to graduate here, figure out what the training situation's going to be the next couple of years," said Greco-Roman wrestler, Chas Betts. "Maybe here, maybe somewhere else. We haven't quiet decided yet."
For women, the challenge is much greater, but so is the opportunity. Nationally, only about 6,000 girls wrestle in high school now, compared to a half million boys. But with the unique USOEC program in Marquette, women are getting a boost. They're facing international competition, and before too long, they, too, will be taking home Olympic medals.
