Even on cold winter evenings, Northtown is not empty. Mini-wrestlers practice in the weight room, developing skills early.

NKC youth wrestling is lead by head coach Adrian Doolin, who was a successful wrestler for Northtown in high school and graduated in 1991. His goal is to build a strong team early on for the high school.

The team is made up of about 25 kids, ages 4-14, who attend practices multiple times a week and participate in tournaments. The team’s motto is “beat somebody.”

They have had two first year wrestlers who have only lost two matches.

The team has a returning state champion from last year, Seth Mattley, and Xavier Doolin, who placed fourth.

Mattley, age 9, said, “Tournaments are my favorite part. It’s the time to show what you know.”

Didar Ameen, age 12, says his favorite part is hitting. “It takes the pain out of your body,” he said.

He also says he does plan to wrestle in high school and possibly even college. “Wrestling helps me lose weight and get stronger.”

Another wrestler, Jacob Kuy, age 11, says that “wrestling helped me get tougher.” He plans to wrestle all four years of high school.

Northtown’s mini-wrestlers are working hard to be successful at what they do. If they stick with it, the practice will pay off in the future.