Opportunity. It’s what many strive for, regardless of it concerning work, sports and life itself.
During the summer months, many student-athletes seek out chances to hone their skills — whether it is sporting clubs, travel teams, special events, camps or other activities.
Earlier this week, Caprock head wrestling coach Chris Allen offered young grapplers an opportunity to enhance their craft or expand their repertoire with the fifth annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes Wrestling Camp. Held on Monday and Tuesday at the Redeemer Christian Church gym in southwest Amarillo, the camp featured notable alumni in Lakeland University’s Niyasia McCampbell and Tarleton State’s Caleb Juarez.
The camp included the instruction of various techniques and scenarios that could take place on the mat, along with bible studies and games.
Twenty campers, who hailed as close as Amarillo and as far away as Iowa and California, took part in the two morning and early afternoon sessions. One of the campers, Caprock’s Christian Casarez, used the camp to prepare for the USA Wrestling Junior and 16U National Championships in Fargo, N.D.
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This allowed the wrestlers to receive plenty of personalized guidance from Allen, Juarez and McCampbell.
According to Allen, the camp filled a need for local kids.
“The FCA state camp doesn’t have wrestling as a sport,” Allen said. “So, we noticed that. We also noticed that kids couldn’t raise a whole bunch of money to go to a college camp. This was a way to bring college kids, as we have so many of them in our area, and allow them to give back. At the same time, we involve the FCA and have it all mesh together.”
Furthermore, the proceeds from the camp go to the Panhandle FCA. The funds allow two kids from the area to attend the state camp, located on the campus of Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, via scholarship.
McCampbell, who built up an impressive high school career before heading to Plymouth, Wisconsin, to wrestle, wanted to relay her knowledge of freestyle wrestling to the next generation.
“I did a camp at Lakeland like this, and it was really fun,” McCampbell said. “To come out here and give these kids a glimpse of what freestyle training would look like, is amazing.”
Since first putting on the singlet in her sophomore year with the Lady Horns, McCampbell has been constantly learning more about the sport. She’s been successful while doing so.
This past season, McCampbell was one of two placers for the Muskies at the Quad Cities Division III Invitational on Feb. 8 in East Moline, Illinois. McCampbell took seventh in the 180 lbs. weight class.
“I didn’t know anything about freestyle when I got to (Lakeland),” said McCampbell. “I knew that I was going to be battling top wrestlers who have traveled all over the world, but freestyle was a surprise. That’s why I wanted to teach (the campers) freestyling right now, so it’s not a huge shock to them.”
To Juarez, he feels like he’s making a difference.
“I didn’t think that I would have this big of an impact,” Juarez said. “I just showed them some moves, until some of the little ones came up to (McCampbell and I) and said, ‘hey, I pushed the pace a little more’ and ‘I did what you told me, and it worked out.’ That makes me feel really good that I’m helping out.”
From his time with the Longhorns and the Texans, Juarez spoke of developing a good headspace and creating strong connections on and off of the mat.
“An open mind gets you to a lot of places,” said Juarez. “It allows you to absorb so much knowledge, from having conversations with teammates and close friends to talking with family. With that, I can share that knowledge and share those perspectives, even if it’s just small tips. Even if it’s about personal things, I can help with that safe space.
The Texan men’s and women’s wrestling programs aren’t among the school’s official lineup of athletics just yet. Last season, they were able to put together a schedule involving trips to Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth and to the Texas Collegiate State Championships in Denton.
The Texas Collegiate Wrestling Foundation is also pushing to forge Tarleton State into Texas’ first NCAA Division I grappling program.
According to Juarez, it’ll be a matter of when, not if, the Texans will be among the top tier of college wrestling programs. He won’t worry about that transition, though, as he trusts his coaches unconditionally.
“We’re well on our way,” Juarez said. “There’s a lot of questions our coaches can answer and questions they can’t answer. We’re kind of left in the dark a little, but I put a lot of trust in them and trust in their process. They’ve given me a lot, given me good wrestling and given me a better mentality. I trust them, and they trust us. It’s a back and forth thing, and we just build off of it.”
Having coached both Juarez and McCampbell, Allen is proud to see them return. Again, Allen stressed opportunity.
“That’s one of the cool things to see,” said Allen. “It’s great to win a dual or a championship. But when you get to see your kids have that opportunity to go do something big and then, at the same time, give back, it’s because they were in the same shoes as the kids who attended this camp.”
This coming season, McCampbell will enter her senior campaign and Juarez will become a sophomore.
“(McCampbell) is a year away from getting her degree,” Allen said. “(Juarez) is just getting going, and he’s making strides left and right.”
Just as Amarillo’s population has been on a steady increase, the wrestling scene has continued to reel in more interested youth. It’s all due to the presence of individual champions and teams hailing from across the Texas Panhandle.
“There’s a high level of wrestling here in the Panhandle,” said Allen. “You’ll see that at the state tournament. I know places like Dallas and Houston believe they’re the end all, but they’re not looking and seeing who all is on the podium. You’ll find a lot of Region I kids.”
The FCA has bolstered the participation numbers and success by bringing in multi-time gold medalist Jordan Burroughs and Tascosa alumnus Brandon Slay, another Olympic gold medalist, for clinics.
What are the next major steps in the Texas wrestling scene? While Tarleton is pursuing official status and there are NAIA and NCAA Division III programs, the Lone Star State is scarce when it comes to major college wrestling programs.
“If we can get into public universities in Texas, then a scholarship goes a long way,” Allen said. “It would also give kids more opportunities.”
Juarez would love to see more people embrace wrestling as a sport.
“I feel like there’s a misunderstanding of wrestling, people don’t give it the chance it deserves,” said Juarez. “A lot of schools — colleges, high schools and middle schools — don’t offer it, and in a lot of places, there’s nothing out there. A lot of kids who want to wrestle miss out on it, and they don’t have that opportunity. It begins with the young ones and building up. Wrestling is a really good sport to grow as a person and as a team.”
According to McCampbell, the next major step for wrestling is the mental side of the sport.
“There needs to be more mental focus,” McCampbell said. “It’s about learning to make goals, learning how to work with those goals, and learning to go back to your safe space when you step off of the mat. You want to ask ‘how do I improve’ after you mess up, or ‘I know there’s something I can work on’ after you win your match.”
“I believe coaches should work with their athletes with the mental part of wrestling,” added McCampbell.
Overall, wrestling is a fellowship and it’s a small world. To Allen, it takes a village to mold a young wrestler into a future state placer or intercollegiate grappler.
“It takes a community or a youth club,” Allen said. “Growing up, you have your school, coaches and practice partners. We’re kind of unique, and I always think of wrestling like a fraternity. Because when you run into somebody else who has wrestled, there’s nothing to be said. You know what they went through. They know what you went through. It’s just instant respect.”