Waconia Wrestling

PROGRAM DETAILS: Waconia Wrestling Club is excited to again offer Freestyle/Greco training this year to all area wrestlers interested in training with an amazing coaching staff dedicated to helping kids grow their skillsets through the spring/summer months to gain an edge on the competition and have fun while doing it. Our coaching staff has some world class individuals who are committed to helping each of our athletes grow their skillset, improve/grow and learn the fundamentals of these international styles. The staff includes age group World Team members, Freestyle/Greco National Champions, an NCAA champion, several NCAA All-Americans and several home-grown Waconia wrestlers. This program is open to ALL area wrestlers looking to learn the sport, have fun, work hard and work hard towards their own personal goals. NEW this year...our program will be sponsoring and hosting our inaugural Freestyle/Greco "Combo" Open Tournament in Waconia on Sunday, April 12th. So, please mark your calendars! See below for all other details. 

Coaching Staff: Max McEnelly, Nate Matousek, Manny Rivera, Tyler Safratowich, Scott Schiller, Jon May, Derek Sikora, Jeff Katherman

Season Kickoff & "TRY IT" Clinics: Our FS/G staff will be hosting two informational and free clinics/kickoff practices (to try our program and learn what it's all about) as follows:

• 3/5 @ 6:00 - 7:30pm in the WHS Wrestling Room - For all High School age (7-12th grade) wrestlers
• 3/16 @ 6:00 - 7:00pm in the WHS Wrestling Room - For all Youth (1st - 6th grade) wrestlers
• Clinic Goals & Agenda: We will go over highlights of the program/season schedule, a brief run through the rules and differences between folkstyle wrestling and freestyle/greco and then have a brief practice. Duration of the clinic will be approximately 1 hour. No RSVP required and all are welcome (parents, wrestlers, siblings, etc) to come and watch.

Program Costs and Fees: Cost this year will be a $75 registration fee for Waconia Wrestlers (from the 2025-26 youth or high school seasons) & $125 registration fee for any non-Waconia wrestlers. A current USAW Membership ($60) is required for all participants. Cost of registration includes complimentary Waconia Wrestling Club t-shirt. Optional costs include the singlet rental of $50 per red/blue pair for the season. Inquire within if you are interested in buying singlet (available for $80 each).

Registration Deadline: Registration is due by 3/17 (to place our t-shirt order). Late fees of $10/wrestler will apply for registrations after 3/24.

Season Start / End Dates: March 3/24 - 5/7. Practices will occur on 3/24, 3/26, 3/31, 4/2, 4/7, 4/9, 4/14, 4/16, 4/21, 4/23, 4/28, 4/30, 5/7

Practice Times (beginning 3/24): 

• Youth Practices (1st - 6th Grade): Tuesdays & Thursdays from 6:00 - 7:00pm
• MS/HS Practices (7-12th Grade): Tuesdays & Thursdays from 7:00 - 8:15pm

Location: Waconia High School Wrestling Room

KEY DATES & ADDITIONAL TRAINING:

See mnusawrestling.org calendar for all MNUSA Open Freestyle/Greco Tourneys, including details, tourney websites and how to register. Below are the currently available options: 

April 4th Freestyle Open Tournament @ Eastview

April 10th Greco Open Tournament @ Apple Valley

April 11th Freestyle Open Tournament @ Apple Valley 

April 12th Freestyle/Greco COMBO Tournament @ Waconia! 

April 17th Greco Open Tournament @ Forest Lake

April 18th Freestyle Open Tournament @ Forest Lake

April 25th Freestyle/Greco Combo @ Hutchinson

May 2nd - 3rd MNUSA Freestyle & Greco State Tournament @ Rochester Community & Technical College

May 8th, 9th, 10th Northern Plains Freestyle/Greco Regional Tournament @ Wisconsin Dells Woodside Dome

Waconia Wrestling Club’s Co-Ed & Girls Wrestling programs are open to boys and girls in the Waconia area, including all kids attending non-Waconia schools. Our co-ed youth program spans PreK (age 4+) to 6th grade and Girls Only program Kindergarten – 12th grade. Come be a part of our rich tradition across the youth & high school programs, which will leave your athlete forever changed from developing character, strong relationships, leadership, determination, work ethic, “grit”, physical/mental strength, and self-confidence. All programs are experienced based and practice partner groups within each practice will be based on weight class/age as close as possible - to meet your wrestler where they are at in their cycle of development in the sport.

Available Programs:

Co-Ed Youth "Junior Grapplers" (PreK-Kindergarten) Program: This is an introductory program for all PreK – Kindergarten kids (boys/girls) aimed at building athleticism and a passion for the sport while having fun and learning functional wrestling movements through games and physical activity. PreK wrestlers must be at least 4 years old to start. 

Co-Ed Youth "Novice" (Recreational) Program: This program is for 1st - 6th graders (boys/girls) that are either brand new ("Novice" wrestlers) or those with 1-2 years of experience ("Intermediate" wrestlers) and is geared toward working on the basics and fundamental techniques to aid the individual development of each kid. 

Co-Ed Youth "Advanced" (Competitive) Program: For 1st - 6th graders (boys/girls) that must have >2+ years of experience or are seeking competitive level practices and training, this program will provide more detailed technical curriculum and a more challenging pace to practice. An additional post-season training program will be offered to register/signup in mid-January with practices spanning February 2nd early February 2nd – March.

Club Girls Only (K-12th) Program: This is an "all-area" Girls Only weekly training program for female athletes which will practice 1x per week from November 10th - March 23rd from 6:45 - 8:00pm on Monday nights. K-6th grade (youth) girls in this program can also participate in any of our youth co-ed programs (listed above) at no extra cost. Any Waconia (ISD110) eligible 7-12th grade female athletes are encouraged to signup for the MSHSL season at waconiaactivities.org. However, they are free to sign up for this program as well to augment their training, if desired. Any girls not enrolled in ISD110 schools or who live outside ISD110 and do not attend ISD110 schools ARE also welcome to join this program as well. 

Membership: Waconia Wrestling Club is a USA Wrestling Chartered Club, and requires all kids registered to purchase/renew a USAW membership. Fees are required to remain in compliance with our insurance policy and can be renewed/purchased during registration or purchased separately at usawmembership.com. As part of your wrestler's USAW membership benefits, your wrestler can enter any/all MNUSA/USAW sanctioned tournaments and will receive liability/accident/medical injury insurance as well.

Registration Info: Registration for our Winter 2025-26 Season spanned from August 18th - November 9th. Folkstyle season registration closed on November 9th. Contact Club Administrator Jeff Katherman (jdkatherman@gmail.com) for any open spots.

Required Fees (updated 9/29 w/late fees):

• Preseason Program: $50/wrestler + USAW membership fee
• Jr. Grapplers Program: $85/wrestler + USAW membership fee
• Novice/Advanced/Girls Program: $135/wrestler + USAW membership fee
• USA Wrestling Membership Fees (required) - $60/wrestler

Optional Fees: 

• Singlets available for $80 each (available to purchase at registration checkout)
• Extra t-shirts are also available for purchase during early registration, and will be available separately for $25 each
• Competitive/Post-Season Training Fee will be $40/wrestler meant for our more advanced/competitive wrestlers wishing to train post-season regional and state tournaments. Registration will open late January with the season spanning February and March.

Gear/Apparel/Equipment Guidance:

• REQUIRED GEAR: Clean shoes, preferably wrestling shoes (required for practice & all tournaments) are required for all practices. These shoes should be shoes that are NOT worn at all outside of the wrestling room or at wrestling tournaments. T-shirt & Shorts or Sweatpants are also required for all practices. Some tournaments require head gear to compete/wrestle and some do not.
• RECOMMENDED GEAR: Head gear is recommended for all wrestlers, especially during live wrestling time at practices. Waconia Wrestling singlets are recommended for kids planning to compete in tournaments and are required during dual/team events where participating. A singlet order will be made in late September (after early registration) and additional singlets will be available as supplies/inventory lasts. 

Gear / Apparel Locations & Recommendations:

Used Gear Vendors: Hustle & Heart Sports (downtown Waconia), Play-It-Again-Sports Chaska, Waconia Wrestling Swap & Shop

New Gear Vendors: JRwrestling.com, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Scheels.com, Wrestlingmart.com, RUDIS Wrestling.

Checkout our Waconia Wrestling YouTube Channel for some great content and features of our youth and high school program wrestlers.

Waconia Wrestling Platinum Sponsors 2025