Thank you for joining the Wizards Wrestling Club for the 2023 - 2024 season

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we have for new and returning parents. This will help any families that were unable to attend our recent parent meeting or to help refresh the memories of our veteran families. This email should be kept for the season to reference if you have any questions.

WEBSITE

Crystal Lake Wizards website: www.CLwizards.com  All the information you need to know about the club generally can be found on our website. The website is updated daily during the season and is a very good source of information for our club. 

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT

Step 1- REGISTRATION - Fill out the 2023-2024 Registration form which can be found on our website or by using this link; 2023-2024 Season Reg. Form

Step 2 - PAYMENT - The Registration fee for the 2022-2023 season can be paid by credit card or debit card, on our website or by using this link; 2023-2024 Season PAYMENT link

If your payment has been successfully processed you will receive an email reflecting the dollar amount you paid. Please note the system generates an email every time the form is started or completed regardless of payment, if it does not show you the amount and payment method the payment was not processed correctly. Any questions in regards to payments can be directed to Sabrina Jimenez Sabrina@CLwizards.com

USA Wrestling Cards

Please remember that every family is responsible for purchasing a USA Wrestling card online for $55 per wrestler at www.usawmembership.com, The USA card is required before practices begin at the beginning of November.  If you are new to the Wizards be sure to select CL Wizards as your club in the pull down menu for affiliated club when you purchase the card.  Tony Fontanetta is responsible for the USA cards for the club. If you have any questions, please email him at arfont37@sbcglobal.net

COACHING

Unlike most other clubs we welcome you to enjoy the experience with your wrestler.  In order to coach or even be in the practice room, you will need to have a USA coaches card. This card is needed for insurance reasons and helps to protect the club, the wrestler, and coach from any incidents. If you are interested in becoming a coach, please contact Tony Fontanetta at arfont37@sbcglobal.net  and he can add you to the coaches email list and get you the information you need to become a coach.

Please keep in mind; all coaches are encouraged to frequently help out at practice.  You do not have to be asked to participate.  The more help, the better.  It helps you learn what is being taught and to become familiar with the kids and their style.  We expect that you will not only coach your kid, but others as needed at tournaments and practice.  We do not like to see coaches sitting around at practices or tournaments, when they can be participating.

FACILITY

Our facility is located at 975 Nimco Lane, unit L.  Crystal Lake IL, 60050.

If you go East on Rakow road towards Route 31, Nimco is in between Pingree and Route 31. Turn left on Nimco and follow it down to the last driveway on the right, turn right, then left we are in the corner unit. 

See location on Google Maps.

PARKING

There are limited spots along the building and there are other spots to the West of our space. We ask that you only park in the spots West of the space so we are not in other business' spaces that are also renting in the building.  DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF OUR GARAGE DOOR.

PRACTICE

We have four practice groups. We try to put kids where they will have the most success. Kids may be moved to a different group if we find they are not being challenged in the group they were assigned. More information to come closer to the season.

The practice room is closed to parents with kids in groups 2, 3 and 4. The city has restricted us to 50 people at a time in the facility so we need to make sure we stay in compliance.  We have limited space and it is less disruptive when there is less going on to distract the wrestlers.

Also, we suggest you have the wrestlers get in the habit of taking showers each night after practice, as well as washing their equipment once a week. Please also make sure their nails are kept short.  

What do wrestlers need at practice?

The kids can wear shorts and t-shirt to practice. No hoods or snaps/zippers allowed. They should also bring a water bottle. We have a water cooler onsite if they forget their drink. 


What equipment do I need?

The wrestlers will also need headgear and wrestling shoes for practice. These can be purchased at The World’s Oldest Sport, Amazon, Rudis online, or Dicks. We ask the kids DO NOT wear their outside shoes on the mats to prevent the mats from getting dirty. *There is also a bin of donated shoes & headgear at the club* 

TEAM TOURNAMENTS

We will attend one or two tournaments each weekend starting the first week of December. These tournaments are voluntary.  We encourage you to go, but it is not mandatory. These fill up fast so we suggest if you would like to attend, that you sign up early to get a spot at the one you want.  The tournament fees are not included in the registration fee. Each tournament will require a separate fee. The tournaments are typically $20-$45  per event. The tournaments will last from about 7am until about 2pm and some have switched to spilt session. The preliminary tournament schedule is posted on our website under “tournament list.” Registration is done online via our website or trackwrestling.  Instructions are noted with each tournament on our website. A message is sent out once the upcoming tournaments are open for registration.  We allow our coaches to register first to ensure proper coverage at each tournament.  Following, a message is sent to the entire club when it is open to all.


Jeremy Carbone & Steve Sweirk handle the tournament registration and Sabrina Jimenez will handle payments for the tournaments.

For problems on how to sign up for tournaments please contact:

Jeremy Carbone tournaments2@clwizards.com

Steve Swierk coachsteve@Clwizards.com

Tournament Payments - Sabrina Jimenez sabrina@CLwizards.com

Hotel Stay


Some tournaments are out of town and may require a hotel stay. These hotels will be located in the hotel area on our menu, once arrangements are secured. If you want a room you must book it on your own. Rooms go fast and they also have dates when the block ends so don't wait too long to reserve your room. Julie Swierk Julie@Clwizards.com will be handling the hotels for us this season. 

Hotels for tournaments - More information to come via email 

Stats

We do keep stats of all of our wrestlers that attend the team tournaments.  Before leaving a tournament, please let a coach know how your wrestler did for the day.  If you are interested in "win criteria" you can find an explanation on our website.  On our website, you may view all of our club's individual season stats by selecting "statistics" toward the bottom of the menu bar.  The password is: Wizards24!  Please do not pass that on to anyone outside of our club.

IKWF DIVISIONS and Weight Classes

SINGLETS

Crystal Lake Wizard singlets are REQUIRED to be worn to tournaments when you are representing the Crystal Lake Wizards, please do not wear singlets that are not affiliated to our club. It is ok to wear past designs or prior years singlets so long as they are WIZARD singlets. On as needed basis we will offer rentals of singlets more information to follow. Email Sabrina@CLwizards.com with any questions.

What do I wear to tournaments?

We ask that your wrestler wear our singlet when they are competing for our team, as well as, wear our team colors and gear. We are happy kids go to other training facilities during the off-season to train, but from November until March they are part of the CL Wizards. This also gets them into a good habit for high school because high school coaches will not let you wear other teams’ colors or singlets.

WIZARD WEAR

Wizard Wear and uniforms were done through Takedown Sports this season the dealine to order has passed. Please Contact Steve Swierk with any questions for Wizard Wear at CoachSteve@CLwizards.com 

SPONSORSHIPS / FUNDRAISING

We are a 501c3 organization and depend heavily on our fundraisers and sponsors to help pay the bills and keep the costs down for our wrestlers.  Many employers offer donations upon request from employees. We encourage you to keep the Wizards in mind for any of those opportunities. Donations and or sponsorship opportunities can be made at the Crystal Lake Website under sponsorship opportunities.   Every little bit helps.  If you know anyone who may want to donate, please contact Tony Fontanetta at arfont37@sbcglobal.net 

Tournament Photos


We are always looking for more families to help take photos at tournaments.  It ensures we get photos of Wizards at all tournaments. Pictures are a very important part of the season and are used for the slide show at the Annual Awards banquet. Additionally, if anyone would like to volunteer to help Sabrina pull together our end of the year video for the banquet, we would love some volunteers to help sort pictures pick songs etc...  Contact Sabrina@Clwizards.com if you would like help. Below are links to view and upload pictures, any help is appreciated. 

Download & View Pictures; https://wizardswrestling.smugmug.com/

Upload Pictures for 2023-2024; https://WizardsWrestling.smugmug.com/upload/2zstFX/UploadTournamentPictures

TEAM  Picture Night 

Will be hosted at the club on Monday 12/18/2023 between 6-8 pm

More Information to come...

BOARD MEMBERS & ASSISTANTS

Feel free to reach out to any of the CLW board members and assistants with your questions 

Crystal Lake Wizards Wrestling Club

975 Nimco Dr, Unit L
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Phone: 312-656-7335 or 815-482-4464

 We are looking forward to another fun and successful season together

All 2016-2017 CLW Coaches must complete the Coaches Code of Conduct form online and electronically sign it in order to participate this season.  Any questions about the Code of Conduct should be directed to Tony Fontanetta at headcoach@crystallakewizards.com

Click here to READ the CLW Coaches Code of Conduct for the 2016/2017 Season

Click Here to COMPLETE THE FORM and Electronically Sign the Coaches Code of Conduct

As of the 2017-18 season all USAW registered coaches must complete the Safe Sport class online and pass an test before they will receive their coach's card. Please see the link below for the Safe Sport Policy.

USA Wrestling Safe Sport Policy

See Our Wrestlers in Action

Click Here to Watch the 2015-2016 Season Video Now

THE START OF WRESTLING SEASON IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!

Thank you for joining the Wizards wrestling club for the 2016-2017 season.  

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we have for new and returning parents. This will help any families that were unable to attend our recent parent meeting or to help refresh the memories of our veteran families. This email should be kept for the season to reference if you have any questions. 

WEBSITE

Crystal Lake Wizards website: www.crystallakewizards.com  All the information you need to know about the club generally can be found on our website. The website is updated daily during the season and is a very good source of information for our club. Any questions about the website, please contact Sheri Casimino at web@crystallakewizards.com 

 REGISTRATION 

The registration fee for the 2016-2017 season can be reviewed on our website (click here to view), and credit card payments may be made there as well.  Please remember that every family is responsible for purchasing a USA Wrestling card online for $45 per wrestler at www.usawmembership.com The USA card is required before practices begin at the beginning of November.  If you are new to the Wizards be sure to select CL Wizards as your club in the pull down menu when you purchase the card.  Vicki Marchese is responsible for the registration and the USA card portion of the club. If you have any questions, please email her at secretary@crystallakewizards.com

 MANDATORY FUNDRAISER

Each wrestler is required to participate in the fundraiser raffle tickets.  Raffle tickets are $100/wrestler and were added to the registration fee.  You sell them for $5 each (20 tickets), keep the money and it costs you $0.  Extra raffle ticket books may be sold for a $50 credit towards your tournaments.  E-mails will be sent when dates are set to pick up raffle tickets.  The winners are picked during practices and posted on our website each time.  However, you will also be contacted if you win.  Laurie Bourquin handles the raffle, if you have any questions please email her at treasurer@crystallakewizards.com

 COACHING

Unlike most other clubs we welcome you to enjoy the experience with your wrestler.  In order to coach or even be in the practice room, you will need to have a USA coach’s card. This card is needed for insurance reasons and helps to protect the club, the wrestler, and coach from any incidents. If you are interested in becoming a coach, please contact our coach coordinator Henry Goetz at vicepresident@crystallakewizards.com, and he can add you to the coaches email list and get you the information you need to become a coach.

Please keep in mind; all coaches are encouraged to frequently help out at practice.  You do not have to be asked to participate.  The more help, the better.  It helps you learn what is being taught and to become familiar with the kids and their style.  We expect that you will not only coach your kid, but others as needed at tournaments and practice.  We do not like to see coaches sitting around at practices or tournaments, when they can be participating.

 FACILITY

Our facility is located at 975 Nimco Lane, unit L. If you go East on Rakow road towards Route 31, Nimco is in between Pingree and Route 31. Turn left on Nimco and follow it down to the last driveway on the right, turn right, then left we are in the corner unit.  

See location on Google Maps.

PARKING

There are limited spots along the building and there are other spots to the West of our space. We ask that you only park in the spots West of the space so we are not in other business' spaces that are also renting in the building.  DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF OUR GARAGE DOOR.

 PRACTICE

We have four practice groups. We try to put kids where they will have the most success. Kids may be moved to a different group if we find they are not being challenged in the group they were assigned. All practices can be found in the calendar area of our website or on the bottom of the home page.  Group criteria can be seen by accessing this link.  It can help you understand the differences and what is suggested for tournaments.

The practice room is closed to parents with kids in groups 2, 3 and 4. The city has restricted us to 50 people at a time in the facility so we need to make sure we stay in compliance. We will allow parents with kids in group 1 to stay and watch for the first two weeks of practices. We have limited space and it is less disruptive when there is less going on to distract the wrestlers.

Also, we suggest you have the wrestlers get in the habit of taking showers each night after practice, as well as washing their equipment once a week. Please also make sure their nails are kept short.  “Defense Soap” is a very effective product to use after wrestling to prevent skin irritations.  www.defensesoap.com

What do wrestlers need at practice?

The kids can wear shorts and t-shirt to practice. No hoods or snaps/zippers allowed. They should also bring a water bottle. We have a water/Gatorade machine on site if they forget their drink. 


What equipment do I need?

The wrestlers will also need headgear and wrestling shoes for practice. These can be purchased at The Worlds Oldest Sport, Dick Pond Athletics, Play it Again Sports, or Dicks. We ask the kids DO NOT wear their outside shoes on the mats to prevent the mats from getting dirty. 

TEAM TOURNAMENTS

We will attend one or two tournaments each weekend starting the first week of December. These tournaments are voluntary.  We encourage you to go, but it is not mandatory. These fill up fast so we suggest if you would like to attend, that you sign up early to get a spot at the one you want.    

The tournament fees are not included in the registration fee. Each tournament will require a separate fee. The tournaments are typically $15 - $20 per event. The tournaments will last from about 7am until about 2pm. The preliminary tournament schedule is posted on our website under “tournament list.” Registration is done online.  Instructions are noted with each tournament on our website. A message is sent out once the upcoming months tournaments are open for registration.  We allow our coaches and board members to register first due to their contribution to the club.  Following, a message is sent to the entire club when it is open to all.

When the tournaments are near, we will list the names of all of the wizards attending each tournament so you know who will be there.  This can be found on a password protected area of our website so our competitors don't get that info in advance.  It will be available under "Tournament Rosters" on the menu bar....(the password was sent in email)

Stats

We do keep stats of all of our wrestlers that attend the team tournaments.  Before leaving a tournament, please let a coach know how your wrestler did for the day.  If you are interested in "win criteria" you can find an explanation by clicking this link.  On our website, you may view all of our club's individual season stats by selecting "statistics" toward the bottom of the menu bar.....(the password was sent in email).  

Hotel Stay
Some tournaments are out of town and may require a hotel stay. These hotels will be located in the hotel area on our menu, once arrangements are secured. If you want a room you must book it on your own. Rooms go fast and they also have dates when the block ends so don't wait too long to reserve your room. 

Vicki Marchese will be handling the hotels for us this season. Dale Moore handles the tournament registration and Laurie Bourquin will handle payments for the tournaments. For problems on how to sign up for tournaments please contact Dale Moore tournaments@crystallakewizards.com Hotels for tournaments  - Vicki Marchese secretary@crystallakewizards.com. Tournament accounts and account balance - Laurie Bourquin - treasurer@crystallakewizards.com

 DIVISIONS

There are five wrestling divisions in the IKWF: 

• Tots - 4-5-6-year-olds
• Bantam - 7-8-year-olds
• Midget - 9-10-year-olds
• Novice - 11-12-year-olds
• Senior - 13-14-year-olds

See "Addt'l Tournament Info" on our website for more information like this

 SINGLETS

Barb Henkle handles the singlet distribution for our club. These are ONLY to be worn to tournaments when you are representing the Crystal Lake Wizards. In order to get a singlet you will need to give a $75 deposit check post dated to 4/1/2017.  Singlet handout dates & times will be added to the calendar and there will be an email reminder sent.

This year we are also offering the opportunity to purchase a singlet if desired.  The order form is already posted on our website and will only be available through November 4th.  You can view that information here.  If you have any questions about singlets please contact Barb Henkle – singlets@crystallakewizards.com  

What do I wear to tournaments?

We ask that your wrestler wear our singlet when they are competing for our team, as well as, wear our team colors and gear. We are happy kids go to other training facilities during the off-season to train, but from November until March they are part of the CL Wizards. This also gets them into a good habit for high school because high school coaches will not let you wear other teams colors or singlets. 

WIZARD WEAR

At this point, Laurie Bourquin is handling Wizard Wear this year.  We currently have CLW Fight Shorts available to order for a very very limited time.  Orders are now being taken via our website only until October 23rd.  More information on this can be found on our website by clicking here.  This year we will have more opportunities to purchase Wizard wear.  We are in the process of working with a vendor to allow individual orders of a plethora of Wizard items that can be ordered throughout the season, at any time.  We will notify all club members once it is available.  If you have any questions about Wizard Wear, feel free to contact Laurie Bourquin at treasurer@crystallakewizards.com. 

 SPONSORSHIPS / FUNDRAISING

We are a 501c3 organization and depend heavily on our fundraisers and sponsors to help pay the bills and keep the costs down for our wrestlers.  Many employers offer donations upon request from employees. We encourage you to keep the Wizards in mind for any of those opportunities.  Every little bit helps.  If you know anyone who may want to donate, please contact Ron Davidson at president@crystallakewizards.com or Tom Hammond at sponsorships@crystallakewizards.com

 PICTURES 

Tournament Photos


We are always looking for more families to help take photos at tournaments.  It helps to get photos of Wizards at all tournaments.  If you are interested in helping our club take photos at tournaments, even if it’s occasional, please contact Sheri Casimino at web@crystallakewizards.com  Pictures are a very important part of the season and are used for the slide show at the Annual Awards banquet.  We have a photo site where photos may be uploaded/downloaded directly.  This can be accessed from the "Wizards Photo Albums" link on the menu bar.  You then click on the first link and it takes you to our Phanfare albums.  Additionally, if anyone would like to volunteer to pull together our end of the year video for the banquet, we would love someone to take the lead on it when the time comes.  

Club Photos

Our club photo is scheduled for January 9^th at 7pm.  You may have individual wrestler photos taken then as well as purchase a Club photo.  It is a tradition for us to get every wrestler in the club photo, so we encourage you to still participate in that photo even if you are not interested in having individuals done.  More details to come.

BOARD MEMBERS & ASSISTANTS

Feel free to reach out to any of the respective CLW board members and assistants with your questions.  

16/17 Board Members 

• Ron Davidson – President (Administration & Fundraising) - president@crystallakewizards.com 
• Henry Goetz – Board Member & Vice President (Facilities & Coach Coordinator) - vicepresident@crystallakewizards.com 
• Tony Fontanetta – Board Member & Head Coach - headcoach@crystallakewizards.com
• Laurie Bourquin – Board Member & Treasurer - treasurer@crystallakewizards.com
• Vicky Marchese – Board Member & Secretary - secretary@crystallakewizards.com
• Sheri Casimino – Board Member (Website & Promotion) - web@crystallakewizards.com
• Dale Moore – Board Member (Tournaments) - tournaments@crystallakewizards.com
• Dave Davis – Board Member (Group 2 Coach) - coachdave@crystallakewizards.com
• Tom Hammond – Board Member (Sponsorships & Fundraisers) - sponsorships@crystallakewizards.com
• Barb Henkle – Board Member (Coordinator of singlets & jackets handouts) - singlets@crystallakewizards.com

 Board Assistants

• Chris Casimino – Board Assistant (Statistics) - stats@crystallakewizards.com
• Art Picchi – Board Assistant – boardasst1@crystallakewizards.com
• Wendy Hallin – Board Assistant – boardasst3@crystallakewizards.com

Additionally, Brian Snow will be the Group 1 coach for this season.  He can be reached at brian.snow@live.com.

Thank you!  We are looking forward to another fun and successful season together.

USA Wrestling Card

Please remember that every wrestler and coach are responsible for purchasing a USA Wrestling card or coaches card online for $45 per wrestler or coach plus $5 online registration fee at www.usawmembership.com  The USA card or coaches card is required before practices begin on November 1st, 2016.  Your wrestler will not practice unless they have a current USA wrestling card.  If you are new to the Wizards be sure to select CL Wizards as your club in the pull down menu when you purchase the card.  

Vicki Marchese is responsible for the registration and the USA card portion for the club. If you have any questions, please email secretary@crystallakewizards.com

We have put together descriptions of the practice groups to help understand the differences. 
Feel free to review them here.   

WIN CRITERIA FOR STATS 

Win Criteria

The 2019-2020 IKWF season starts 12/7- This is when wins and losses will be calculated.

ONLY Wizard team scheduled IKWF sanctioned events count towards win club.

Bye/Forfeit criteria

1. A bye only counts as a win in a "seeded" tournament such as Regionals. Only 1 bye counts per tournament and you only get the bye as a win if you win the following match.

- if the wrestler wins his match after the bye this will count as 2 wins.

- if the wrestler loses his match after a bye it only counts as 1 loss.

3. A wrestler can only receive 1 bye/win potential per tournament or bracket.

4. If a wrestler only has 2 matches at a 3-match tournament a bye is not given.

5. If an opponent leaves a completed bracket for any reason such as injury, illness, or ejection this is considered a forfeit and the wrestler receives a win(All tournaments seeded and non-seeded).

6. A forfeit at a dual tournaments where the opposing team has or does not have an opponent at their weight receives a win.

 To all Wizard families:

We have a collection of Wizard photos from over the years.  The link to the Wizard Smug Mug photo album is: https://crystallakewizards.smugmug.com/, please go take a look!!  We have taken many photos from past seasons.  Check out the site to see if you can find any of your wrestler.

Pictures are very important part of the Wizards Family.  If you have any pictures or videos and want to upload them to our photo albums, please submit them to our dropbox.  It's very easy to use and you can upload one or several at a time.  Please indicate the tournament they are from.  https://crystallakewizards.smugmug.com/upload/PwL65k/uploads

With that in mind, we are always looking for more people to take photos at tournaments of as many Wizards they can.  If you have interest in helping out periodically at tournaments you will be attending, that would be so helpful.  Volunteering to do this does not mean that you have to do it at every tournament either.  

2/16 "On Campus: Crystal Lake Central Grad Austin Marsden Dominant at Oklahoma State," Northwest Herald.
3/15 "I'm Just Saying: Crystal Lake South Grad, Nick Fontanetta, Wrestling Coach," Northwest Herald.
3/13 "Wrestling Clubs Have Tourney Success," Northwest Herald.
2/11 "....CLS' Fontanetta Wins Title," Daily Herald.
3/10 "CL Wizards Wrestle Well in Rockford'" Northwest Herald.
12/09 "Leyden Nets Unusual Victory in Own Quad," Daily Herald.

'15-'16 CLW Season Video

Make sure to check out the photos that have been taken throughout the season thus far.  If there are any that you would like to download, it's easy to do!!  That's what they are there for.

Visit our "Wizards Photo Albums" located on the left side menu of our website.  From there, select the link in the first paragraph on the page.  You can then view photo albums by tournaments/date.  If there is a photo you would like to download, hover over the top right corner of the photo and you will see the download option appear.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to take photos at every tournament or possibly not every wrestler.  I do my best to get as many as I can so we can include them in the Annual Awards Banquet season slideshow.  Feel free to send me some of your favorite photos if you would like us to try to use those.  If you have a lot of photos to share, you can easily upload them to our photo album dropbox.  See the instructions on the Wizards Photo Album page of our website.  

Otherwise, if you would like to see some of the tournament slideshows click any of the corresponding links below.  

• 2/7/16 Red Raiders Rumble - Harper College
• 1/31/16 Notre Dame Invitational
• 1/24/16 Cabin Fever - Marengo HS
• 1/17/16 Jon Davis Kids Open - Springfield
• 1/10/16 Bob Jahn Memorial - Bolingbrook HS
• 1/3/16 Wolves Interstate Batteries Tournament - Prairie Ridge HS
• 12/27/15 Wauconda December Classic - Wauconda HS
• 12/20/15 Celtic Elite - Lincoln Way HS
• 12/13/15 Gomez Winter Fiesta - Glenbard South HS
• 12/6/15 Force Challenge - Plainfield East HS

Thanks, 

Sheri Casimino

Read more about what others say about the benefits of wrestling:

• Team USA
• Forbes.com
• iSport
  
• Benefits for Football

CHECK IT OUT.  The Scoop on Tournament Registration - - When, Where, How and Which ones to do...What to Expect, and Other Miscellaneous Info.