Welcome to (or welcome back!) to the North Allegheny Tiger Junior Wrestling Association (NATJWA).  The NATJWA is a wrestling program for students in Grades 1st through 6th.  The goal of our program is to teach wrestling fundamentals, improve physical conditioning, and good sportsmanship.  Each wrestler competes against other wrestlers of like age, weight, and skill level.  Our program participates in the North Hills Wrestling League, thereby providing wrestlers the opportunity to compete individually and as a team.

Season Schedule

The month of November is designated to teach wrestling to our first year and advanced wrestlers in separate practice sessions.  Beginning in December and during the first seven weeks of the new year, our schedule is split between practice sessions, dual meets with other league teams, and tournaments.  This information can be found on the Calendar at www.leaguelineup.com/natjrw.  Our season will conclude for some wrestlers with our North Hills League Tournament which usually takes place in mid February.  Wrestlers can extend their season by participating in Junior Olympics (States), the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association tournaments (MAWA), and Freestyle wrestling. We will have wrestling practices available for our NA wrestlers all the way through May.  Our practice schedule information is listed below and also on our website calendar at www.najrw.com.  The dual meet schedule is included in this information and also on the website and league tournament schedule will be emailed to you once the dates have been finalized.  All of this information again will also be available on our website.

Practice Sessions for November 2016

Practice begins on Tuesday, November 1, 2016

First year (Novice) wrestlers

Once again, this year we are going to have a number of practice sessions for first year wrestlers during the month of November.  It is especially important to get the fundamentals of wrestling early on, therefore we will have practices 4 evenings a week in November.  It is important to try and make all 4 practices if possible, or at least a minimum of 3 per week.  After Thanksgiving our schedule will drop to only 3 evenings per week, but we ask that you make it to at least 2 practices each week. Just like anything else, the more you put into practicing, the better results your wrestler will have. All practice sessions for first year wrestlers in November will be at the North Allegheny Intermediate (NAI) Wrestling Room (to the right of the main gym) from 6:15-7:45 PM. 

Second year (Novice) wrestlers

Again this year, we will have our Second year (Novice) wrestles together with our First Year (Novice) practice sessions.  Second year wrestlers are all considered Novice, and will practice at NAI.  Some Second Year wrestlers will be moved up to the Advanced Room at NASH.  This split will be based on coaches’ input and last year’s tournament experience.  You will be notified if your wrestler will be moved to another practice session.

Advanced wrestlers (3^rd year or higher)

Advanced wrestlers will practice at the North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) wrestling room Monday thru Thursday from 6:15-8:15PM.

Practice Rules

1. Be sure to follow the practices and procedures handout included in this folder.
2. Wear appropriate clothing.  No jewelry, chains, watches, or jeans.  We recommend gym shorts, t-shirts, head gear, and wrestling shoes.  Avoid oversized t-shirts and sweatshirts.    The wrestling singlets are for the dual meets or tournaments ONLY!  Do not wear them for practice.

Equipment

NATJWA provides your wrestler with a singlet and a long-sleeved T-shirt with our organization logo on it. These comprise our uniform and are to be worn at our Dual Meets and Tournaments. Wrestling shoes are required to be worn on the mat and should not be worn on the street. Head gear is highly recommended when wrestling live and required at many tournaments. Many wrestlers also wear one or two knee pads. Wrestlers carry their gear in a mesh gym bag or backpack and put them on right before practice.

Personal Hygiene

It is extremely important that wrestlers receive a bath or shower after every practice, dual meet, or tournament.  We recommend that an anti-bacterial soap be used. Cuts should be treated with an anti-bacterial cream. Fingernails must be trimmed.

Coaching

NATJWA is fortunate to have many experienced coaches in our program who continue to educate themselves in the latest wrestling techniques and training.  The head coach for our program is Eric Stedeford.

League Schedules

We compete in the North Hills Wrestling League (www.nhywl.com) with youth teams from the following school districts:  Fox Chapel, Hampton, Shaler, Mars, North Hills, Avonworth and Pine-Richland.   We will have dual meets throughout the season with these teams.  Home dual meets are held at NAI’s main gym, lower gym and/ or practice room.  The date and location of away dual meets depend on the availability of gyms at the other schools.  We have included the dual meet schedule in this packet, but will also notify you via email as these dual meet dates approach.  These dates are also be posted on our web site:  www.leaguelineup.com/natjrw.com. 

Dual Meets and Coordinator(s)

The wrestling team has a dual meet coordinator who sets up two to three matches for your wrestler at the dual meets.  The coordinator makes every attempt to match wrestlers of like age, weight, and skill level.  This requires A LOT of preparation before every home dual meet, as over 90 wrestlers need to be matched up.  IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTIFY THE MATCH COORDINATOR IF YOUR WRESTLER IS OR IS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT TO A DUAL MEET!  You will be given instructions on how to notify the coordinator as we approach the meets during the season. 

In addition, there is set-up work required for all home dual meets which includes rolling and taping mats, setting up and working scoring tables, working concession, and rolling up and returning mats to the practice room.  We assign parents to help at our dual meets.  If your family is assigned to have a parent help at the dual meet, the assigned parent must stay until the end of the meet, usually between 8:30 and 9:00PM. Drive separately if necessary.  If you cannot make it to the meet, it is YOUR responsibility to find a replacement for your duty.

Tournaments

In addition to our dual meets, weekend wrestling tournaments are held by wrestling organizations throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.  Our coaching staff recommends tournaments for all wrestlers.  There are specific tournaments for all levels of wrestlers—first year, novice (for first and second year), and open (advanced wrestlers).  Participation in tournaments is an integral part of our program.  During the course of the season, we will identify tournaments we recommend our wrestlers to attend and where our coaches will be present.

NATJWA’s Tournaments

Tournaments hosted by NATJWA are the fundraisers for our program.  WE NEED ASSISTANCE FROM ALL OF OUR PARENTS TO MAKE THESE TOURNAMENTS A SUCCESS!    All monies generated from our tournaments benefit our wrestling program and our kids.  Please plan on donating your time for these upcoming events:

NA Young Guns Open Tournament---December 21, 2013

NA Young Guns Novice Tournament---December 22, 2013

NA First Year Tournament---January  25, 2013

Other Events          

NATJWA Year-end Banquet-- Recognition and awards are given for all wrestlers. This is an event you don’t want to miss! The banquet is already scheduled for April 5^th at North Park Lodge.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our program or association, please feel free to contact any of our board members.  The enclosed Board Member Roster has our contact information provided.  With your help and active participation, we look forward to another successful wrestling season!

                                                            Thank you,

                                                            The NATJWA Board of Directors and Officers