The most important document that all club members must have is a USA Wrestling Membership card.
Wrestlers should arrive at practice in appropriate athletic clothing, ready to move and work, with a positive attitude and a water bottle clearly labeled with their name, no sharing of water bottles. Wrestling shoes are required for all mat participation to maintain hygiene and safety standards, and we proudly offer a full collection of new and gently used shoes available for every athlete to use, ensuring access is never a barrier. Athletes should wear shorts without pockets and a t-shirt during practice, and a sweatshirt or jacket is recommended for after practice to help regulate body temperature. Headgear is not required for practice but is recommended to help prevent cauliflower ear. For tournaments, both a uniform and wrestling shoes are required.

Athletes develop self-confidence, discipline, resilience, a strong work ethic, sportsmanship, and the ability to compete in a healthy and respectful way, while also building lifelong skills like accountability, leadership, goal setting, and the ability to push through challenges. Wrestling is one of the toughest sports there is, there is no one else out there on the mat, it is just you, tested mentally, physically, and emotionally, learning to push forward whether you win or you learn. But at Tualatin Youth Wrestling, no athlete stands alone, you have the full Wolfpack behind you every step of the way, supporting, challenging, and growing together as something bigger than yourself.

Wrestling is a contact sport, and with that comes the occasional bumps and bruises, including jammed fingers, sore muscles, and the occasional bloody nose. While more serious injuries can occur, they are not common. Athlete safety is a top priority, and practices are closely monitored to ensure proper technique is used and any illegal or potentially dangerous situations are stopped immediately. We also provide supplemental instruction on proper stretching, nutrition, and hydration to help athletes stay healthy, recover well, and perform at their best. All athletes are required to have a USA Wrestling membership, which provides secondary insurance coverage in the event of an injury during practice or competition.

We offer year-round wrestling opportunities to support athlete development at every stage. The primary Folkstyle (winter/collegiate) season runs from November through February, with middle school athletes often continuing into early to mid-March. Following the winter season, Freestyle and Greco Roman practices run from February through April. Our off-season training, which includes a mix of styles and skill development, takes place from May through August, and pre-season training ramps back up from September through October to prepare athletes for the upcoming competitive season.

Our youth wrestlers do not cut weight. Our focus is on building a healthy, positive environment where athletes can grow, compete, and develop confidence at their natural weight. We emphasize proper nutrition, hydration, and long-term athlete development over short-term performance. Wrestling is about skill, effort, and mindset, not manipulating the scale. As athletes progress, they will learn that high school and collegiate wrestling have much stricter guidelines in place to support safe and responsible weight management.

Common-sense hygiene is the most effective tool in preventing most problems. Our mats are disinfected and cleaned before every practice session starts. To further protect your child from any kind of skin infection, we recommend showering immediately after practice with warm water and soap, scrubbing well.

We are proud to partner with Defense Soap to provide their products at a discounted rate, helping families ensure the health and safety of our wrestlers.

If your child has an open wound, it is best to keep them off the mats until healed. On rare occasions, a rash may occur. If at any time your child breaks out with a skin condition or rash, report it to the coach and consult your doctor.

Consistent hygiene — paired with Defense Soap and our strict mat-cleaning protocols — will help keep our athletes safe, healthy, and on the mat.

Tournament participation is optional, but highly encouraged, as it gives athletes the opportunity to apply what they are learning in practice in a live setting. Metro League tournaments are offered most weekends at no additional cost, and additional USA Wrestling and independent tournaments are also available for those seeking more competition. Our focus is not simply on winning or losing, it is on growth, it is “win or learn.” We encourage athletes to set small, meaningful goals such as completing a takedown, wrestling through multiple rounds, or executing a specific move. This is a developmental youth program, and every match is an opportunity to build confidence, gain experience, and grow alongside the Wolfpack.

We know wrestling is a unique sport, and sometimes you need to see it in action to know if it’s the right fit. That’s why we invite your athlete to come try practice with no pressure and no commitment. We strongly encourage athletes to attend at least two full weeks of practice to get a well-rounded understanding of the sport, the structure, and the team. While our program is barrier-free and free to participate, consistency matters, for both individual growth and the team as a whole, and regular attendance helps our coaches build skills progressively and safely across all athletes. If it’s not the right fit after giving it a fair try, that’s completely okay.

Note: All athletes must have a USA Wrestling membership card prior to stepping on the mat.

USA Wrestling is the organization that regulates all wrestling in the United States, requires that all wrestlers have a USA Wrestling Card Membership before participating in any USA Wrestling sanctioned events, including club practices, camps, clinics, etc. This membership is for the protection of everyone involved and provides secondary insurance to those with the membership. The purchase price covers membership for one year; from September 1 through August 31.