If you're interested in getting your child involved in the new Idaho Rattlers Wrestling Club, here's where to go:
Phone: 353-5904
E-mail: Club President Jerrid Verhaege, jverhaege@rattlerswrestling.com
Fees: $70 for the first child. Discounts are given for additional children enrolled.
A group of parents in West Ada are going to the mat for their kids, forming a new club four months ago called Idaho Rattlers Wrestling Club.
The club, which practices at Eagle High School, has a membership of about 90 boys, age 4 to 18, said Rattlers president Jerrid Verhaege.
Organizers of the Rattlers want to keep the new club small enough that the kids get one-on-one attention.
They have no plans to turn away any interested boys or girls who want to wrestle.
"That's a been a conversation that we've had many times over," Verhaege said. "The biggest thing is making sure we have the coaches to support the kids."
The Rattlers have seven coaches. The emphasis is on participation and helping the wrestlers become the best they can be - even if they're not destined to be a champion.
"Our policy is, if a kid wants to come out and wrestle, we want them to come and enjoy it ... and stick with it," said Jason Martin, a coach and club first vice president.
Martin, who lives in Eagle, has one son, Andrew, 9, who is in the club.
He wanted his athletic son to try wrestling because it meant a lot to him as a kid.
"What I enjoyed about it was that I got my own self-confidence through wrestling," Martin said. "If I practiced hard, I did well. I was recognized by my peers for doing well. For me, that was a big deal in junior high and high school."
Martin said his son does well and doesn't get too down on himself when he has a bad match.
"His best friends are the kids on the wrestling team," Martin said.
Some of the teen wrestlers are involved in coaching the younger kids as well.
"It's back to that community-involved spirit. We really like the fact that kids are helping other kids," Coach T.C. Miller said.
The eldest of Verhaege's three sons who are all wrestlers, Ryan Festag, 16, is a coach for the cadets and juniors.
"He's been wrestling since he was 5. He's got some years in the program," Verhaege said.
Wrestling isn't a high-profile sport like football or basketball, but the athletes gain many of the same benefits, Verhaege said.
"I think more than anything, it's the discipline and the physicalness of it. It keeps you in shape, and you learn discipline on so many different levels," he said.
The Rattlers is one of about two dozen clubs in the Western Idaho Wrestling Association. The fee to join the Rattlers is $70 for the first child, which includes a $30 USA Wrestling card.
Discounts are given for additional children enrolled.
Many Rattler members live in Eagle and Meridian, but they also have wrestlers from other Valley cities, including Kuna and Star. The team is now all boys, but girls can participate too.
The wrestlers are divided up by age group for weekday practices at Eagle High.
Practices are one hour two days a week for the kids under 8, and 90 minutes two days a week for kids 8 and older. Tournaments are Fridays and Saturdays.
The club's season is late February through June, Verhaege said.
Coach Miller, who lives in Meridian, has two boys who are in the club - Colson, 7, and Max, 9.
"They love it," said Miller, who decided to get them involved when friends involved with Optimist Football told him about it.
Miller admits he's got other motives for wanting his sons to participate.
"I'm one of those dads who thinks if they're doing a sport, they're not getting in trouble," he said.
Katy Moeller: 377-6413
