The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club, Inc (JYWC) received its Non-Profit status in 1996. Since that time, JYWC has promoted amateur youth wrestling in Juneau. Our club has instructed youth from the ages of 5 through 19, on all levels of wrestling, to improve upon the opportunities for safe competition with exposures to various styles of wrestling: Folk style, Freestyle and Greco Roman. It is the intent of JYWC to create opportunities for individual growth in the sport for all amateur wrestlers.
The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club (JYWC) follows a philosophy of teaching the basic techniques of wrestling while keeping a fun environment as the number one priority. As the youth advance in age and experience, the coaching staff introduces more techniques while building their work ethic. They attempt to teach the correlation between hard work and success and firmly believe that competition breeds success.
The sport of wrestling attracts youth that normally would not participate in a sport. It is an individual sport in which strength, cunning and physical stamina can make the athlete stand out. Wrestling is a great sport because anybody can do it. In this sport, you wrestle people that are the same weight as you; size is not an issue as it may be in a sport like football or basketball. The sport of wrestling also helps young people develop important qualities such as self esteem, sportsmanship, work ethic and leadership skills.
Regarding academic development, the sport of wrestling has the annual distinction of being in the top 10% of all male sports in the NCAA. Graduation rates for wrestlers at the collegiate level are 22% higher than that of the general student population. This has everything to do with the sport embodying discipline and time management skills as two of its primary tenets. Many successful people credit their wrestling experience as the reason they are who they are today.
Wrestling is the world’s oldest sport and teaches control, not violence. Wrestling develops agility, balance, reflexes and strength in every major muscle group and can dramatically improve one's ability to perform in other sports.
The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club is striving to improve the sport of wrestling's presence in the Juneau area. Funds received into our 501 (c) (3) organization all go to the ongoing education of youth wrestling for members of our club as well as for the public school programs. Dedicated, experienced coaches donate their time weekly, to teach their knowledge of wrestling to the youth of Juneau. JYWC also supplements both high schools and middle school wrestling budgets with funds to help offset expensive travel costs.
The Juneau Youth Wrestling Club is partially funded by the Citizens of Juneau through sales tax revenues.