Jr Patriots Club FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Sign-ups | Practices | Tournaments | Team | Weigh-Ins | Hygiene | Wrestling Education | MMA | Addresses
Here are some of the most asked questions and answers. We hope you find the answers to your question. If you need further assistance please Contact Us
Sign-ups
Q - Where do I sign my child up to participate on The Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club?
A - Sign-ups for the Jr Patriots Wrestling Club are held during practice hours in the Parkway South High Wrestling Room (Gym B) for the first 2 weeks of the season.
Click here to download the flier
Click here to download the sign-up form
Sign-ups can also be partially done through The Jr Patriots website, by using our Wrestler Signup Form.
*Note: If you use the sign-up form to sign up your child, we will still need from you the three items listed below.
Q - What do I need to bring when we sign up?
A - Please bring these things with you:
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A copy of your child’s birth certificate.
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A uniform deposit check (will be refunded upon uniform return.)
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A separate check for club fees (see cost question below)
Q - Where does the money go that we pay to the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club?
A - All of the money that you pay the team is used on the kids. The price you pay includes a team jacket and t-shirt for wrestler to keep. 2 practices a week held at Parkway South High, AAU memberships for each child (needed to enter tournaments), and at at least 5 tournament entry fees.(most of the time we do 7-10) First year wrestlers all get jackets and t-shirts. Since they most likely still have jackets that fit them, second, third, forth year wrestlers all get new t-shirts, and will get new jackets at the coaches discretion.
Q - Why does the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club club cost so much less than all of the others?
A - We are a non-profit club that only charges what it needs to in order to get the team jackets, t-shirts, entry fees into the tournaments, and to pay for the AAU Wrestling membership that each wrestler needs to participate. Each person involved with the club donates his / her time and effort to the club, and are not paid for their participation.
If you have done any research into St Louis Wrestling Clubs, you'll see that most other clubs cost far more than ours, and then you still have to pay for each of the tournament entrance fees, which will end up costing another $200 or so on top of the club fees.
With the Jr Patriots Wrestling Club the signup fee is far less than other clubs and includes the tournament fees, AAU card, as well as a Jr Patriots Wrestling Club t-shirt and warm-up jacket or team bag!
Q - Can my son / daughter's friend join with him, and will they be able to wrestle each other?
A - Yes! We encourage everyone to have a friend join with them. If they are about the same size then they would be able to wrestle each other in practice. (We pair the kids up by size when we drill.) If they are not the same size, they would most likely wrestle in practice with someone else closer to their height/weight. There are many other chances for them to buddy up together when stretching, running, breaks, and games.
Practices
Q - Where will the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club practices be held?
A - Practices are held in the Parkway South High Wrestling Room (Gym B) every Tuesday and Thursday, early November through early March 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Q - What does my son / daughter need to wear when they come to practice?
A - They should have gym shorts and a t-shirt/sweatshirt, socks, tennis shoes, wrestling shoes.
(head-gear, knee pads, and mouth-guard are optional)
Try not to wear wrestling shoes outside, and also, if at all possible, try not to wear gym shoes on the wrestling mat.
* NOTE
Please do not wear clothing with Zippers, Buttons, or Snaps to practice.
Please do not wear singlets to practice. Singlets are for matches only.
Tournaments
Q - Do you have fliers available for the tournaments the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club will attend?
A - Some tournament fliers are available on our Tournament Schedule Page. We do not have all of the fliers, but we have many of them, and we post new fliers as we receive them.
Q - If we do join the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club are we requited to go to the practices and tournaments?
A - We want all dedicated wrestlers who join the Jr Patriots team to attend every practice and go to every tournament, but we know this is not possible in most cases. Wrestlers who join our club are free to attend as much or as little as they like, so everyone should be able to fit some practices and tournaments into their busy schedules.
The Jr. Patriots wrestle in many tournaments each season, so we do not expect everyone to attend every tournament that we attend as a team. Some kids do go to all of them, and some others do not go to any tournaments at all. We do want everyone to at least try wrestling in a real tournament, but it is not required.
If you did sign up for a tournament, you definitely do need to do your best to show up!
If you can not avoid missing a tournament that you signed up for, you should contact a coach as soon as possible to let us know that you will not be there.
*** The Jr. Patriots pay $15-20 per wrestler to attend these tournaments, so if you do not show up, the club loses that money. Also, when you do not show up, the people you were supposed to wrestle will miss out on their chance to wrestle as well, which makes our whole club look bad.
So, if you sign up, you need to show up. (or contact a coach if you definitely can't make it)
Team
Q - How dangerous is wrestling? My son / daughter wants to join the team, but I'm worried that he / she will get hurt.
A - Wrestling is very fun sport, but it is also a tough sport where bumps and bruises do occur. Wrestlers can briefly be put in uncomfortable positions while wrestling an opponent, but it is not very dangerous at all. In fact most of the injuries suffered by high school wrestlers are not directly related to the sport itself, but to hygiene. These injuries / infections are 100 percent avoidable through good cleaning of the mats. Every now and then someone may get a bloody lip or nose, but the practices and meets are all closely supervised, and very safe.
Lacrosse, Football, Baseball, Softball, Cheerleading, Gymnastics, Soccer, Ice Hockey, Track and Field/Cross Country, Swimming, and Basketball are all more dangerous sports than Wrestling.
Q - What is the difference between 'for profit' and 'non-profit' clubs?
A - Non-Profit clubs are involved in the sport because of a passion for wrestling and teaching the sport to kids who wish to learn. Non-Profit clubs, like the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club usually cost less and are a bit smaller, allowing each child to get the maximum amount of coaching and instruction. The wrestling clubs that are 'for profit' are businesses, and the purpose of having a business is to make money.
Q - Does the Jr. Patriots Youth Wrestling Club have a Booster Club?
A - Yes, we do! It's called the Takedown Booster Club. We have a great bunch of volunteers that run the Takedown Booster Club, raising money for the Parkway South Highschool Wrestling Team as well as the Jr. Patriots.
Q - Can I make a donation to help the club?
A - We do accept, and very much appreciate any donations of time, money, and athletic equipment. Please contact Greg Mattison regarding any donations that you would like to offer to the club.
Weigh-Ins
Q - Will there be weigh-ins and different weight classes?
A - Yes, the wrestlers will be broken up into weight classes for tournaments. In practice, he / she will be paired with someone around the same size. Usually, for the younger wrestlers, the tournaments will not make them weigh in, but the older kids will usually always need to weigh in when they get to the tournament. * NOTE Weights of each wrestler will be taken on Tuesday if the wrestler wants to enter into that weekend's tournament. Weights are usually taken at the end of practice.
Q - I've heard that wrestlers have to loose weight to wrestle in a certain weight class. Will my son / daughter have to loose weight to make a certain weight bracket?
A - NO, there will always be a weight bracket for them, no matter how big or small they may be. We
The Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club actually discourages any type of weight loss for athletes this young.
Q - What should my son / daughter eat before they wrestle?
A - We have put together some Nutrition Tips for you on our Wrestling Tips Page.
Hygiene
Q - Are there any personal hygiene issues that we should be aware of?
A - There are a few personal hygiene issues that should be watched.
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Fingernails - Wrestler's fingernails need to be cut pretty short to keep teammates and opponents from being scratched while practicing or wrestling live matches. Fingernails can not extend past the end of the finger.
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Open Cuts - Open cuts or scrapes or wounds need to be covered before attending practice or tournaments. This is very important, and wrestlers with uncovered open wounds will not be allowed to participate until the wound is properly dressed.
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Ringworm - Ringworm is a temporary, but contagious fungus infection, commonly found in schools, day-care centers, and infant nurseries, that can affect the scalp, body, or the feet. The name comes from the characteristic red ring that can appear on an infected person's skin. To combat ringworm, the wrestling mats are sanitized regularly, and anyone who has ringworm must have the infected area securely covered in order to participate.
If your wrestler has a communicable skin disease you may need to be examined by a Physician and have the Physician fill out this Skin Condition Report.
Wrestling Education
Q - My son is 12 years old, is he considered a Novice or a Midget?
A - We follow the chart below from AAU.
| Bantam | Born in 2002 - 2003 |
| Midget | Born in 2000 - 2001 |
| Novice | Born in 1998 - 1999 |
| Schoolboy | Born in 1996 - 1997 |
| Cadet | Born in 1994 - 1995 (must not be in High School) |
Q - How does the ranking system work?
A - For rankings, we use the chart below.
| Rank 1 | Finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at State |
| Rank 2 | Finished 4th, 5th, or 6th at State |
| Rank 3 | Three years experience or less |
| Rank 4 | First year wrestlers only |
Q - I don't understand the scoring system used in wrestling, can you tell me how a match is scored?
A - Sure, we put together a Scoring & Penalties Page that will explain all of the scoring and penalty points that can / will be awarded during a match.
Q - I don't understand what the hand signals mean that the referee uses, is there a chart that explains them?
A - We do have a page which shows all of the referee hand signals and what they mean.
MMA Moves
Q -Does the Jr Patriots Youth Wrestling Club teach any Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) moves, such as holds, chokes etc?
A - The best MMA Fighters are former wrestlers. That is a fact.
In order to be successful in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts at the highest level, the fighters must have a lot of good wrestling skills, so it is very possible that something we teach could be seen in an MMA match. The Jr Patriots focus on the wrestling application of the moves though and DO NOT teach any MMA specific moves.
Addresses
Q - Where is that place the team is wrestling?
A - Here are the addresses to places where we may wrestle throughout the year.
You can use MapQuest to print out driving directions to any of the following locations.
ABC Field House
10050 Livingston Ave.
St. Ann, Missouri
63074
Eureka High School
829 Highway 109
Eureka, Missouri
63025
Hazelwood West High School
#1 Wildcat Lane
Hazelwood, Missouri
63042
Lafayette High School
17050 Clayton Road
Wildwood, Missouri
63038
Marquette High School
2351 Clarkson Road
Chesterfield, Missouri
63017
Lindbergh High School
4900 S Lindbergh
St. Louis, Missouri
63126-3235
Parkway South High School
801 Hanna Road
Manchester, Missouri
63021
Pattonville High School
2497 Creve Coeur Mill Rd
Maryland Heights, Missouri
63043-1172
Ritenour High School
9100 St. Charles Rock Road
St. Louis, Missouri
63114
St. Charles West High School
3601 Droste Road
St. Charles, Missouri
63301
Troy Buchanan High School
1190 Old Cap-Au-Gris Rd
Troy, MO.
63379
Union High School
1217 West Main
Union, Missouri
63084
Washington High School
600 Blue Jay Drive
Washington, Missouri
63090
Wentzville Holt High School
#1 Campus Drive
Wentzville, Missouri
63385
Whitfield School
175 South Mason Rd.
Creve Coeur, Missouri
63141