With the folkstyle season coming to a close, we are now moving into that time of year when Greco-Roman for the age groups starts to heat up. State qualifiers will be here soon enough and before you know it, the Fargo Nationals will be front and center. Various Greco and freestyle camps usually run in-sync with all of this activity and there is one about to take place in Wisconsin you should probably be aware of.
2017 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team coach Lucas Steldt of the Combat Wrestling Club in Blue River, Wisconsin is hosting a special wrestling camp beginning next week featuring US National Team head coach Matt Lindland and 2016 Junior World bronze medalist G’Angelo Hancock (98 kg, NYAC, world no. 18). Lindland was a silver medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and accrued a number of other titles, including a gold at the 1994 Pan Am Championships. Hancock, at just 19 years old, has become one of the sport’s brightest young competitors and just recently won the Austrian Open a few weeks ago.
The 2017 excursion next week, dubbed “Lindland-Hancock Greco Camp”, is actually a continuation of something that began last year, which makes it a bit more concentrated than your everyday training situation.”This camp is the second part of a curriculum series,” explains Steldt. “I contacted Matt last year on doing a camp at our facility. He wrote up a curriculum that we handed out to each camper and coach. I would consider last year’s camp the base of Greco-Roman wrestling. This year, we will review and build off of it.”
Even if you don’t happen to live in the area or are not one of Steldt’s students at Combat, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sign up. There are a few spots still available and the camp is open to age-group wrestlers of all skill levels. “The whole goal is to build an educational base for Greco-Roman,” says Steldt. “We need the understanding of Greco and its differences from other styles to be apparent, such as the perception that a double leg is the same as a high dive, when it requires a completely different position and action. Underhooks, two-on-one’s, etc., are widely misunderstood and the differences need to be respected.”
The heavy concentration on technique is not an accident. Although he is a fan of all three wrestling styles practiced in the US, Steldt is most devoted to Greco and is a big proponent of athletes switching over to it on a full-time basis. One of his prized pupils, Alston Nutter (66 kg) left his successful high school folkstyle career behind last fall to attend Northern Michigan early. It’s a direction Steldt is an advocate for, which serves as the catalyst that will drive the level of instruction campers can expect. “We are making this a Greco-only educational camp geared toward the Greco enthusiast. Pushing the support for athletes to focus on Greco,” confirms Steldt.
The Lindland-Hancock camp begins next Friday, March 24th and runs until April 2nd. The cost is $200 per wrestler but FREE for college competitors and takes place at the Combat Training Facility in Blue River, Wisconsin. For more information, contact Lucas Steldt via email or call: (608) 739-2372.
