Going into its fourth year, the Superior International Camp at Northern Michigan has seen annual growth. The first year, in 2014, a total of 70 Greco Roman age-group wrestlers were in attendance. Not bad. There were a few more in 2015. This past June, the camp was at capacity with 115 wrestlers. At capacity — meaning, they had to turn athletes away.
That is expected to be the case again next June, which could perhaps be one reason why Northern Michigan head coach Rob Hermann is getting the word out earlier this time around. The 2017 Superior International Camp will be held June 5th-10th, with the 4th and the 11th being travel days. Junior and Cadet wrestlers are welcomed to register and the complete cost to attend is $350, which includes lodging on campus, meals, and pick-up/drop-off from the Marquette Airport.
There are very few training opportunities like this in the United States for Greco Roman age-group wrestlers. That is probably because this is not an ordinary camp. An international presence is involved each year at the Superior Camp, exposing athletes not only to higher-level developmental coaching but also, a flood of foreign partners. In other words, it is a rare chance for US kids to get a feel for what international training and competition are like without needing a passport.
Practices are typically broken up into two sessions; one in the morning and one in the evening. A different coach presides over each session and live wrestling is offered towards the end of each evening. The 2017 edition of the Superior camp is providing eight matches for all attendees at its conclusion, which will come in quite handy for those who are World Team members interested in sharpening up as the summer approaches.
Interest is obviously expected to be extraordinarily high, so it is a good idea to nail down your spot far in advance to avoid running into registration issues, as evidenced by last year. Athletes (or parents) looking for more information can get all they need by contacting NMU-OTS head coach Rob Hermann after November 9th, as he is currently overseas with a delegation of US wrestlers for the tour in Sweden.
NMU-OTS Head Coach Rob Hermann
Email: rhermann@nmu.edu
Phone: 906-227-2869
