Worst Wrestling Rooms in Ohio

S

Sunnydays

New member
I’m curious to hear some opinions on what makes a wrestling room bad. Trying to compare the room we have with other rooms out there. Too small, no ventilation, no running water, no bathrooms…
 
 
Normandy high school in Parma had a brutal one. In the basement , no ventilation, wicked hot. One door in and out. Remember practicing there in my youth after the hs . The door would open steam would literally be on the ceiling and door. Even when we mopped the mats you better shower every inch asap of your body.
 
snugglyhippo said:
Capital University, circa 1995. That being said, it is a poor mechanic who blames his tools.
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All good stuff, maybe captain obvious here, but think this is overall just a fun conversation, kind of like comparing best weight rooms in HS or colleges. Along those lines, I still enjoy the "clank" of old school metal plates vs. new fancy rubberized ones with holes or lips that make them easier to move around etc. Doesn't mean I wouldn't love to go to the best gym in the country where they bring you warm towels and smoothies after your workout lol. Maybe a little of the Joe Rogan theory here as well, one pod cast he talked about trying to not listen to music during training, lifting, practice etc, focusing on the actual grind of what you are there to accomplish, ie be present in the moment. To each his own I say, and the reality of today's world and youth is if you want to compete (recruiting/retention) including the coaching staff, you have to sell sell sell and get the best possible facilities, like it or not, just the reality.
 
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At Brush we had maybe a mat and a half of space. Next to a boiler room. No locker room. If you had to use the bathroom you went into the automotive shop (now an incredible weight room) and used theirs.
 
We had a fantastic wrestling room at Heidelberg called the Tin Gym. Classic vision quest type room, shower pressure was a power wash, heater would crash every winter, when the heater would work its above 90' or cant get above 60'. Baseball lines for a hitting cage, two full HS mats. If there was proper maintenance done on that building, if would still be standing. It was such a POS but it was a beautiful POS to a wrestler.
 
Shaker Heights 1997-2020
located in a gym that used to be a pool, you could hear the hallow echo under the flooring after takedowns, girls basketball practiced in the gym to our right but their lockerroom was out the doors to the left, and the boys basketball team practiced in the gym to the left and their lockerroom was out the doors to the right.. so for the first hour of practice everyday, every basketball player crossed through practice... (I personally dealt with Terry Rozier now of the Miami Heat, he was very respectful, his boys were not), thankfully we had our own lockerroom attached to this multipurpose gym! Lots of great wrestlers developed there in that time!
 
TopBottomNeutralDefer said:
We had a fantastic wrestling room at Heidelberg called the Tin Gym. Classic vision quest type room, shower pressure was a power wash, heater would crash every winter, when the heater would work its above 90' or cant get above 60'. Baseball lines for a hitting cage, two full HS mats. If there was proper maintenance done on that building, if would still be standing. It was such a POS but it was a beautiful POS to a wrestler.
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Yes! When I was in high school I used to practice at the tin gym often. What a shame it no longer exists!
 
CoachYing said:
Be glad to have a room. Terrible post.
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Nelsonville has a huge room.
Seems to be dedicated and well-ventilated.
Big enough to even do sprints in.
Connected directly to the main gym (wrestlers don’t have to walk outside after school [or drive] to go to practice).
We’ll trade with you.
Great post.
 
WishYouWereHere said:
Nelsonville has a huge room.
Seems to be dedicated and well-ventilated.
Big enough to even do sprints in.
Connected directly to the main gym (wrestlers don’t have to walk outside after school [or drive] to go to practice).
We’ll trade with you.
Great post.
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We are very very lucky. I guess I worded it wrong. Most schools have to practice in a balcony or roll mats out as we once had to. I meant if you have a room good or bad that’s awesome and be thankful.
 
When I took over Aiken's program (inner city public school in cincinnati public district) the wrestling team had to roll out mats to the cafeteria and along with that fight for time in there with Cheerleading , dance team and any other after school activity that used it. so it was hard at times to get time/space there every day.

After my 1st full season I approached the AD and principal and told them with our #'s where they were and where the program was trending I HAD to have my own room to keep mats down , have space for weighing in and out ect ect. I did get a room our second year and to this day with the new HC there it is still the wrestling room!
 
For a couple years at chillicothe they took our wrestling room. we had to practice in the visitor locker room. There was room for about a half mat. It had a pole in the middle of that area. We taped pads to the lockers surrounding it. It had to be the worst in history. Try to get kids to buy in to a program and deal with that. I started the youth program, we added the hallway area for extra space.
After a year of fighting with the adm. over this, we got the extra gym. We were not allowed to practice roughly a day a week when we advanced to being able to roll mats out in a gym.
We eventually got a room again and man it was awesome actually having a room.
 
After school ended, we would roll the mats out of the boiler room, through the gym, down the hall and into the cafeteria.
After our practice in the cafeteria, we would roll the mats up, put them on rollers and push them down the hall and through the gym and stack them in the boiler room.
Best part… there was always a basketball game going on and we would be expected to wait until the end of the quarter or halftime to roll through in front of confused, un-athletic, basketball folk.
We would always blow kisses to the visiting cheerleaders.
Every day.
 
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