Young Guns Wrestling Club haven for Western Pa.'s cluster of talent
About 48 hours after he stood on the field Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium with Pine-Richland's football team, senior Brendan Burnham walked into Franklin Regional's wrestling room for his second mat workout of the evening.
The Rams' run to the state finals caused Burnham to fall behind on his wrestling training. But the Maryland recruit, who went 31-4 as a junior, puts his faith in a Young Guns Wrestling Club practice filled with returning PIAA placewinners to catch him up.
“I don't get as good of live matches at my (high school) practice,” said Burnham, a Young Guns member since seventh grade. “It just feels like you maintain a sweat the whole time you're there.”
Nowhere is Western Pennsylvania's wealth of high school wrestling talent more concentrated than at Young Guns practice sessions, which are held at Franklin Regional, Latrobe and Altoona high schools as well as Pitt-Johnstown at various times throughout the week. The club, which also caters to elementary and junior high grapplers, features a membership as decorated as any in the country. During the offseason, wrestlers from Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland make the drive to practices.
For Jody Strittmatter, a Young Guns co-founder and coach, the club's ascension to the apex of the regional and possibly even national club scene is a bit of a head scratcher.
“I don't know why they come,” said Strittmatter, a 1996 Cambria Heights graduate who went on to win two NCAA Division II titles at Pitt-Johnstown and become a two-time All-American at Iowa. “We've never called anybody. We've never recruited anybody. It's just strictly that we work hard and help develop kids. Young Guns is about being motivated and about scoring points, about wanting to be the best.”
Strittmatter, who runs the club with brothers John and Joey, established Young Guns in 2002 in Michigan with former Iowa teammate Eric Juergens. Club growth and success came quickly, so Strittmatter's enthusiasm for coaching grew. But the Ebensburg native missed his home state.
Young Guns began humbly in Western Pennsylvania around 2006, with less than a dozen wrestlers traveling to Franklin Regional for practices.
Fortunately, a few of the first to join represented the region's best: eventual three-time PIAA champs Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional/Penn State), Nick Roberts (North Star/Pitt) and Jason Nolf (Kittanning/Penn State) and four-time champ Jimmy Gulibon (Derry/Penn State).
Their images now grace many pieces of the Young Guns' promotional materials. But it's increasingly difficult to remain the face of the club.
Regulars at Young Guns practices this winter include Franklin Regional sophomore Spencer Lee, who went undefeated as a freshman and won a title at the FILA Cadet World Championships in Slovakia this summer; Latrobe junior Luke Pletcher, a two-time PIAA champ; Division I-bound Franklin Regional seniors Michael Kemerer (Iowa), Josh Shields (Arizona State), Josh Maruca (Arizona State) and Devin Brown (West Virginia); Waynesburg senior and North Carolina recruit A.C. Headlee; Hempfield senior and Virginia recruit Sam Krivus; Central Catholic senior and Penn State recruit Vincenzo Joseph; Penn-Trafford sophomore and reigning PIAA champ Cameron Coy, a Virginia recruit; and Jefferson-Morgan freshman wunderkind Gavin Teasdale.
“That's what's awesome about it — these guys not only know (the guys they look up to), they're best buddies with some of the best kids in the state, the country, the world,” Strittmatter said. “In other sports, maybe you don't ever get to meet one of the Steelers or something like that. But here, they get to know them, wrestle with them, learn from them.”
Teasdale, ranked by Flowrestling as the No. 3 106-pounder in the country, travels an hour and 15 minutes four or five times a week to attend Young Guns practices.
“You just get so many different feels here,” Teasdale said, echoing the sentiment of many members.
At any given practice, as many as 60 high school wrestlers show up, Strittmatter said. While the club, which is non-exclusive, welcomes stars and first-timers alike, the talent level often is top-tier. And Strittmatter's succinct instruction sets an impressive tempo.
“They're here because they want to be here,” Strittmatter said. “They really truly want to be the best in the state, the country, the world. It's fun to coach that. You don't have to look over your shoulder and see someone screwing around.
“When you walk in the room, you have these state placewinners, state champions, national champions, world champions. That's contagious to other kids. Even if you're young and not near as good yet, you see the other kids in the room, so I think that helps them out a lot, too.”
Bill West is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at wwest@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BWest_Trib.
