what to wear the “first day/week” of practice
Many soon to be ask, “What should my son/daughter wear to practice?”.
Beginners / First Month of Practice Wrestlers:
If your son/daughter is not fashion conscious and/or are a minimalist - just wear PE Clothes. A play T-shirt, shorts without pockets and barefoot is okay.
If you’re worried what the Joneses think, see 1. above add wrestling shoes, and knee pads. Soft cotton volleyball kneepads are fine.
If you’re fashion conscious, and/or have watched more than one episode of The Kardashian or Jersey Shore and liked it, get your child a fancy rash guard, cool compression shirts and the newest blingy wrestling shoes, kneepads and head gear.
Please note above, that the most important part of Wrestling is ATTITUDE. If your youth shows up to practice
On-time & ready to go with the warm-ups, start jogging
Is visually clean, espcially hands and his/her fingernails are cut short
Your child listens well, is coachable, does not try to talk over the coaches, raises their hand to speak
Gives 100% effort, shows good sportsmanship and doesn’t take short cuts
That speaks a ton about you as a parent and the effort you have put into parenting your son or daughter.
what to wear when your kids decide they like wrestling
After a few weeks and your kids have decided (and you believe them!) here are some options.
New wrestling shoes or just wrestling shoes in general can help increase shot and takedown speed and stability, but are not suggested on Day 1 or Week 1. Wrestling shoes can be bought at WrestlingMart (888) 887-8893 (address: 22 Mauchly, Irvine, CA 92618) or you can buy one of spare/used shoes off us for $15 if we have your size. However, Wrestling Mart has prices from $45 & up. Most wrestling shoes run a bit narrrow so if your son/daughter has wde feet ask the sales rep for the models that are shoes “for wide feet”.
Summary - these are OPTIONAL when you start wrestling, may be needed after the first few weeks of wrestling to improve faster. OCG will start selling wrestling shoes via our E-TAIL site in April of 2019.
Kneepads are a good idea to protect the knee caps and typically can be bought on Amazon for $10-$20 if you look for cotton volleyball kneepads. But not all kids will wear them because they are finicky, trust me they might complain for a few weekss, but after 3 weeks they won’t notice the kneepads anymore. It’s just a phase kids go through at first. Asics, Adidas, Mikasa, Mizuno, Takichara and Wilson make soft cotton volleyball kneepads. Stay away from neoprene kneepads as they do not slide well. Again, stay away from anti-slip kneepads because they can stretch ligaments around the kneecap area. Our team colors are black and red if you wanted to know but many girls like the pink knee pads. Wrestling Mart also carries a wide array of kneepad options. You can try them on and see if they slide on the wrestling mats in the store. Our sales rep’s name is Gary and the manager’s name at WrestlingMart is Nate, just tell them OCG sent you.
Summary - these are OPTIONAL but as you start wrestling, may be needed after the first few months of wrestling.
Headgear, the type of headgear we highly suggest is called LDR headgear for competition. They have endless styles and colors, but if you want us to buy them for you on a team purchase for our youth who are going to tournaments, you’ll save $$. Feel free to peruse their site here if your youth plans on competing in tournaments. If you decide to buy a pair, remember our team colors are red and black. Beginners typically do not need headgear UNLESS THEY WILL COMPETE in Beginner Tournaments.
Status - 100% necessary for competition in tournaments. OCG will start selling this headgear via our E-TAIL site in April of 2019.
OCG Wrestling Tee Shirts & Hoodies, OCG has it’s own sturdy tee shirts you can buy in youth sizesand adult sizes. If you wish to buy these, please do not hesitate to double-click here. You can try on clothes before or after practice. All shirts are made to be soft but sturdy and most of our tees are made with glow-in-the-dark ink. Many kids wear their OCG shirts for years or until they grow out of them!
Status - 100% unnecessary for practices, but will show your love for the club! OCG sells wrestling tees via our website now.
Shorts without pockets - PE shorts without pockets are fine for workouts and training.
Singlets - are only needed for tournaments. Can be bought at Wrestling Mart. They may also be bought on our website and your singlet will be personalized with your child’s ame on the back.
