Guidelines for Parents 

Do not impose your ambitions on your child. Remember that wrestling is your child’s activity.
Improvements and progress occur at different rates for each individual. Don’t judge your child’s progress based on the performance of other athletes and don’t push them based on what you think they should be doing.

Be supportive no matter what. There is only one question to ask your child “Did you have fun”?
If tournaments and practices are not fun, your child should not be forced to participate.

Do not criticize the officials. Parents should NEVER engage with the officials in a negative manner.
The coach that is on the mat will address any questions or concerns.

Do not be a bleacher coach. You have taken your child to a professional coach, do not undermine that
coach by trying to coach your child on the side. Your job is to support, love and hug your child no matter what.
The coach is responsible for the technical part of the job. You should not offer advice on technique or mat strategy.
That is not your area. This will only serve to confuse your child and prevent that wrestler/coach bond from forming.

Acknowledge your child’s fears. Do not expect your child to be an Olympian. There are over 142,600 athletes in USA Wrestling.
There are only 21 spots available for the Olympics every four years. Your child’s odds of becoming an Olympian are 1 in 6,800.
Wrestling is much more than the Olympics. Learn to appreciate all that wrestling can contribute to your child’s development.

Get Involved. You, as parents, are a big part of our success!
You play a vital role in our program and we appreciate greatly all that you do.
We want to give you opportunities to get involved in our club, as we will seek parent and family volunteers to:

• Each year we host a tournament at DCHS. We will need everyone’s help to make sure things run smoothly

• Photograph our wrestlers at practice and events for posting on our website/social media

• Represent the club at community events and help spread the word of the benefits of our club to this outside the wrestling community

• Assist in serving as organizers for club events, such as our season banquet,
fundraisers, community outreach events, and other club get-togethers

• Help welcome new parents to the club; anyone that has been around wrestling
knows that it can be extremely overwhelming to new parents. Help them navigate Trackwrestling

• Offer your time, talents, and suggestions 

• Help avoid congestion at tournaments. As any experienced parent of a wrestler can attest, the floor of a gymnasium
can become exceedingly congested throughout the day. Please help us ease this congestion by staying in
the stands unless you are coaching a match or your wrestler is up next. We try to sit together as much as possible
for both the team environment and ease of finding kids, but this can be difficult.

• Be prepared at a tournament. Please try to get there early! Don’t expect to show up 20 minutes before it starts and think you
will have a seat reserved and that coaches will have all your wrestler’s matches written down. Keep track of the wrestler,
pay attention to Mat Assignments on Trackwrestling and ensure that they are at their mat 3 matches prior to their match.

• Notify the coach, the director or a board member of any issues. We want to provide a positive and unified club front.
Sometimes emotions get the best of us, and the hard work and strides that the Highlanders have made towards
being a club with a solid reputation can be spoiled in a minute of poor decisions and impulse.
Please allow for a cooling off period if necessary, and bring the matter up to the appropriate club leader.

Thank you, parents, in advance, for your time, talents and energy. This is your club, and we are fortunate to have you as partners in creating a great experience for our wrestling family. You are an integral part of the success of your athlete and the club!