Derek St. John, Assistant Coach at Iowa State University, and his crew of grapplers were back in Glasgow Aug. 8 through 10 to run the Glasgow Wrestling Camp. St. John was joined again by Alli Ragan, David Carr, Jarrett Degen, and Amara Halverson. New to the camp this year was Manny Rojas.
"We try to mix it up every year with the different techniques and stuff because you end up seeing a lot of the same faces every year," St. John said. He highlighted the growth of girls' wrestling as one of the successes of the yearly camp, citing the inclusion of Ragan and Halverson on the staff as well as designating a portion of the week for girls' only. "It seems we have more little kids here every year – the little kids and toddlers," he added.
Jory Casterline, head coach for the Glasgow Scotties, lamented that camp numbers were down this year – likely due to economic conditions as several camps in the state reported lower attendance – but stressed that the kids who were there demonstrated their commitment and desire to win. Though the winter sport is still a few months away, Casterline is looking to his senior leaders to guide the team to another state berth. This year marks the first year that eighth-graders will be allowed to compete at the high school level and the coach said, "I'll use them." He added though that their experience may be limited at the high school level as he does not want to see anyone injured. The Bismarck Invitational after the Christmas break will be a chance for the coach to gauge his younger competitors at the JV tournament.
His wrestlers had the chance to work now to improve their skills before diving into fall sports. St. John noted, "This is the time of year these kids get a lot better, doing simple things like coming to these camps and getting some summer work in ... it's a good opportunity to get some more wrestling experience in."
Original source can be found here.
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