Legacy Wrestling Club welcome to all
Jason King began his wrestling career in the middle school program at Uniontown Area School District when he was in seventh grade.
King continued with the sport in high school under the direction of Jerry Simon prior to competing collegiately at Waynesburg University.
Winning a state championship, especially in a state with the quality of wrestling Pennsylvania has, is difficult enough for those who begin in the youth leagues.
The challenge of reaching the top of the podium, or even qualifying for the state tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey, is exacerbated for those who start in middle school or later.
There have been exceptions to the rule, and King had a solid career at Uniontown with a career mark of 87-38 and a trip to the WPIAL regional tournament in Class 3A, but when his son, Jacob, displayed an interest in the sport, King wanted to do something to ensure his son was able to develop as a wrestler from a young age.
“My son started to show some interest in wrestling, so we started when he was five,” King said. “I felt like he needed more opportunities, but at five-years-old, it’s hard to drop him off at any random club, and I wanted to give him, and his buddies, some extra mat time, so I started to look for mats and some space to wrestle. We rented out a small room last year for six to eight months, and we weren’t even a club, but a place for the kids to learn.”
As the numbers grew, King was able to secure an area to wrestle at inside the Brownfield Community Center in Dawson, which planted the seeds for the Legacy Wrestling Club.
King wants to provide an area for local wrestlers to improve in a club that is closer to home, and will allow those in other programs that aren’t as large to have somewhere to hone their skills in the summer months.
“This is definitely not about me, but I didn’t come from a background of wrestlers and started wrestling until junior high, so I want these kids to learn about the sport, and be ready to go when they get to junior high and high school,” King said. “Our family is in the Frazier School District, and I am the head coach of Frazier Youth Wrestling, so we are looking to improve the Frazier program, but we have wrestlers from Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Elizabeth Forward, Hempfield, Laurel Highlands and Southmoreland come down and work out with us.”
When an interested party inquires about their son or daughter wrestling, King’s first goal is to obtain a practice partner for that individual. The club holds practices twice a week in the summer, but the schedule can be altered if a workout is needed.
King also emphasizes that wins and losses are not the top priority in youth wrestling.
“I tell them a lot, Penn State doesn’t care what you do right now,” King said. “I say that in front of their parents to reinforce that because it’s not about wins and losses at this point. You don’t want to overload young kids with that type of pressure.
“We want to teach wrestling and emphasize to our kids to be good people. I think that is more important than anything right now. My son placed sixth at Keystone States last year, but I let him know that as nice as that is, we don’t stress on the fact that he wasn’t higher up on the podium, or make him feel like he is going to win all the time.
“We also teach our kids that pretty much every wrestler will experience a tough loss in their career, but it’s about how they can bounce back from that. We have all seen kids that do well at a young age and then experience a burn out and lose interest in the sport.”
The club has also been able to welcome in some top-quality wrestlers to work with the kids, as Norwin senior and Penn State University commit Landon Sidun, and Frazier graduate and incoming Seton Hill University freshman Jonah Erdely, and his brother, Emmett, have lent their expertise to the club.
“I only know so much, and the more talent I can bring in, the better,” King said. “The Erdely brothers have been a great help, plus they are Frazier guys so that’s nice for our kids.
“You can’t get too many high school guys that are better than Landon, and since everybody loves Penn State, I thought it was great to have him in here. He is so quick and just an amazing wrestler, but an even better person.”
The story of how Sidun came in contact with King demonstrated the camaraderie of those in the wrestling community.
“I coach a girl that comes to the club who is a Frazier student and a cousin of Landon,” said King. “She saw what her last name was when she started to come last year, but I never put it together until I was talking to her parents, and they told me that Landon is their nephew. We were able to get in contact with him and ask if he could help out any night he was free, and he was very gracious in doing so.
“That example demonstrates the closeness of the wrestling community. You have one of the best wrestlers in the country, and he takes the little free time he has to help us out. We are always looking to get more top-level wrestlers and coaches in to help out.”
King also has his daughter, who is nine-years-old, working out at the club.
“She started wrestling with us over the summer,” King said. “We are looking for more girls to come and compete. When I was competing, you only saw one or two girls, but now, with the emergence of girls wrestling separate from the boys in high school, it creates more opportunities for the girls, and I believe they are not as hesitant to come out for the sport.”
Uniontown wrestling has been without a program since 2012, but King is grateful for the coaches who helped shape him into the person he is today.
“I was lucky to have Marky Jenkins, Pat Tressler, Jerry Simon and Jeff Spinetti with me during my career as a wrestler and early on as a coach,” King said. “They would take me up to the state tournament. I want to give back to something that prepared me for life.”
The club has a Facebook page and King encourages interested parties to follow the page and schedule.
“We have a pretty set schedule, which can change if there is a tournament or not,” King said. “We ask those with inquiries to send a private message to the club. That will also allow me to try and find a partner for each wrestler. If you just show up, you might not be able to find a compatible practice partner, but we will do the best we can.”