Toms River Youth Wrestling Club Marks Growth With 50th Straight Win

TOMS RIVER, NJ — This weekend, hundreds of high school wrestlers from across New Jersey will take to the mats at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, hoping to earn a spot on the podium at the state individual wrestling championships.

Watching from the seats surrounding the floor will be hundreds of young wrestlers, kids just starting out in wrestling at youth clubs around the state. Clubs like the Toms River Wrestling Club, which have been teaching youngsters the ins and outs of wrestling technique for years.

The Toms River club, which has been around for 20 years, notched a milestone this season, winning its 50th match in the Jersey Shore Wrestling League, which features teams from Stafford north to Perth Amboy.

The club, which has programs for children from age 5 up to eighth grade, is a nonprofit organization that serves as a feeder program to Toms River's three high school teams.

"We have been around for 20 years and have been under the radar for a while," said Dave Capp, a board member of the club. "Not because of our talent, but because most youth wrestling doesn't get much attention."

The club, which has about 100 wrestlers and has continued to grow, has some of Toms River's legendary wrestling names involved, including UFC fighter Frankie Edgar, who was a state placewinner during his years at Toms River East; Vinny Pedalino, who was Edgar's teammate in the 1990s, and Steve Striffolino, who wrestled at Toms River East in the 2000s.

Capp said the club has seen steady growth, particularly in the last five years, which he in part attributes to the popularity of UFC, the mixed martial arts competition where Edgar has made a name for himself, becoming the lightweight champion at UFC 112.

"Wrestling in the UFC has put the sport on the map," Capp said, and the access to watch the NCAA wrestling championships has elevated the sport to mainstream as well.

"With the technology available now, it brings it to more people. There’s so many more familiar faces," Capp said.

That visibility has changed the sport internally, too, he said.

"It used to be very clique-y," Capp said, but the Toms River club is very welcoming to anyone.

"You have kids who aren’t just wrestlers," he said, adding that a lot of the wrestlers in the club incorporate what they are learning on the mats into other sports.

"My son plays baseball and wrestles," he said. "When I was younger, it was different."

Capp said one of the other elements that is helping the Toms River youth club grow is the adults leading the program are fully focused on the kids.

"This is the first club I’ve been involved with where it’s about helping the kids. There are no motives, no egos, no politics at all," Capp said. "Vinnie and Frankie and Steve wrestled at a very high level but they’re teaching 6-year-olds" and volunteering their time.

Striffolino, Capp said, has two daughters and a young son but no children on the Toms River club's team, but gives his time, following in the footsteps of his father who served as president of the club.

"They’re community guys," he said.

There's also no competition with the local private wrestling clubs that have paid coaches and more intense coaching for wrestlers who want that level of intensity.

"We work in tandem with the private clubs like Elite (Wrestling) and Shore Thing," with kids who compete with those private clubs spending time with the Toms River program in addition to their private clubs.

"It’s fun. If you think you’re better than someone, you have the chance to prove it. It’s just a very raw sport," Capp said.

The Toms River club's team that competes in the Jersey Shore Wrestling League has about 30 kids spanning 10 weight classes, from 52 pounds to 190 pounds and including first graders through eighth graders. They have wrestle-offs and field two teams in the league, giving plenty of kids the opportunity to compete.

The club practices twice a week at Toms River East, and its meets are held at Toms River Intermediate East.

And all the way along, the emphasis is on fun.

There are no demands to cut weight, Capp said. "Our goal is to get these kids bigger. This isn't the days of putting on a rubber suit and running around."

And there is an emphasis on keeping the sport in perspective. While kids love practice, Capp said, parents will sometimes take days off with the younger kids, to keep it from becoming a chore instead of something the kids look forward to doing.

"At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to protect the kids – be successful but be safe," Capp said.

And in the end, they hope the success and passion the wrestlers are developing now will carry them through high school ... and maybe even to the podium in Atlantic City.

Have a comment, a question or a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com