Waitsburg Mat Birds welcome 400 wrestlers to March 23 tourney

WAITSBURG-There will be plenty of activity in Waitsburg this weekend when the Waitsburg Mat Birds play hosts for a Washington Little Guy Wrestling Tournament on Sat., March 23. About 400 wrestlers and their families are expected to attend the event.

The Waitsburg Mat Birds were started by Travis and Kari Newman and Laura and Bill Brown in 2006. Kids ages five through 14 are able to compete with other wrestlers around the region.

The 2019 season, under the direction of head coach Jake Winona and assistant coach Jason Taylor is well underway. The club began practicing in February, though the winter weather resulted in several practice cancellations.

Winona said he has been involved in the Mat Birds since his 14-year-old, Will, was 5-years-old. The Winonas live outside of Prescott and homeschool their kids. Because they homeschool, Will was able to wrestle with the Pomeroy wrestling team this year.

"He went to State as a freshman, which was pretty neat. Pomeroy took seven guys to State and at least four or five of them had gone through the Mat Bird program. That's pretty exciting," Winona said.

Several former Mat Birds, including Carlos Norris, Will Winona and Caleb Barron drop in to help the younger kids practice, Winona said. This year, about 20-25 kids are regularly attending practices.

"It's like herding cats sometimes, but it's pretty fun to watch them when they start learning and picking stuff up," Winona said.

A former high school wrestler himself, Winona said he got involved with the Mat Birds as a way to help his rambunctious boys blow off some steam. He also sees great value in the sport.

"The kids work out extremely hard. It's a neat sport in that its an individual sport but also a team sport. When you walk out there, it's all you and there are no excuses. Wrestling really forges a kid's personality on good work ethics and how to take that kind of pressure," Winona said.

"It's a sport that every kid can do and it's a great springboard. Even if the kid is not that good, wrestling helps with the fundamentals of every other sport. Kids learn how to handle themselves and handle their body," he added.

The Mat Birds compete across the region but try to book tournaments within a two-hour radius. They also try and stick to smaller tournaments, though the last tournament they attended at Hanford was 1200 kids.

The season is typically five weeks long and ends with the Jason Crawford Memorial Tournament in Spokane.

"That's what we call our State tournament. There are about 2800 kids competing. They have actually applied with the Guinness Book of World Records to receive credit as the largest one-day tournament. This year they moved it from the Spokane Convention Center to the Spokane Arena. We're pretty excited about a bigger venue with more seating," Winona said.

About 400 kids are registered for the Waitsburg tournament and Winona said that is about as small as a tournament can be to provide competition.

"In Little Guy Wrestling there aren't certified weights like in high school. They try and pair kids within five pounds of each other. If you don't have enough kids, there isn't enough competition," Winona said.

He admitted the thought of hosting a tournament is a bit intimidating, but said the club has good parental support. The meet will serve as a fundraiser for the club, which will make money through competition fees and concession sales. The Mat Birds hosted a local tournament once before, in 2014.

"It's a lot of work but it will help us afford uniforms, equipment, sponsorships for kids who can't afford the fees – the things we need to help the club operate," Winona said.

With such a big undertaking, the Mat Birds are seeking student and adult volunteers to help in the bracketing room, the pairing room, running score cards and helping with basic chores like switching out trash cans. Those interested in helping can contact Gabe Kiefel at 337-6351.