USA Wrestling hosts second annual Pritchard Clinic
(ABC 6 News) – Hundreds of young wrestlers from the region attended a free clinic hosted Saturday and Sunday by Pritchard Auto Company in Mason City.
Coaching at the clinic were some of the best athletes in the sport today: 2024 Paris Silver Medalist Kennedy Blades, World Champion Silver Medalist Adam Coon, NCAA Champion David Carr and top 10-ranked University of Iowa sophomore Lily Luft.
The two-day clinic saw young grapplers from first to twelfth grade learn tips, techniques and tricks from the clinicians.
“Wrestling has been very important to our family and our employees,” said Joe Pritchard, Pritchard Companies President & CEO. “When we partnered with USA Wrestling, we wanted to bring the top coaches and athletes to North Iowa so our young athletes and their families could get exposure to the pinnacle of this sport.”
Blades was excited to hit the mats with students in Iowa; she recently committed to wrestle at U of I, joining Luft.
“We all showed some of our moves,” said Blades. ” I showed my sweep single, because that’s one of my go-to moves. But also different types of throws, I emphasize the basics. Young wrestlers all like to do flashy moves, but anywhere, even in the Olympic Games, the basics are the ones that you are able to score points on.”
This is the second annual clinic sponsored jointly by Pritchard Auto Company with USA Wrestling.