Crank Wrestling Coach Adam Laporte recently spoke to the Sylvan Lake news via email regarding their end of season tournament: the Crank Cup.
Q: Can you describe the tournament?
A: The Championship Round of our Crank Cup tournament series was a huge success. All the young wrestlers pushed their limits and showed how skilled they are. All the matches were fast paced, numerous position changes - a lot of determination as they fought through the challenges that only competition can produce.
Q:What do the participants get out of this competition?
A: Most importantly they develop confidence, one that is tested in a contest under physical, technical and mental stress. As they say, “iron sharpens iron”, the feelings of accomplishment after this type of struggle builds true unbreakable belief in oneself. Plus there are cool medals for the top two places in each weight class. And the wrestler who wins the most matches over the course of our four events is the Season Championship Cup.
Q: Can you talk about the kids’ feelings around competing near their homes?
A: They get really excited. They compete all over the province in a season, from Grande Prairie to Lethbridge and everywhere in between. So getting to wrestle in front of their family and friends is a big treat for them.
Q: Drew [Perrson] was on hand for the event. How does being around her success help other athletes?
A: Yes, she slipped away from a three day Canada Games camp at the U of C to help coach the younger wrestlers. All our wrestlers look up to her, they work twice as hard when she’s at practice because they don’t want to let her down - and they want to be as good as her when they are older.
Q: How do you learn and continue to grow following an event like this?
A: We video every event we put on, as well as take lots of notes. At the end of the season we sit down and review every detail - what went well and what didn’t. Our goal is to have each season to be better than the previous one. This year was huge for the event, having clubs from Rocky, Drayton, Cochrane and Condor making the trip to compete shows us that we are on the right track to growing youth wrestling in our community.
Q: When can people come out and watch Crank wrestlers again?
A: Tournament wise, we are done till the fall. Our first Crank Cup event will be in November.
Q: How can the community help out?
A: Showing up and cheering on the young wrestlers is the best way to support the program. When an athlete steps onto the competition platform and gets to look out over a sea of cheering spectators, it’s an amazing feeling. That’s what we are working toward - helping these young athletes to realize competition is a good thing. It’s alright to take on challenges that may seem beyond them, and not to let fear of failure stop them from reaching their goals - both on and off the mat.
Q: Do you have anything else you would like to add?
A: Yes, we have been selected to represent our zone at the 2018 Alberta Winter Games. So we are running wrestling workshops and camps all year long to prepare for the huge event. We are looking for young people between 11 and 15 years old who would like to take part in this awesome event. We can teach anyone to wrestle and be successful in time for the games. We are holding an information session, as well as practice, June 3rd at Iron Fist Gym in Rocky at 10 a.m. It’s absolutely free.
Crank Cup Tournament Results:
Individual results per weight class:
Makayla Veloso (Eckville) - Gold, Monica Hoven (Condor) - Silver
Kaleb Gripich (Eckville) - Gold, Mathias Hoven (Condor) - Silver
Makail Fenton (Eckville) - Gold, Grayson Franczak (Condor) - Silver
Sophia McAlpine (Eckville) - Gold, Paige Veloso(Eckville)- Silver
Flint Wiggans (Eckville) & Dominic Hoven (Condor) - tie for Gold Aiden Mann - Gold, Dawson Ramstad (Rocky Mountain House) - Silver
Kyan Martin(Eckville) - Gold, Brody LeBlanc(Rocky Mountain House) - Silver
Crank Cup Season Champion: Kyan Martin: now a consecutive 3-time champion
Team Title: 1st - Eckville 2nd - Drayton 3rd - Rocky Mountain House 4th - Cochrane 5th - Condor