NORWICH – Norwich’s junior wrestling program recently completed a 15-tournament season winning dozens of medals and trophies amongst its large group.

Led by Tim Scheer the past two seasons and assisted by Dan Jennings and Kevin Slater, 102 youths signed up for the team, and 55 kids ended up participating regularly. “To have that many kids is spectacular,” Scheer said. “It is one of the toughest sports for any kid, not to mention we are dealing with 5- through 12-year-olds. This year we had a lot of first-year wrestlers as well as many veteran wrestlers that went to many tourneys. Some fared well and some did not, but they did not get discouraged, which is the key to any program’s success.”

Scheer grew up in the Norwich area, and when he was a young boy, he did not have the opportunity to wrestle pee wee- or junior-level tournaments. These days, it is essential to have kids wrestle consistently from a young age. “People always ask me what is wrong with the Norwich wrestling team (the varsity and junior varsity),” Scheer said. “I have said many times that the kids are young and just give it a few years. We have a many young wrestlers with great potential on the pee wee level, and to now have a successful high school program, you need a successful feeder program in this sport, mainly because it takes many years of training and practicing to win a sectional championship, not to mention a state title.”