Warrior's Wrestling

When someone asks you what the most popular sports at a High School in Northwestern Ontario might be, most would be quick to jump on the easy ones—hockey, basketball, and volleyball. At Sioux North High School, one of the most successful, popular, and growing sports is actually wrestling.

This is the sport invented as a way to train ancient Greek soldiers for hand-to-hand combat and it is a sport that Sioux North High School Warrior's Wrestling coach, Rob Sakamoto, believes is so much more than just the competition. The coach, who has over 40 years of experience in and around this ancient contest, describes it so eloquently with this quote:

"My father was a 3rd degree black belt, and wrestling is a martial art, but sport is so much more than just sport, it is a vehicle for character development, for life lessons, humility, courage, responsibility, you learn all of that through wrestling, and my father instilled that within me."

Sakamoto has shown those characteristics in spades when it comes to the creation of both the Warriors Wrestling Program and the Summer Warriors Wrestling Club. Starting the Wrestling Team in 2005, he set out with only a few students, perseverance and his overall love and passion for the sport. From this grew an environment where students thrived. While the team in 2005 had only a handful of participants, it now sees 15-20 team members each year.

From this group, the program routinely sends over five of its wrestlers to the Ontario Provincial Wrestling Championships every year. One wrestler has gone on to wrestle at the University level. Bradley Grenier now competes for the Lakehead University Wrestling Team.

The success of the Warriors Wrestling Program began to form a community that Rob believes was truly the backbone of the sport in our community.

"We teach to pay it forward, and the kids really do truly do that, we've had so many former players step up and come back to help me coach, it is just fantastic to see"

With this success and engagement from current and former players alike, the Warriors Wrestling Club was born, a summer wrestling camp that attracts upwards of 30 participants every year, varying in ages. Both former and current high school wrestlers do their part coaching and helping these future Warriors prepare for their graduation to the High School team. At the end of every Warriors Wrestling Camp, there is the highly anticipated "Watermelon Tournament" where all participants have a fun day of competing against their fellow campmates and receive a watermelon at the end of the tournament. Sakamoto stressed that this event is always a success.

If Rob Sakamoto has anything to say about it, Sioux Lookout isn't just a Hockey town anymore!

Contact: Rob Sakamoto, Head Coach via message on the Warriors Wrestling Club Sioux Lookout Facebook page.