Going to the mat for kids
Huskies wrestlers offer program for youths with Down syndrome
University of Saskatchewan wrestler Donovan Neudorf had finished a recent practice, but his work wasn't done. He still had to face a pair of hard-charging grapplers.
Inside the green-padded room at Education Gym on the U of S campus, two eight-year-old boys with Down syndrome rushed in — wide grins matched only by Neudorf's — and tackled the third-year Huskie to the ground. Joseph (Joe) Reimer and John (Jac) Cashin have been a part of Team Take Down — a Huskies Athletics wrestling squad for children with Down syndrome.
“I always leave with a smile on my face,” says Neudorf, who appreciates the change of pace while he juggles studying biomedical sciences and being a Huskies athlete.
Reimer and Cashin were in hospital together when they were babies. Recently, they have been part of the Down to Wrestle pilot program that consisted of six children and six volunteer Huskies wrestlers. It was created by Joe's father, Johann Reimer, and his friend Dan Olver, the head coach of the Huskies wrestling squad.
Reimer wanted a place for Joe and other children with Down syndrome to be able to exercise consistently for 45 minutes, to run around and roughhouse. That's something they've never done before.
“Joseph has been in all sorts of programming and none of it has worked. Even Special Olympics, it doesn't work for kids of Joseph's ability. It's too structured,” Reimer said.
Olver wanted to do something for those in the community and to use his expertise as the vessel.
“If we stick our kids in this room with one-to-one volunteers, to run around, exercise, burn some calories,
can they learn to wrestle?” Reimer said. “The answer to that is, yes.”
Jac's parents, Meghan Ritchie and Francis Cashin, said that after just two wrestling sessions, Jac gained self-esteem, confidence and formed a new identity. They have a photo of him flexing his muscles.
“He's thinking of himself as a wrestler,” Cashin said.
The program, Cashin said, “has given him a sense of community ... Just because they happen to have a disability, they're wrestlers first, which is absolutely fantastic.”
Cashin's son has trouble with transitions, which makes other activities difficult. Down to Wrestle teaches physical literacy, with no equipment needed.
“No fighting to get shin pads or helmets on. Here, it's just jacket off, shoes off and he's in it,” he said.
The classes offer the children an outlet to exercise almost non-stop for close to an hour, to get physical, to gain athletic awareness and confidence, all with support from Huskie athletes. The youths see how the expert Huskie wrestlers compete against each other.
“They 're visual learners, so having the Huskies demonstrate it and then see them pick it up, that's very optimistic,” Olver said. “We see them improving and participating in the entire session, which is great for their health.”
The pilot portion of the program finished recently. Now, organizers are trying to get support for it to become a permanent program.
“Wrestling ... teaches you a lot about strength, endurance, and flexibility but also humility. It makes you a well-rounded person,” Neudorf added.