PHOTOS: RSHS wrestling camp a hit to grow sport’s interest

HAMLET — The thumping of bodies hitting the mat, paired with detailed instruction, filled the gym at the Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy Friday.

The second annual Richmond Senior High School wrestling camp held under head coach Andre’ Ellerbe drew to a close, as interest in the sport continued to grow.

This summer the camp had 13 total campers — six elementary aged participants and seven middle school wrestlers.

“Camp went really good this week,” Ellerbe said. “The main focus was to get the kids interested in wrestling, and I feel like we were able to accomplish that. They had a blast and it was more of a fun experience.

“Our campers were able to see a lot of demonstrations from our Raider wrestlers,” he continued. “I was happy to have so many of our wrestlers here to show our campers how to do things the right way.”

Throughout the week, wrestlers worked on several of the sports fundamentals and beginning moves. Campers also improved their conditioning with a lot of cardio and strength workouts.

Current Richmond wrestlers who helped run Friday’s session were rising seniors Adam Estridge and Jackson Hamilton, along with rising sophomores Konner Gardner and Hayden Smith.

Ellerbe said a lot of emphasis was placed on the sport’s basic moves — shots, arm drags, top and bottom starting drills, crossface (cradles) and near ankles, standups, switches and Peterson (rolls).

“We tried to give everyone two or three moves from each position to give them something to work on whenever we’re done with the camp,” Ellerbe said.

Other Richmond wrestlers who helped throughout the week were rising senior K’Mauri Morgan, and rising junior Jordan Hamilton.

Former Richmond wrestlers Jaxson Martin, Naaman Perakis, and Amir Vaughan also volunteered their time and instruction.

The final part of Friday’s camp was spent on the mat as campers, along with instructors, battled it out with some live wrestling to put their newfound techniques to the test.

When asked what the best part of camp was, Ellerbe pointed to the potential for a strong wrestling program within the county for the foreseeable future.

“Thursday was our first day wrestling live and to see the younger guys and the aggression that they had, that was encouraging,” Ellerbe concluded. “That’s great for our community and our program.

“They were doing their shots correctly, hitting their arm drags and setting up their moves. I was very, very proud of them for being able to do that.”

Below are photos of Friday’s wrestling camp, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.