Young wrestler earns All-America designation

[BigRV 24]

http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x7461506/Young-wrestler-earns-All-America-designation

 

BLUEFIELD — He’s Young, but he’s off to a big start in the wrestling world.

 

Youth wrestler Derrick Young of Tazewell earned all-American honors — for the second year in a row — competing in the 95-pound weight class in the Brute Adidas National Wrestling Tournament on April 9 in Independence, Mo.

 

“It’s awesome,†he said. “It was very tough. The guys out there were strong. They had a lot of skills.â€

 

The 12-year-old Tazewell Elementary School student got his opportunity through the Tazewell Wrestling Club, started in 2001 by Tazewell High School wrestling coach Chuck Burton.

 

“I’m very proud of him for sure,†said Young’s father, Deacon Young, one of Burton’s fellow wrestling coaches. “He’s worked very hard, at his age. ... He earns everything he gets. A lot of kids don’t want to go through the hard work he went through.

 

“He went out there and really wrestled well, for the second year.â€

 

Burton said, “I was very happy for Derrick. He’s worked his butt off. He’s been in the wrestling room since November, with the varsity, practically five days a week.â€

 

“He is probably one of the hardest-working kids we’ve ever had. And that says a lot to be a fifth-grader, to have that tag on you.â€

 

Burton said that after the varsity season ended in February, Young continued in club practices with other youngsters involved in the wrestling club.

 

Young entered a number of regional tournaments, and qualified for the nationals by finishing in the top four in the Virginia Challenge youth wrestling tournament held in January in Hampton, Va.

 

On the first day of the nationals in Independence, Young went 2-2.

 

Burton said the loss in his fourth match of the day “automatically dropped him into the seventh-eighth place match,†which took place on Sunday.

 

“It was kind of the luck of the draw,†Burton said. “The kids who beat them were really good kids.

 

“When you get out to that level, nobody really knows anything about those kids. ... It’s a lot harder (to determine matchups).â€

 

Young finished eighth. The top eight wrestlers in each class take the all-American designation, Burton said. “It’s really just like the NCAA college tournament,†he said.

 

Deacon Young said he was “just amazed†when his son got his first all-American honor last year. “There were a lot of kids from the other side of the country.â€

 

“We wanted him to know he’s able to compete. He’s really talented. At that age, confidence is a really major issue. And he not only competed, but became an all-American.â€

 

Deacon Young said the origins of his son’s interest in wrestling go way back.

 

“I wrestled in high school and I’ve been a varsity coach in 2003,†Deacon Young said. “He’s always been with me. When he was in diapers he learned his first wrestling move.â€

 

Derrick Young, when asked about his first match on the mat, said, “I think I was 2.â€

 

Deacon Young said, “There are times that he’s in practice and he’s helping us coach — even at 12 years old.â€

 

He credited the Tazewell Wrestling Club with financial support to enable him and his son to make the trip to Missouri.

 

“If it wasn’t for them, we probably wouldn’t have been able to go out there,†he said.

 

He said the club is “open all year round. ...

 

“As long as they want to come to practice, we’re always there for them. We want to keep them off the street.â€

 

He said that through wrestling, children can “learn self-confidence, self-control, responsibility. It’s something different for the kids who live around here.

 

“They have football and basketball and baseball, but this is an individual sport.â€

 

Derrick Young said simply, “I enjoy it. It’s my favorite sport to do.â€

 

— Contact Tom Bone at

 

tbone@bdtonline.com

[T-Town Ty 10]

Way to go, Derrick!