Travis Thompson of Wyoming
Travis Thompson, president of the Pinedale Pummeler Wrestling Club, addresses the families during a motivational speech on March 11, 2024, at the Sublette County Library.
The Pinedale Pummeler Wrestling Club competes in USA wrestling and typically consists of around seventy youth wrestlers, ages 6 – 16. “The focus of the club has two primary purposes,” says Travis Thompson of Wyoming. “Most importantly we aim to
foster a relationship between young athlete and parent.” Travis Thompson explains that this sport is very demanding, both physically and mentally. The right parent involvement, regardless of their knowledge in this sport, can be one of the most meaningful aspects of being involved with a program like ours.
Travis Thompson emphasizes “Secondly, we progress wrestlers to compete at the post-secondary level. The Pinedale High School has become a perennial competitor in Wyoming’s 3A Class. Much of the success at the high school level is attributed to the youth program.”
“Pinedale must be doing something right; for a town of 2,500 residents, within the last three years, it has produced six college-level wrestlers,” explains Travis Thompson. “One Pinedale native earned a 2024 NJCAA National Championship and is now moving on to wrestler at a Division 1 college. Others are competing very successfully at various college levels.”
Travis Thompson of Wyoming explains since the remoteness of the town, “We must look inward at our technique, mental, and physical development and take full advantage of opportunities to compete/train when they become available. Our location puts us at one of the most remote spots in the state of Wyoming, so many of our wrestlers must train with other wrestlers who aren’t the best matchups. Because of this, at various times throughout the season, we will travel to our friendly competitor rooms during the weekdays for better matchups, which are over 100 miles away. On those days we leave our driveway at 4 pm and return after 10 pm. The kids know how much-added effort this takes from the parents, so they are certain to make the most of the practices.”
Travis Thompson has four children; three are involved with youth wrestling, and one wrestles for the high school. Travis Thompson shares, “The opportunity to bond with my kids in a sport that is as mentally and physically demanding as wrestling has built our relationships to such a high level. The kids freely share their struggles and emotions with me. I’m so at peace raising my children that I want to extend this opportunity to any family that’s willing to put in the effort. In truth, our program really isn’t centered around the wrestling sport, but rather the opportunity for a parent to engage with their child through the challenges this sport involves.”
Travis Thompson of Wyoming continues “This sport is very humbling, and most often seasons end with some amount of disappointment. However, the successes gained along the way and personal growth that will occur if a person sticks with the sport – are fully worth the humbling that are bound to occur”
Female wrestling is also growing remarkably; it’s currently the nation's fastest-growing sport by a long shot. Travis Thompson’s children consist of Alexis – 16, Clay – 12, Camille – 9, and Justin - 6. He goes on, “I grew up wrestling as a youth, and through high school, the sport gave me the mental edge that led to much more success later in life. Once Clay came of age, he wanted to follow in my footsteps, and sometimes, we’d bring Camille to the practice room just to hang out with the other kids who weren’t wrestling. I vividly remember a few early practices in 2022 when I was assistant coaching and watching Camille watch what was happening during our practices. As we started to drill, she would emulate what was being taught by herself. On the car ride home, I quietly and hesitantly asked if she wanted to join the program. My own thoughts at the time were that only boys were in the program, and she wouldn’t have any girls to practice with. She responded that she really wanted to, but only if it was alright with me. I couldn’t say no to her and she joined the program.”
Travis Thompson described why he felt the motivational speech on March 11th was so important for the club. “The way the 2023 season wrapped up for many of our kids just left a hole in my heart for them. They had all worked hard, but we were missing something. My family decided to do a mindset training program for both Alexis and Clay. The knowledge we gained was unreal and helped our kids immensely. I also sat in on Clay’s sessions, so we kind of got a nice 2-for-1 deal. I felt that this knowledge needed to be shared with our club, so we invited the individual to Pinedale, Wyoming, for a discussion with the club. Our focus is no doubt on the kids, but this event was more targeting the parents. I’m a big believer of improving the kids through the parents, but most of us just don’t have all the right tools. I thought I did, but learned very quickly how much I needed to learn.”
Travis Thompson shares the key topics of the discussion:
Be Your Own Coach
• Review your competitions. Learn what does and doesn’t work, and improve where you need to. You are responsible for you!
Shoot for the Stars and Maybe You’ll Hit the Moon
• The younger you are, the higher your goals need to be. As we move further into life, we begin to rationalize our goals and become realistic. As a youth wrestler we should all want to win Olympic medals.
Affirmations Program the Unconscious Mind
• We are a product of our thoughts. Positive thinking each morning will change our hearts into believing we can become whoever we want to become.
Treat Practice the Same as Competition
• Strong efforts in practice will show up at the competition. Travis Thompson encourages us to find ways to compete at anything and everything in practice; it does make a difference.
Your Body Will do What you Tell it To Do
• Our bodies really are capable of amazing things. Our minds are usually our limits. When you think you’re at your physical limit, you are most likely not. We must outwork our competition.
Importance of the Pre-Match Routine
• The further ahead of our opponents we can get, the better we will compete. Visualizing the match, especially the start, will gain us an edge most of the competitors aren’t even thinking about.
Travis Thompson emphasizes, “We are really looking forward to seeing what happens in our next season, lots of growth taking place with our youth and their parents.”
