Coach Dan Gable had a credo when it came to which style of wrestling he preferred to teach and emphasize in training his athletes: "Wrestling is wrestling is wrestling."      Translation?  ALL styles and facets of wrestling are essential in the making of a complete wrestler. With that in mind, the principles of making that complete wrestler should be applied early, in the developmental stages of a young athlete. Many high school and club coaches wait until their athletes have demonstrated some mastery of folkstyle wrestling skills before they venture into the freestyle and Greco-Roman aspects of the sport.      Coaches must consider if they are really serving the needs of their athletes by not introducing them to the international styles at younger ages.  Many clubs across the country have a strict folkstyle mentality.  The club is open for business starting, let's say, in November or December and by February or March, the club asks the kids to turn in their headgears and singlets and sends them off to the soccer and baseball fields.      Coaches and club leaders need to ask themselves if this type of pattern serves their athletes well.  More and more, sport across the country is a competitive business. While being well-rounded by trying a variety of activities for kids is important, it is also vital that clubs and coaches keep wrestling as a viable year-round option for the youth of a community.      Along with the tremendous physical and social benefits of the sport of wrestling, wrestling is also a unique sport that is not exclusionary. In other words, while some sports such as baseball, soccer, and football look for a specific body type and size wrestling is open to the broad array of youth in a community. Additionally, wrestling does not exclude athletes from participation because of a team size.  Many kids remember the feeling of waiting for their chance to play the game when they were involved with team sports.      While baseball looks for nine kids on a team at a time and football has eleven, wrestling rooms can have a large number of kids active and involved, provided there is effective supervision available.  Moreover, the wrestling community constantly refers to the values that are contained within the sport that are not thoroughly taught in other activities.      With all the good that comes from being involved with wrestling, many of our clubs and coaches still choose only to fulfill part of their mission by focusing exclusively on folkstyle (collegiate) wrestling.      Often, coaches and clubs cite a variety of reasons that their clubs is only a winter folkstyle endeavor. The most common and disconcerting complaint is that a club or team's associated school will not allow the kids and coach to have "contact" outside of the normal high school season.      Coaches must be able to effectively answer administrators and even state high school activities associations that threaten action for involving kids in wrestling outside of the high school season.      First, if coaches are only coaching kids that are not of high school age in their spring, summer, or fall club then the school and activities association clearly do not have jurisdiction over these youth.      Next, and most importantly if the coaches and club are operating under the mission of teaching and developing youth in the international styles, then their actions are allowable by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The Amateur Sports Act provides for a National Governing Body for each Olympic sport in the United States. USA Wrestling clubs and coaches operate within the framework of the Amateur Sports Act.      Clubs and coaches that are stymied from involving themselves and their youth in the international styles of freestyle and Greco-Roman are encouraged to take the time to educate their administrators and state activities association about the "Olympic" mission that their actions fulfill. This mission includes developing interest and participation throughout the United States in the Olympic styles of freestyle and Greco-Roman.      In most states, public schools are required to offer the local community space at non-punitive rates for clubs and activities that serve the community. Although controversial, in recent years this has included requiring even public schools to offer space for church related activities. Coaches and clubs should recognize the protection that the Amateur Sports Act and involvement with USA Wrestling affords them.      If a school for example, allows a community organization to freely use classroom space charging nothing for rent, utilities, or janitorial services, then it is fair for the USA Wrestling club to expect similar treatment.      Administration and activities associations that assume because the activity is wrestling must be educated that freestyle and Greco-Roman fall outside of the folkstyle structure and must be afforded the opportunity to use the school facilities to fulfill the development mission of the Amateur Sports Act.  Instead of feeling fed up by the situation, the club leaders and coaches must prepare to proactively teach the administrators that this is a workable program that has a worthwhile result.  Coaches who understand the development structure of the international styles and communicate this clearly to their school's administrators and state activities associations can succeed in having a legal and enjoyable international-styles wrestling club.      USA Wrestling encourages coaches and wrestlers to take part in the many benefits of the international styles as well as the rewarding tournament structure that exceeds just the winter months. Wrestling is the sport that does not discriminate. There is open opportunity for all willing athletes. Unfortunately, many coaches and clubs have to face the impediments of misinformation. However, being prepared with the right information and proactively educating administrators can go a long way.