The Camps    Two years ago, USA Wrestling ran the Future Champ Camp at the Deaf and Blind High School in Colorado Springs.  This year, the resident women wrestlers at the Olympic Training Center and the Olympic Education Training Center took over the camp.      We used the facilities at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs at the end of June, and at Northern Michigan University in the middle of July.  The Future Champ Camp provided the opportunity for the women training at the highest level in their sport to call out to junior high and high school wrestlers. Girls from all over the country answered that call, and came to camp with high expectations and plenty of enthusiasm.      The women had to make preparations for the camp while they trained for U.S. Senior Nationals and the World Team Trials, and the campers made all of the work 100% worth the effort.      The resident women committed themselves to investing in the future of our sport.  Our goal for the Future Champ Camp was to create the best possible camp for young women wrestlers to get the most out of their time at the Colorado and Michigan camps.  We built technique sessions to give campers a solid base in everything they could expect to see when they reach the national level when they train under our national coach, Terry Steiner.      We also wanted to train total wrestlers, so we also prepared sessions covering mental skills, weight maintenance and nutrition, and strength training.  This camp also gave young women the chance to spent time together in the dorms to get to know their future training partners and competitors, share their experiences, and have some fun as well.      The Colorado camp hosted 34 campers from Connecticut to California.  The Texas and California gals represented their states on the mat, as well as through song.  The Oregon gals drove out with enough enthusiasm to go around.  We had two birthdays during camp, and at least one coach and one camper got her share of cupcake shoved in her face after the candle was removed.      The Colorado campers soaked up all of the information they could.  They couldn't seem to get enough technique, and nothing seemed to wear them all out.  Competition fueled these campers, and they each rose to the occasion each time they were presented a challenge.    The Michigan camp had 14 campers.  Although there were fewer practice partners for campers at the Michigan camp, there were a number of campers with national level wrestling experience.  Some of the campers had already earned USGWA and Junior National medals.  Saskatchewan also sent some of its best high school wrestlers to Michigan.      The Sarah Tolin Memorial Award    Women's wrestling lost a good person and a good wrestler this year.  Sarah Tolin competed at the national senior level for a number of years, and made quite a few friends among the women wrestlers.      Her parents have raised funds in Sarah's name to use in developing women's wrestling in the United States.  They established the Sarah Tolin Memorial Award for the Future Champ Camp.  The women working the camp wanted to select a recipient among the campers who could honor Sarah's memory as a dedicated wrestler and a person of character.      We took in consideration campers who showed a genuine love of wrestling, consistent focus in learning, dedication by spending time after sessions working on their skills and asking questions, intensity in their efforts on the mat, perseverance through physical pain, willingness to lend a hand in whatever needed to be taken care of between sessions, and showing friendship toward other campers.  Choosing just one camper proved to be a tough decision because many of the campers showed promise in one or another aspect we considered.      In the end, one camper excelled in each and every aspect at the Colorado Camp.  She is Dana LaMonica from Washington state.  Dana is the total package.  She didn't just meet the bare minimum in each category.  She stood out in our minds in everything we could think of that a deserving wrestler should have for this award.     The Michigan camp had many young stars to pick from for their award.  Nicole Darrow from Massachusetts showed intensity and fearlessness in her wrestling.  These characteristics earned her the Sarah Tolin Memorial Award in Michigan.      We are confident that the Tolins can be proud of Dana and Nicole as wrestlers who honor the way that Sarah loved wrestling.