For the wrestlers at Belmont High School, there are essentially two options when it comes to off-season training with their peers. There’s the MetroWest United Wrestling Club in Natick, which trains middle school, high school and collegiate wrestlers.
And then there’s Will Babcock’s house.
Babcock, a junior captain for the Marauders, had finished his freshman wrestling season in 2022-23 when he came to a realization.
“I never wanted that season to end,” Babcock said. “I was like, ‘I got to get a wrestling mat.’”
Will’s father, Chris, had some wrestling experience when he was younger, and after seeing how much wrestling improved Will’s confidence and focus at school, he was willing to do anything to foster his son’s love for the sport.
The two scoured the internet and found a seller on Craigslist: a family of wrestlers in Woburn who were looking to get rid of the mat in their basement. Chris drove out to pick it up, and before long, it was installed in the garage.
“We can’t use [the garage] for our automobiles any longer, to my wife’s chagrin,” Chris said. “But there’s weights in there and there’s a mat. It’s not a big space, but it works.”
Once it was in place, Will instantly wanted to bring people over to train with. He started by inviting a few teammates a couple of times a week. Soon, they started tapping into other friend groups to invite first-time wrestlers.
It has reached the point where the mat is in use four to five times a week, and it is never a shock for Chris to see five to 10 kids he doesn’t know walking up his driveway. Before their eyes, the Babcocks’ house turned into an unofficial wrestling club. And it’s making a difference.
“A lot of the newer kids are able to get even the tiniest advantage over other teams with shots, stance, stuff like that,” senior captain Ryan Murphy said. “A lot of the new kids got to learn it before the season even started.”
With such an accessible and local outlet for kids to try out the sport, Will and his friends are not only giving their teammates an upper hand but discovering new talent as well, such as Walter Pressey.
Pressey never played organized sports, but he had a martial arts background. He took to wrestling after Will invited him to his garage and later joined the team for his sophomore season. Now on varsity as a junior, Pressey placed second in the 132 lb division at the 2024 Devin Ness Memorial Tournament at Oliver Ames High School on Dec. 14.
“As a coach, it really honestly takes a little bit of a burden off me,” Belmont coach Craig Janjigian said. “Now, I’m not going into the season thinking that I have to be the first one to introduce these kids to the sport. They already kind of get the idea. … So it’s really, honestly a proud moment for me.”
Chris never envisioned a mat from Craigslist would turn his garage into a pillar for his son’s team, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“To see [Will and his friends] grow into these men and women that are so civic-minded and have this discipline and love of a sport that they want to teach everybody else, it’s great,” Chris said. “It’s everything you want as a parent.”
