LOCK HAVEN — Central Pennsylvania is a breeding ground for elite wrestling talent at all levels. Penn State has dominated collegiate wrestling since head coach Cael Sanderson took over, and the local high schools compete at the highest levels.
Yet, when looking for an adult wrestling club in the area, Kevin Glossner struggled. The closest one he could find was Mat Return Wrestling in Allentown and driving two and a half hours each week to wrestle was not sustainable.
That is why Glossner decided to start his own club at the Full Body Health and Fitness Center in Lock Haven. Glossner hopes to draw people from areas such as State College and Williamsport at a central location.
“Really the inspiration was, you know, just to stay in shape and have fun with,” Glossner explained. “Wrestling, is a sport that I always enjoyed.”
Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to join. Glossner notes that people in their 50s, 60s and 70s compete in wrestling clubs all over the country. Glossner himself is 61.
The sessions will include folkstyle and freestyle training. Glossner expects his training to be very similar to what he observed in Allentown — 30 minutes of a warmup and calisthenics, 30 minutes of teaching new moves and 30 minutes of open mat.
Glossner wants people of all skill levels to feel welcomed to the club, and he was pleased to see that at Mat Return Wrestling the more experienced athletes were truly helping the beginners.
“Some of the people will take it easy on others as well, and they’ll encourage them and all that kind of stuff,” Glossner said. “They’ll talk them through, you know, maybe you should have done this instead of that.”
Another goal Glossner has is for the club to run as a nonprofit that is owned by the athletes showing up to the sessions.
“We’d like to give money back to the members. I plan on having the members kind of own the club and come up with a name for the club,” Glossner said. “You know, we’re going to vote on that kind of stuff during the informational sessions. If there’s money left over, we’d like to give that money back to youth wrestling programs in the communities that our members are coming from.”
There are three planned information sessions: Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 6:30 at the Nittany Valley Sports Centre; Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 at the Liberty Arena; Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6:30 in the Full Body Health and Fitness Center in Lock Haven.
Glossner hopes the club can get going in December of this year with the goal of just a handful of people to start. By the time December 2025 comes, though, he hopes he will have 20 or more regulars competing on the mat.
For questions or suggestions, email Glossner at glossnerka@gmail.com.
