Hampton coaches open LTD Wrestling Club in Etna

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, July 6, 2018 | 12:21 AM

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Anything in life, you want to leave it in a better place than when you found it.

That's something Hampton wrestling coaches Chris Hart and Brian Zimmerman feel about the sport of wrestling.

That holds true now, especially, with their recently opened LTD Wrestling Club in Etna — a place that was close to becoming a vacant facility with nothing but unused mats and equipment.

“I said if we're going to do it, we're going to do it,” Hart said. “Make a go of it and not part-time it.

“We kicked it around for a little and probably made a decision around the high school (wrestling) state championships.”

The facility, formerly One More Period (OMP) Wrestling Gym on 352 Butler Street run by Quaker Valley coach Mike Heinl, reopened in May with a new logo and new coaches. Yet it has the same core mission of all wrestling clubs: grow the sport.

“He was either shutting it down or selling it to me,” said Hart, who, along with Zimmerman, leased the property and bought all the mats and equipment.

“I've known Mike since my high school days. It's a great club down there, great spot location-wise. We're just trying to grow the sport.”

While Heinl moved his operation to Sewickley to be closer to home, Hart and Zimmerman recognized the danger of losing many would-be parents and wrestlers in the eastern side of the area who might not want to make a longer trip.

“We've had kids from Hampton, Fox Chapel, North Hills, Shaler, Pine-Richland that have come to the club,” said Zimmerman, a Navy veteran and Top Gun graduate who is also a 1989 West Virginia state champion.

Along with regional diversity, the club is not just for teenagers. All ages of boys and girls are welcome, and Hart said they have reached out to the local Boys & Girls Club. While its main focus is folkstyle instruction, the coaches are educated in freestyle and Greco-Roman as well.

While LTD, which stands for “Last Take Down,” didn't come from any sort of wrestling folklore in historical context, Hart, a former dual athlete at Edinboro in football and wrestling, liked the Scotties Red and Black colors for its mats, and Zimmerman's 12-year-old son helped design the logo.

Hampton graduate Kevin Synon, a four-time WPIAL qualifier and former wrestler at Pitt-Johnstown, and former Hampton coach Joe Bursik also signed on as coaches.

“I think what makes us different is we have four really knowledgeable coaches that have been around the sport a long time,” Hart said. “Our goal is not to grow to 70 kids. The goal is to keep the ratio low, with more one-on-one and small-group opportunities.”

Hart emphasized that LTD is not a direct competitor of OMP, or any other wrestling training facility in the area.

“I think we're blessed in the area to have a handful of clubs that are really good. I encourage our guys to bounce around and get instruction from different people. Like anything, someone may teach the same move but use different language, and it connects with you.”

Another thing Hart and Zimmerman are not about is profit.

“If we don't make a dollar, that's fine,” Hart said. “We just want to help grow the sport all around. At the end of the day, we're just here to make better athletes and better people. It's a way for he and I to give back.”

The gym operates Mondays and Thursdays, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Pricing options include $20 per session, $100 a month, or a $150 10-session punch card for parent/student convenience.

“Most clubs do a monthly membership,” Hart said. “We try to keep things very flexible. With the punch card, they can use them whenever they want.”

For more information, email ltdwrestlingclub@gmail.com or visit www.ltdwrestlingclub.com.

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hampton