Submitted PhotoValwood wrestling coach Antonio DelVecchio adjusts a wrestler’s head gear.

HAHIRA — TitleTown Wrestling Academy’s Coach Antonio DelVecchio and his staff of coaches are revamping youth wrestling in Valdosta, but they are also guiding and mentoring Valdosta’s youth to be the best that they can be. 

By day, DelVecchio is an Air Force Special Mission Aviator at the 41 Rescue Squadron on Moody Air Force Base. But when the uniform and boots change to shorts and wrestling shoes, DelVecchio and his team change lives. 

DelVecchio has served the Valdosta community for fourteen years coaching all youth sports, but his passion is with the sport of wrestling. DelVecchio opened Titletown in May 2017; since then, DelVecchio has introduced the sport of wrestling to over 200 youth around Valdosta. DelVecchio is hoping to meet or exceed last years program performance as runner up in the state for youth training centers and placing 10 wrestlers on the podium at GISA and USA wrestling state. But the veteran coach aims to teach the youth in the community much more than takedowns and holds.

“They learn respect, leadership, manners, discipline and what it means to be part of a team,” said DelVecchio. “It’s all part of being a coach: teaching kids that nothing’s given in life, you have to earn it. It’s not all about winning or losing either: it’s about being better than you were yesterday. I have kids that haven’t won a match yet, but they’ve improved so much from the first time they stepped on the mat.”

As wrestler himself from Pine Bush High School, NY where he graduated in 2001, DelVecchio knows how tough it is to get in shape and to get onto the mat. He also knows how easy it is to get hooked on the sport. “Once that referee raises your hand after you win a match, you’re hooked. I know the feeling of scoring a goal and the feeling of hitting home the winning run in baseball, but the feeling of winning a wrestling match is beyond any other feeling,” DelVecchio said.

The gratification comes from what sets apart a wrestling athlete: training and perseverance. 

“It’s not like picking up a basketball and just being naturally good at it,” DelVecchio said. “Nobody can just walk in and be a good wrestler. It takes work and dedication.”

Titletown’s wrestlers learn hard work not only on the mats. Titletown ensures grades and social behaviors are kept to the highest standard. Many of Titeltown’s wrestlers come into the wrestling room open their school books and complete their homework before stepping on the mat. 

“It’s important for the kids to understand their schooling comes first. We try to work with the area schools and their parents to ensure all our kids are passing and behaving in class and at home. If they aren’t, they don’t step on the mat without correcting it.” DelVecchio said. 

The team also learns work ethic, social skills, and responsibility by earning money to sustain their sport and helping around our community. They hold a fundraises to raise funds for their sport, help local non-profits collect donations for families in need, and ensure that their community is taken care of. Thanks to the support of Mr. Jack Howell Sr. and the men and women of Morningside Baptist Church, who helped them obtain a space for practice, DelVecchio and his teams have gradually been renovating the ‘wrestling room’ for the past year and a half. They have taken down walls, put up racks, installed mats and installed some weight equipment. 

Once the area is complete, DelVecchio looks forward to adding a mural to the wall with his motto, “No excuses,” a lesson he works hard to instill in all his kids.

“My kids” is how DelVecchio refers to the youth on his wrestling team. During the October through March season, as well as during weight training, conditioning and wrestling camps in the off-season, the team becomes like family.

“My kids become family by the end of practice,” DelVecchio said. “Becoming young adults draws them all together. It’s amazing. They have a responsibility to take care of each other. If one gets down, the others pick them up. I love seeing it.”

DelVecchio coaches alongside six former wrestlers who are volunteer coaches for the team: Army veteran, Calvin Williams, Air Force veteran David Fisher, Ralph Paradiso Sr., DelVecchio’s brother and Air Force veteran, George DelVecchio Jr., Dylan Conely and Jeffery Moulton. 

DelVecchio also relies on the support of his wrestlers’ parents.

“I’ve had incredible support from parents,” DelVecchio said. “They really want to be a part of the program and watch each and every kid succeed. You don’t see that a lot. They want to do all they can to help. I’ve had some parents text me that they’re having withdrawal symptoms from no wrestling for a month.”

DelVecchio recommends wrestling as the ideal way to prepare for any of the other sports. “It helps with hand-eye coordination, balance, and core strength,” he pointed out. “Physically, you’ll be exhausted like you’ve never been.”

With the increase of women’s wrestling throughout the country, DelVecchio has seen an increase of girl wrestlers in the wrestling room. “There is nothing better to watch then a little girl break a boy’s heart by winning a match” he said. The females on his team work just as hard as the males with the same amount of progress and success. He complimented the dedication of the females in the room and how inspiring it is to see them develop into the sport, saying they never miss practices and hold themselves to a standard as high if not higher than the male wrestlers. 

Titletown Wrestling Academy is a non-profit community organization that opens its doors to all of our community’s youth regardless of economic or social statuses. 

If you would like to be a part of Titletown Wrestling Academy, wish to donate, or sponsor to help build a stronger community program, contact Ms. Diana DelVecchio at Titletown Wrestling Academy, 434 Northside Dr. Valdosta, GA 31602 or 229-251-7340/3939.