SPORTS FLASHBACK 2011: Wrestling club makes its mark

Competing in just its third year, the Niverville Wrestling Club has made quite a name for itself, not only provincially, but nationally as well.

Under the guidance of founder and head instructor Adrian Bruce, the wrestling club has grown from six students in its first year to 22 the next year and then mushroomed to 53 students this year.

The younger wrestlers, as young as five, train twice a week, while the older club members train three times a week.

In addition to attracting some elite young athletes from Niverville and beyond,who have come to train with Bruce, the club is producing some of its own elite wrestlers. One of these is 15-year-old Rachel Alder of Oakbank, who won a silver medal at the recent Cadet/Juvenile National Wrestling Championships at Windsor, Ontario.

Alder won silver in the 49kg women’s division in the Canadian National FILA team trials so she has qualified to represent Canada in the 2011 Canada Cup and at the Junior Pan Am Championships in Venezuela this summer.

Bruce, also the head coach of Manitoba’s Western Canada Games wrestling team that will be competing in Kamloops in August, says Alder is an exceptional student of the sport.

“I’m glad Rachel chose wrestling. She has both the physical and mental attributes to succeed in any sport she chose.”

Other members of the Niverville Wrestling Club that will be competing in the Western Canada Summer Games are Nathalie Turenne of Richer, Dakota Froese of Winnipeg and Alisha Kaegis of Balmoral.

As well as being provincial coach, Bruce is the president of the Manitoba Amateur Wrestling Association.