Homewood-Flossmoor High School wrestling will host its second-annual invitational tournament July 19. This time it’ll be open to both girls and boys.
The girls program started the invite a year ago. Vikings girls coach Scott Aronson said boys coach Jim Sokoloski asked to include boys this summer. Later, they decided to include the younger kids.
Aronson said he wants to make it a yearly event.
“We plan to do this on the same date for the foreseeable future. I really want this tournament to be a staple of every wrestler in Illinois’s summer schedule,” Aronson said. “I’m hoping to make H-F a hub for wrestling and not just in the South Suburbs. I know coach (Sokoloski) wants the same thing.”
The tournament is open to wrestlers from first grade through high school. All skill levels and experience are welcome. Parents can register online for $40 at trackwrestling.com or for $60 on the day of the event. The event starts at 7 a.m. Saturday in the school’s north fieldhouse.
Aronson said about 175 kids from the area and around the Midwest have already signed up. The hope is to have over 200. The first summer invite had 75 entries.
“I’m looking at ways to try to create some kind of pipeline for the H-F community,” he said. “The last two years have been about (the girls program) really separating ourselves from the boys program and establishing our own program. I feel pretty comfortable with where we’re at now.”
It’ll likely be a round robin tournament with younger wrestlers divided by grade and then by weight class. High school wrestlers will be grouped together and divided by weight.
Aronson hopes it continues to build on the momentum his team had through a six-week summer camp.
“I think it was good for my first summer camp,” he said. “I’m building some confidence here and starting to think a little bit bigger. As a trial run, I was really happy with everything this summer.”
“I’m trying to get all of my campers to come out and give it a try,” Aronson said. “You’re going to go out and maybe get your butt kicked, but why not give it a try? We all get our butts kicked when we start. It’s a great experience.”
