BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WARFIELD — Martin County Youth Wrestling Coach Andrew Chaffin is building from kindergarten up. His Cardinal team has won three out of the last five state championships and Saturday finished the 2021-2022 season as state runner-up.

“It’s been a good year,” Chaffin said of his team, a member of the Tri-State Wrestling League based in Huntington. “We started with over 50 kids, and a lot of the kids ended their season with the Tri-State Wrestling Tournament championship.”

Martin County won the Tri-State league championship this year for the first time.

“We also got third at middle school state duals with a bunch of youth wrestlers,” said Chaffin. “We got second at the Spring Valley Duals. We have had a really good year, from placement in Bobby Bates, the Bristol Brawl, and Jim Matney Memorial to winning the league championship – not to mention all the middle school placements we have had with these youth kids. The kids have done good.”

Chaffin feels the league is the best opportunity for novice wrestlers who can’t travel great distances due to cost.

“It gets into a lot of money doing this stuff, with hotels, entry fees and other expenses,” he said.

“We’re wrestling these big schools and big elite clubs that you have to pay $300 or $400 a month just to be able to wrestle under their name and have them train your kids,” he added. “These little Martin County kids who live up these hollows, they’re just tough. The Eastern Kentucky kids absolutely tear them up when they go to state.”

Chaffin’s wrestlers are in grades K-6, and five qualified for the middle school state tournament this year.

“They only take the top four in the region,” said Chaffin. “Middle school in Kentucky is fourth-grade to eighth-grade. They can wrestle in the region and, if they place, can move on to the state tournament. We had five in the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grades that qualified for the middle school state tournament.”

Those five wrestled Saturday in the middle school state tournament in Corbin.

“We had several good wins and one kid that placed,” said Chaffin. “The way the rules are set up, once they place in the middle school state tournament, they can’t compete in the youth state tournament. So we lost one kid right there, but I always push my kids up because I feel like it’s a big accomplishment for fifth- and sixth-grade kids to place in a middle school tournament. We want them to do good in their own age group, but if they can step up and do better in an older age group, that’s an accomplishment.”

The youngest wrestlers on the Cardinal team are age 5.

“I had two 5-year-olds that went to state, and two 5-year-olds got second,” said Chaffin. “My little kids are tough.”

With some weighing 30 to 33 pounds, Chaffin had to special-order wrestling singlets to fit them.

“They’re just tiny things out there, climbing all over each other like little spider monkeys,” he said.

The Cardinals had a long 2021-2022 season.

“We had to fire up in November to be ready for the Tri-State league because that’s in West Virginia,” said Chaffin. “The kids have stuck it out — they are tough kids. They’ve been grinding for five months, three or four days a week practicing then wrestling every weekend.”

The coach credits the successful youth program to parents’ dedication.

“The biggest part is parents,” noted Chaffin. “The parents that keep their kids going, don’t let them quit, don’t let them skip practice, their kids excel and rise to the top.”

According to Chaffin, the Cardinals have the best parents around.

“It’s like a family,” he said. “They’ll load the kids up, kids they don’t even know, haul them, feed them, and do just anything they can to help. We have a good wrestling family. They’re like a big community up in the stands, people watching other people’s kids, helping them while kids are wrestling. It turns into a great big family, always together, and everyone helps.”

Chaffin is excited for the future of Martin County wrestling.

“Just wait until I get this group up into high school,” he promised. “We have really good kids working up to the high school program, and wrestling is going to be off the wall.”