Recently third to sixth grade students from Ericsson Elementary School in Moline participated in a wrestling camp for eight straight weeks. The kids had the opportunity of wrestling at Moline High School in a program with the City of Moline Police Department footing the bill for registration fees and even getting them bus rides to and from the wrestling camp, twice a week. Neighborhood officers in the West End of town, Eddie Alaniz and Pat Moody helped coach the kids since they wrestled in school and their children wrestle now as well.
Officer Eddie Alaniz said it’s an excellent program targeting young kids to build their self esteem up and confidence “so that they can be productive citizens”. Alaniz said the kids more than anything wanted to do this. “They’re like any typically kids, they like to have fun,” he said.
“Anytime when a kid has a lot of time on his hands and nothing to do something bad is probably going to happen. To have kids go up their, it’s fun, it’s not that they had an opportunity to do it, they want to do it,” Officer Alaniz said.
A.J. Ponce is the smallest wrestler in terms of height but he seems to have the biggest heart. The third grade student said he likes wrestling with his brother and said that he’d been wrestling since he was five years old. Ponce said that he rarely wins but enjoys the sport anyway because of the techniques he uses. If he wasn’t wrestling, Ponce said that he’d be playing his Game Boy at home.
Officer Pat Moody said one of the goals is to get as many kids involved with positive activities, keeping them away from criminal activities. Along with their wrestling duties, the two officers also coach a basketball team in the neighborhood. “This turned out awesome. I think there’s going to be a lot of wrestlers from this West End and Moline High School is going to reap the benefits,” Officer Moody said.
Sixth grader Christian Mendez said that at the camp, the students took down people, getting points and making tricks. His little brother, Samuel joined and told him to join. “My parents like me going there because they don’t want me in the streets,” Mendez said.
While talking with several of the kids they said it’s fun and exciting. One of them shouted out, “We get to take people down, why wouldn’t you go?”
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