By Bryan Van Kley, W.I.N. Publisher

Anyone who attended this year’s NHSCA High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va., March 26-30, saw an impressive display on the east end of the Virginia Beach Convention Center where the tournament was held. And this tournament attraction didn’t have anything to do with the nation’s top high school wrestlers battling it out on the mat.

The U.S. Navy’s SEAL Accelerator, an approximately 70-foot mobile, high-tech trailer sat in the Convention Center welcoming wrestlers, coaches and fans to get an informational look at what the U.S. Navy SEALS are all about.

And, when you look at the profiles of typical individuals who become Navy SEALS (an acronym for sea, air and land), it should be no surprise to anyone that the U.S. Navy is very interested in the wrestling community. The U.S. Navy and Naval Special Warfare Operation sought out the National High School Coaches Association three years ago and have become the presenting sponsor of the association’s late-March showcase event which featured over 2,500 wrestlers in grades 9-12.

“Statistically, wrestling is No. 1 in terms of the number of SEALS that have wrestling backgrounds. The qualities that wrestlers have are the qualities they’re looking for. They know they have a good work ethic, they’re self motivated, they’re disciplined. (Wrestlers) set goals and know how to achieve them,” said NHSCA founder and CEO Bob Ferraro.

When I interviewed some enlisted SEALS who were at the event and the officers there in charge of recruiting, there was a confident and eager look on their faces as they explained what I already knew about why wrestlers make such good SEAL candidates.

Wrestlers are the toughest athletes on the planet. And SEALS are by far the most elite military fighting group known to man. They go through incredibly challenging training which pushes each person’s limits to unimaginable levels. It’s an absolutely perfect fit and partnership if there ever was one.

I am not able to print the identities of the two enlisted SEALS who I spoke with at the event about their experience and why they chose to go into the SEALS, but both had a very compelling story to tell. The younger of the two was a New Hampshire state champ in 2000, with the other being a California junior college champ who went on to wrestle in the Big Ten for three years. Both of them agreed transitioning from wrestling to the SEALS was a great fit.

“You won’t find another place in the workforce where you’ll find a group of guys more dedicated to a common goal than the SEALS teams,” the New Hampshire champ said. Of the boat crew that he went through in his SEAL basic training, called BUDS, five out of the nine were wrestlers and every one of them made it through. Not bad for a training cycle where less than 30 percent of people make it through.

The SEAL officers at the High School Nationals weren’t able to give me numbers of what wrestlers’ pass rates were compared to athletes in other sports, but they did emphasize it’s higher than any other group. This isn’t surprising when you look at what wrestlers go through to get through a typical season. The physical demands, the mental pressure, stress and weight cutting wrestlers endure prepare them for the challenges of life and is a great preparation time for an advanced military career like the SEALS.

The SEALS are definitely not for everybody. But if you get through the six-month training period called BUDS, you’ve accomplished something incredibly significant mentally and physically. You’ve also prepared yourself to serve our country on the front lines at a point and time in history where the U.S. needs great leaders out front. There are only 2,300 SEALS total, with the Navy working to try graduate 240 to 250 per year in six classes to maintain that number.

“The daily rigors are amazingly tough. It’s like a wrestling practice. It sucks. You look over at your buddy and you crack a joke because you’re miserable together,” the one SEAL said.

BUDS is comprised of different phases that develop you mentally and physically up to points past where you thought you could go, similar to wrestling. The most grueling part of BUDS is the five-day period called “Hell Week”, in which the highest percentage of SEAL trainees/students drop out.

Potential SEAL students are pushed to the limit physically and mentally every day, and are only allowed four hours of sleep total during the five-day period. And, you’re not allowed more than one hour in succession to prepare people for an extreme military situation. If someone breaks, there’s a bell they can go and ring to let instructors know they’re done and are quitting the program.

“Hell week teaches you that you can push your body past those steps that you didn’t think you could and still function. It’s a long, miserable time, but it lets you know what you’re capable of,” said SEAL SPECWAR/SPECOPS Recruiting Program Manager, SEAL Master Chief Vic Licause, who is responsible for coordinating recruitment of all Naval Special Warfare/Navy Special Operations programs. He is also the one who initially set up the NHSCA partnership with Ferraro. “You take it step by step. Your long-term goal is to make it through. But your long-terms goals are always achieved through short-term goals and preparation. You take it in steps like anything tough in life.”

“You here (the bell) ringing quite a bit during the day during hell week. Guys can’t take the lack of sleep and physical exertion,” the California JUCO champ said, now a SEAL commissioned officer. “Most of the drop outs happen the first night or the second night.”

Licause, who has been a SEAL for 23 years, stressed that potential SEALS are trained to take Hell Week one event at a time, one day at a time, or even one “meal” at a time. They are fed four meals a day, so setting the smaller goals gets you through each phase of the day when you’re physically and mentally exhausted and dealing with almost no sleep. And one step at a time, you get through the week. He wants all wrestlers to know they won’t be asked /told to “cut weight” in SEAL training. In fact, you eat very well and as much as you like. Former wrestlers should enjoy that aspect of training.

So why do so many wrestlers end up putting themselves to such an extreme test? Because that’s how we’re wired. That’s all we’ve ever known. In addition, it’s a great service to your country, pays extremely well and is guaranteed to never be a “boring desk job,” Licause joked. “We promise you won’t see a desk for quite some time.”

Typical entry-level enlisted SEALS make just under $40,000 annually when housing and food allowances are factored in. There is also a $40,000 sign-on bonus for the initial six-year commitment. Every four-year interval after that, SEALS receive another $90,000 sign-on bonus for reenlistment. The bonus goes up to $150,000 at the 19-year point if a SEAL reenlists for the six years taking them to the 25-year mark. However, Licause stressed, it’s not the money that makes SEALS do what they do. It’s about that young man’s desire to be the best, and serve with the best this country has to offer in order to protect our nation. It is truly about service to his teammates and country.

Ferraro sees providing the national wrestling community information about the SEALS as a very important function of the NHSCA.

“Coaches are all about providing opportunities for their wrestlers. As I see it, it’s another option. Not every wrestler wants to go to college. Wrestlers are the perfect profile for Navy Special operations. That’s where I see it being such a great relationship,” Ferraro said. “The partnership is far beyond being able to identify people that fit the profile. It’s about helping our country in a time of need. I label this a call to duty for the NHSCA.”

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