Northern wrestling program is ushering in young coaches

“I want to see wrestling more in the future,” said Jade Omingmak.

The 15-year-old athlete has been wrestling for less than a year but will soon be one of three new coaches working to deliver a program in Ulukhaktok and beyond.

Omingmak is part of a group run by current coaches Monique Smith and Jacob Klengenberg, who have overseen a wrestling program for years in Ulukhaktok, Gamètì and Wekweètì.

Smith and Klengenberg ultimately hope to create Team North, which they say would include athletes from across the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

This coming fall, Klengenberg – who recently won a National Indigenous Coaching Award – will move to Thunder Bay, Ontario to pursue an education degree at Lakehead Universtiy.

While Smith has worked as a councillor in Ulukhaktok and Gamètì and continues to visit for work, she has largely been running programs remotely over Zoom and social media from Calgary.

“One of my goals has been trying to create sustainability in the program,” said Smith. “I think the big vision is that we’ll have Indigenous coaches mentoring each other.”

This, she said, will help create a ripple effect to ensure the future of wrestling in the NWT.

“I guess for me, the model is mentorship. Mentorship for coaches, mentorship for athletes, because the more we can teach people how to mentor each other, the more people feel connected and learn skills from each other,” said Smith.

Omingmak said she decided to pursue coaching because she was interested in a new hobby and wanted to see more of the sport in the North.

When she first started wrestling, she initially felt some anxiety.

“But then, when school started this year, I actually started going to the practices for my friends and worked on my well-being, and I started actually attending practices without friends, and then actually enjoyed it,” said Omingmak.

For Smith, being a wrestling coach is about learning and teaching tangible skills that can be applied in other areas of life. She calls it a vehicle to “build up mental health and resiliency.”

To mentor coaches, she uses a curriculum created by a friend of hers, Olympian Leah Ferguson, that teaches people new to wrestling how to coach.

The curriculum, Smith said, is based on four pillars of athleticism: core strength, balance, footwork and reaction. Then, prospective coaches learn more about the sport through games and play.

The program’s three coaches-in-training have travelled to Calgary, where they are attending a training program organized by the Alberta Amateur Wrestling Association. They will compete against other provinces this upcoming weekend.

“I would say this is kind-of an exploratory trip for them.” said Smith.

She said the sessions will help show what it’s like to be a good coach beyond just learning the techniques, including being a leader and mentor.