Live Oak Wrestling Club gets R.E.A.C.H.E.S. Funding
Live Oak Wrestling Club (LOWC) in Watson, Louisiana has been awarded funding from the R.E.A.C.H.E.S. organization to get some much needed equipment. LOWC was founded in 2007 by Norvin Hill with a vision of bringing the great sport of wrestling to Livingston parish. Although the club only started out with three kids, it didn’t take long to become the fastest growing youth sport in our community. As we approach the 10 year anniversary and reflect on all our ups and downs, it’s nice to know that R.E.A.C.H.E.S. is helping.
Live Oak Wrestling Club (LOWC) sits in a small town called Watson, just north of Denham Springs, Louisiana. Founded by Norvin Hill in 2007 when his family relocated after Hurricane Katrina took everything they had in New Orleans. It was a slow start in a community that hadn’t had the opportunity to embrace the great sport of wrestling thus far. The local high school started their program at the same time and it became evident that the club would grow rapidly and become an awesome feeder program. LOWC grew and began competing with all the major schools and becoming one of the premier public school programs. We are currently preparing for our 10th year anniversary and this blessing from R.E.A.C.H.E.S. could not have come at a better time.
We have had our share of ups and downs over the years as we found ourselves continuously looking for a place to call home. There are not many gyms in our community, or the available times to offer the kids the training they need and deserve to be successful. The high school program has also grown and with the new school that was built a few years back, they got their own wrestling room. That was great news for us and the administration couldn’t be more supportive. Everything was going our way when August of 2016 brought the worst floor our town has ever seen. We had so many family members affected that it made everything tough this past season so when we got the word from Walt Fisk of R.E.A.C.H.E.S. that LOWC was awarded funding, it felt like a load was lifted off of us. The grant money will be used to get custom sublimated singlets that will arrive at the perfect time, our ten year anniversary. LOWC has had over 100 state champions combined in Folkstyle, Freestyle and Greco; a regional champion in Freestyle and Greco; numerous All Americans and currently three student athletes wrestling in college. We are extremely thankful for all our volunteers and families that continue to support us and the sport of wrestling. We look forward to the next 10 years and continuing to compete at the Brute Nationals. Thank you R.E.A.C.H.E.S. for all that you do for the kids and the sport of wrestling!
About R.E.A.C.H.E.S.
R.E.A.C.H.E.S. (Rewarding Educational Athletic Choices Helping Each Sport) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2007 in an effort to promote, protect and preserve the integrity of amateur athletics by providing athletic and educational opportunities to all athletes of all ages and abilities. This unique experience will provide educational, technical, and lifelong lessons for athletes, coaches, parents and fans that seek to capture meaningful, compassionate, harmonious, interesting and active lives. All profits from R.E.A.C.H.E.S. will be used to support specific needs in each sport to ensure future generations of athletes, fans, parents and coaches will continue to learn from valuable lifelong athletic lessons.
