Move expected to promote youth wrestling and help families
When it comes to building a youth wrestling program from the ground up, it takes a village.
Newly elected Cloverdale Wrestling Club President Mike Toninato understands this concept well, amid a wave of enthusiasm from local supporters who envision a burgeoning youth program that will benefit local kids from elementary school through high school.
Toninato is in the process of filing for official 501(c)3 nonprofit status, paving the way to better streamline the club’s ability to handle and process donations.
“Having nonprofit status and a tax ID will make it much easier to raise money for the club,” said Toninato, a lifelong Cloverdale resident. “One of our main goals is to use the donated funds to help local families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to pay for equipment, tournament fees and other things.”
The move to form an official nonprofit organization is part of a growing wave to bring wrestling back to Cloverdale, which has never had a youth club and hasn’t had a high school program in over 20 years.
The Cloverdale Wrestling Club currently has about 20 kids enrolled in the program, ranging in age from sixth-12th grades. The head coach is Mitch Williams, while other club officials are Derek Clark (vice president), Peter Dounch (treasurer) and Michelle Schwykle.
This spring, Washington Middle School held its wrestling first meet in over two decades when it played host to Healdsburg Junior High School at the fairgrounds, an event that was both exciting and historic.
“Our goal is to bring wrestling back to Cloverdale at both the youth and high school level,” Washington coach Alex Duerr said after the meet. “This was a great, great experience for everybody, and I know it’s only going to get better moving forward.”
In addition to the CWC and Middle School programs, the club is pushing for the return of a Cloverdale High School wrestling program.
“We’re on the agenda for the upcoming school board meeting,” Toninato noted. “We want to bring wrestling back to Cloverdale at all levels.”
