The University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (PRTC) have joined forces to train wrestlers throughout Philadelphia, writes Lucas Milgrim for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
PRTC is a unique athletic organization with four main components: professional wrestling, Penn wrestling, Drexel wrestling, and Beat the Streets Philadelphia.
These four components collaborate throughout the city and train wrestlers ranging from the Olympic level to high school student-athletes.
“I believe the best way to describe us is as a professional sports team that exists in Philadelphia. We kind of see ourselves as the sixth pro sports team in Philadelphia,” said Brandon Slay, a co-founder of PRTC and coach.
The main goal is to coach wrestlers to success — something the center has been doing well.
One of their most successful athletes is Doug Zapf, a recent Penn graduate who joined the center as a coach earlier this year. The 2023 U23 national champion, is proof of the ability of Penn and the PRTC to train world-class athletes and serves as an inspiration for other Philadelphia wrestlers.
“We want to continue to enrich the lives of the local community here, the high school kids … and really grow wrestling in Philadelphia and the surrounding area,” said Penn coach Roger Reina.
Read more about the Penn, PRTC partnership in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
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