About Our Program

What Spatola Wrestling Has Always Been About

Spatola Wrestling didn’t start with a gym. It started in a basement — Nick’s parents’ basement — where a handful of kids came to work harder than they ever had before, and left better wrestlers and better young people because of it.

That was the beginning. What you see today — the facility, the camps, the clinicians, the tournament — is just that same basement, grown up. The mission hasn’t changed.

Nick Spatola is a three-time OHSAA State Placer who wrestled at Indiana University and holds a degree in Education. He has spent his career doing one thing: giving young wrestlers the kind of attention, technique, and mentorship that most programs simply don’t offer. Not mass instruction. Not cookie-cutter drills. Personal. Individualized. Real.

Ryan Zawacki has been in this gym since 2010. David Crawford, Head Coach at Oak Hills High School, has been part of Spatola since 2018. These aren’t names on a flyer — they’re coaches who show up every week, who know your kid’s name, who know their weaknesses and their potential.

Our camps attract some of the most accomplished wrestlers in the country — including Mason Parris, 2024 Olympian, NCAA Champion, and Dan Hodge Trophy winner, who has a genuine connection to this program. Beyond the names, what sets our clinicians apart is the same thing that’s always defined Spatola: coaches who actually care about the wrestler in front of them, not just putting on a performance.

Families who’ve been with us say it better than we can. “A session with Nick equals a month of wrestling.” “He not only made my son a better wrestler, he shaped him into a high character, level-headed young man.” “After wrestling, life is pretty easy.” Those aren’t marketing lines. Those are real people who trusted us with their kids and got something back they didn’t expect: confidence, discipline, and a sense of what they’re capable of.

That’s what we’ve built here. That’s what we protect. And that’s what we’ll keep delivering — camp after camp, season after season.

If you’ve trained with us before, welcome back. If you’re new here, come see for yourself.

— Nick Spatola

Nick Spatola:

• 3X OHSAA State Placer
• NHSCA Pre Season National Champion
• Member of Ohio All Star Team
• Member of Schoolboy, Cadet, & Junior National Team
• Wrestled at Indiana University (2002-2006)
• Bachelor of Arts in Education