Why Modified Wrestling?

Registration opens 10/28/22. Practices start the Monday after Thanksgiving  - 11/28/22!

“Building Champions on the mat and in life.”

That’s our program’s mantra at all levels and it ties back to everything we do. At the most fundamental level, our wrestling program is about developing character, leadership and confidence, as much as it’s about athleticism, strength and agility.


Our Coaches

Coaches George DiChiara and Dan Modad work tremendously hard to give each of our student-athletes an experience that mirrors these values. Coach DiChiara has coached wrestling at Edgemont since 1988 – including 25 years as the varsity head coach. He teaches math at Edgemont High School. 

Coach Modad is new to our program at Edgemont this year. He wrestled at Stepinac HS where he was captain of the varsity team and subsequently an assistant coach. Together, they have a ton of experience teaching 7th and 8th grade student-athletes the basics to make them successful!

Why is Modified Wrestling at Edgemont such a great experience?

There’s a reason that wrestling is one of the most successful athletic program at Edgemont and our values and philosophy are the core drivers.

We're uniquely positioned to build all these qualities in our young athletes - qualities that transcend sports and have carried our Edgemont Wrestlers on to colleges and universities in the past few years such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Duke, Johns Hopkins, University of Virginia, NYU, University of Chicago and many others.

It's no accident that a wrestler has won the Edgemont Senior Class Scholar-Athlete Award five out of the last six years. The lessons our kids learn on the wrestling mat positively impact them for the rest of their lives and we're extremely proud of that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can girls participate?

100% absolutely yes! Building better athletes and better people is an opportunity we proudly offer to all Edgemont students - boys and girls!

We're proud to have had many young ladies participate in our program through the years and have two amazing young ladies on our high school team right now.

At the high school level, girls' wrestling is actually one of the fastest growing sports in the country with over 28,000 participants last year. 

Women's wrestling is an Olympic sport, as well, and over 115 colleges and universities sponsor women's wrestling teams and offer scholarships to their student-athletes. More programs are being added every year.

We highly encourage girls to join our program and build the kind of confidence, resilience and drive that will benefit them for life!


Is wrestling violent? Will I get hurt? 

Wrestling is not a sport of violence. It's a sport of control. There are no high speed collisions like some other sports, and there's no hitting, punching or kicking.

In fact, national statistics from the high school level show wrestling has far fewer injuries than many other popular sports.

Wrestling is about using the skills you learn to control your opponent on your feet or on the mat. 

At the higher levels there’s a tremendous amount of technique and strategy - almost like a physical game of chess.


What kind of wrestling tradition is there at Edgemont? 

We’re proud to say wrestling is consistently one of Edgemont’s most successful athletic programs! Last year, at the High School level, Edgemont had 13 Sectional place-finishers, three Section Champions and two All-State wrestlers! We've had three New York State Champions in the last nine years!

We've produced All-State wrestlers every year for the past 12 years and sent many of our student-athletes on to compete at the collegiate level! Many of these great wrestlers and great kids got their start right here with Edgemont Modified Wrestling!

Any other questions?

If you have any questions please email Varsity Head Coach Pete Jacobson at peter.jacobson@edgemontwrestling.org.