Shortly after Jared Lawrence, the four-time All-American and 2002 NCAA champion, exhausted his eligibility at the University of Minnesota, one of the Gophers’ all-time greats came to a crossroads.
Lawrence served as a graduate assistant for four seasons at his alma mater while simultaneously running Pinnacle Wrestling Club, a youth club he founded in the Twin Cities area. Once he had his first son in 2008, he began questioning whether the full-time collegiate coaching lifestyle was the right fit for him.
“The biggest question was to jump into club life or the college coaching realm,” Lawrence recalled. “Back then, you didn’t make a lot of money, and one of my friends, who was coaching collegiately at the time, told me he was gone 37 weekends in one year. It was all about the team, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that after having my first kid.”
“Pinnacle started very small, just as a high school preseason club from September to November. The club was going, but it was originally just to make extra money while we were training. Continue reading at themat.com →