Virginia mom gives up career to spread love of wrestling nationwide

A Northern Virginia mother has transformed wrestling and combat sports training through an unconventional approach, despite having no prior experience in the field.

In 2005, Carolyn Wester was a venture capitalist in California. 

While observing her son’s wrestling practice, she noticed what she believed was a critical flaw in basic wrestling techniques. She decided to speak up, an action that would ultimately revolutionize the industry.

"I didn’t know anything about wrestling," Wester said. "And I asked, 'Do you realize the structure you’re building with your body is not congruent to the correct trajectory to take the structure of your opponent and put them on their back?'"

Wester’s intervention marked the beginning of her coaching career. 

Starting with youth on the West Coast, her innovative techniques quickly gained popularity and spread nationwide. 

Over the years, Wester has earned the respect and friendship of top combat sports athletes like Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

Her science-based methods have revolutionized training for athletes both locally and internationally.

Andrew Morgan, an Olympic regional training center athlete with the Navy wrestling club, has been training with Wester since 2013. 

He praised her methods, saying, "The way she looks at the sport and can break it down, just based on the math — your body position and specifically the body shapes that work for you. Her technique-based training complements high-level athletes so well."

In addition to her coaching, Wester and WrestlingPrep.com run a non-profit called Friends of Wrestling Prep. 

It was established to continue the support Wrestling Prep has provided to the wrestling and combat sports community since 2005.