Right at home

A group of dignitaries gathered around Leah Schaatt on Nov. 21 as she prepared to snip the ribbon inside the newly opened Birmingham Wrestling Complex. Schaatt was joined by her husband, Wade, Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry and former Vestavia Hills High School wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh, among others.

The ribbon-cutting marked the official opening of the complex, which houses the state-of-the-art Schaatt Wrestling Gym. With more than 4,000 square feet of dedicated practice space, the sparkling facility will serve as the new home of the Vestavia Wrestling Club. 

“This is pretty unusual for anywhere in the country to have a place this nice,” said Gaydosh, who won 13 state championships in his 34-year coaching career at VHHS. 

The VWC trains wrestlers from kindergarten through sixth grade and offers them a chance to compete during the late fall and winter. VWC President Scott Nailen said most youth tournaments are held between November and February. 

The club used to practice in the gyms of various city schools, including Cahaba Heights Elementary, but the setup wasn’t ideal. Mats had to be unrolled and rerolled at the beginning and end of each practice. 

That is no longer the case.

The cavernous new gym features plenty of matted floor space, along with protective wall mats. It also boasts climbing ropes and pegboards that are used for strength development. 

“Outside the city of Birmingham and other states, I mean, there are facilities, but I would argue that you’re not going to find one this nice,” said Nailen, who wrestled for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “This facility really is nicer than a lot ofcollege facilities.” 

Gaydosh said he knew that a wrestling complex of this magnitude would one day find its way to Vestavia Hills. He predicted it when he first moved here 36 years ago, before the sport took hold locally.

Based on his knowledge of Alabama’s statewide craving for athletic excellence, he figured it was only a matter of time before people truly embraced wrestling. He sees the complex as the latest evidence of the sport’s growth. 

“It’s drawing a lot of attention to it, for sure,” he said. 

 The inspiration behind the project stemmed from a neighboring club. 

A couple years ago, Schaatt had an epiphany when she took her son, Sam, to a practice at the Warrior Wrestling Club facilities in Alabaster. The standalone space included many of the same features that the Birmingham Wrestling Complex now has: mats, ropes and so forth.  

Seeing the gym in person prompted Schaatt to ponder if her son’s club could build something similar. It made sense. 

Vestavia’s wrestling program, even at the youth level, always ranked among the best in the state, and the sport’s rich local legacy contributed to its community popularity. 

“As parents of a youth wrestler who had had some success and had wrestled for four years, we thought that would be a nice philanthropic thing for us to do, was to see if we could find a home,” Schaatt said.

It took a little time. 

The club examined multiple sites before landing on the building at 100 Olde Town Road, located behind Vestavia Bowl off U.S.  31. According to Alan Chandler, a Vestavia Hills native and the father of a VWC wrestler, the building was formerly home to a racquetball and fitness facility in the late 1980s. Then, it was converted to a dance studio.

Chandler has a professional background in construction and donated his time to serve as the developer of the building’s recent overhaul, which began in June. The VWC board contracted Prier Construction to revamp the space. Chris Prier, the company’s president, is the parent of a Vestavia wrestler as well. 

The Schaatts, meanwhile, personally funded the building’s purchase and renovation. 

“It’s really gratifying, and it’s great to see these little kids,” Leah Schaatt said. “We’ve got a lot of new wrestlers this year, whichis exciting.” 

Nailen said that close to 60 young grapplers have joined the VWC for its 2017-18 campaign. During the season, they practice two to three nights per week on the blue and white mats inside the new gym. 

But the facility will be put to use even after the youth tournaments conclude, as the complex will be open yearround for youth, junior high and high school wrestlers from the across the Birmingham area. 

Currently, Vestavia and Alabaster are the only local communities that have their own training facilities. 

“Once the youth season ends, we want to get kids in here from all over, because iron sharpens iron,” Nailen said. 

For more information on the Vestavia Wrestling Club, visit vestaviawrestling.com.