where do i start

Question
Hi My name is brad and i live in Melbourne i am only 16 and my life dream is to become a wrestler but i do not have a clue on where to start.I am failing school (year 10) already so i want to know the very first step you would take.whether try to find a wrestling school or what? and are you even allowed to leave school to go into wrestling training can anyone at all help me please.

Answer
I get these questions a lot, and I say the same thing to all, at 16 you need to finish up High School first. Say you do get in the wrestling industry, and are doing well. All the sudden you have a career ending injury and have to find a normal job, where do you go without even a high school diploma? Probably no where.

I don't know the rules of your country, but in America you can leave High School at 16. but you loose your license until you get a GED, and unless you're working a full time job or are going to school full time, like going to HS, you can't be on your parent's insurance. I know of some girls who got pregnant and had to leave HS, but they stayed in school until 16 or 17. Some even stayed until 18 so they could keep their license. Some have their GED, others don't.

Case and point, in America, get a HS education. But again, you're not here, so, you may not have to worry about that. But you do still need to bring up your grades and do your best to graduate. One thing I'd recommend doing is to get on the wrestling team if you have one. Also, I know for a fact that Australia has an Olympic Wrestling team, which means they have a training area where you can study amateur wrestling, which is something you can use in the Pro-Wrestling world.

If you don't have one of those, then play another sport like football which will help you learn dicipline, how to take punishment, teamwork, etc. All tools that can help your wrestling game.

Make sure to work out, and eat healthy. I'd recommend hitting the gym 3 to 4 times a week. Usually when you play a sport, a coach requires you to work out a certain number of days, so I have no worries that you'll be working out a lot if you play a sport. Also, you can look up stuff online to help you out with eating healthy, like recipe's and what not that can make sure you'll enjoy the healthy food you're eating.

Like I said, I don't know how your school system works, but I can guarantee you that wrestling school is not like High School my good man.

HS focuses on achedemics, where as wrestling school focuses on wrestling. Most wrestling schools have you come in for a few hours 1 to 3 days a week, usually on a weekend or afternoon. So no, you can't really leave HS to go to wrestling school. It's a total different form of education.

I had a learning disability in HS and I also have ADHD, so I know how tough school can be. But, I told someone about it, they were able to help me, and I was able to pass High School and I'm now in college where I'll be getting a degree in a year's time. So that should let you know that you can succeed in school if you want to do it. I know I know, it can be REALLY boring. But surrounding yourself with friends who can help, and asking teachers for assistance can help you understand something and have fun doing it.

Many WWE Wrestlers actually have college degrees, so they are no meatheads out there. Chris Jericho has a degree in journalism, and "The Big Red Machine" Kane also has a degree in Journalism aswell. Michelle McCool actually has her Master's Degree in Education.

Learning how to wrestle will actually be harder than HS is now, all the tools you learn in HS will help you in your wrestling training. So, think of every day as a wrestling training day, you're learning how to be better at your future craft