Several nights a week one can find a few Wolves among the Wildcats at the Oak Harbor High School wrestling room.

As of mid-December, eight Coupeville youngsters were active members in the Oak Harbor-based Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club: Lita, Seth and Gracy Woollet; Kholtin and Evlynn Reed; Jacob and Daniel Barajas; and Dylan Estes.

Also active in the club is the Woollet’s father, Bruce Woollet, one of WWWC’s volunteer coaches.

Although the elder Woollet enjoyed wrestling for his school while growing up in Lancaster, Ohio, he never pushed his children to get involved.

“They approached me,” he said. “The oldest (Lita) hounded me about it; the youngest (Gracy) did pushups all summer to prove how tough she was.”

It’s been a positive experience, Bruce Woollet said.

“The club has great leadership, the head coach (Tom Clairmont) is great, the other coaches are great,” he said. “Everyone has a good demeanor with the kids. There are enough coaches that the kids get one-on-one attention.”

Woollet likes what wrestling teaches his children.

“Wrestling can be a humbling experience,” he said. “Everyone loses; it happens to everyone one. Even the great Dan Gable lost.” (Gable was undefeated until his final college match.)

“Wrestling is the hardest sport,” Woollet added. “It teaches a great work ethic; you are exhausted at the end of the match. You learn to give it your all, and if you did your best, that is good enough.”

Justin Estes, Dylan Estes’ father, echoed Bruce Woollet’s thoughts about the positive impact of wrestling.

“Dylan is being taught self discipline,” Justin Estes said. “He is learning to do things on is own. Even if he never wrestles again, is his learning life lessons he can take with him.”

Lita Woollet said she went to several wrestling matches with friends and it “looked cool,” so she gave the sport a try.

“I like being active,” she said. “In wrestling, it get to be tough; I get to be strong.”

Dylan Estes said he “likes the concept of doing a sport.”

“My dad was a wrestler,” he said, “so I asked him if I could do it.”

He struggled in the early going.

“I lost a lot, and I did not take it well,” he said. “I had big anger. Wrestling has taught me to keep it down.”

Dylan Estes added that he learned he can enjoy wrestling without winning.

The thrill of wrestling may soon end for Lita Woollet and Dylan Estes, both sixth graders.

The Coupeville school district does not offer wrestling as one of its activities.

Both Bruce Woollet and Justin Estes said they chose to settle in Coupeville because of what the school system has to offer academically and not its athletic opportunities.

“School comes first,” Bruce Woollet said.

Justin Dylan said, “It would be nice for Coupeville to have a wrestling team, but we are not part of the Coupeville district because of athletics.”

Lita Woollet said she is considering turning out for volleyball and track next school year.

Dylan Estes said, “I support my school, not just a wrestling team. I am going to try every sport Coupeville has to offer.”