Nuri Osman came from Turkey to train the kids and speaks Turkish while he coaches. He said through an interpreter that America has a great connection between sports and education.
“I am grateful to be here. I have been working with little kids and training little kids in wrestling for over 50 years,” he said. “The goal here is not only to teach our kids wrestling but also help them get educated,” he said.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Muradov has big plans on the wrestling side.
“Ohio is one of the toughest states in wrestling. If they can win state championships in Ohio, the most prestigious colleges in the country will send them scholarships,” said Muradov, who was a successful college wrestler. “That is the goal: to prepare these 8-year-old kids for state tournaments. When they go to high school, we want them to place multiple times and win the tournament and go to the best colleges.”
Osman said even if every kid doesn’t go on to be a champion wrestler, the training will teach kids the importance of staying active and will hopefully stop them from making bad decisions as they get older.
“We believe they will be successful,” Osman said.
Also, Ilyaz Mamadaliyev, a professional mixed martial arts fighter from the Dayton Ahiska Turk community, trains at the center and is set to fight this weekend in West Virginia. Mamadaliyev has a professional record of 1-1 and will be fighting in the b2 Fighting Series on Saturday.
He also works with the young children who train before him.
“We have the kids practicing and the adults and teenager come in right after that and we get to work together, have a fun time and stay off the streets, Mamadaliyev said. “And as long as we are doing this, we get to basically not get bored, because a lot of things happen when you’re bored and this keeps us busy.”
Muradov said the building at 1509 Valley St., was purchased by the Ahiska Turkish community in 2015 when the building was in disrepair.
“The interior was terrible, everything was ripped up and it had been vacant for years,” Muradov said. “We had to redo all utilities basically from scratch, and our community did it and paid for everything.”
Muradov said along with the wrestling center, the building also serves as a cultural and religious education center where kids can go on the weekend to learn to read the Quran, learn about Turkish history and talk about current events and challenges facing today’s youth, like bullying. He said the group is also working with Dayton Police to provide other lessons, like self-defense.
Muradov said wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world and is popular in Turkey, so it fits within the building.
“Our ancestors have been wrestling for centuries. It’s kind of like revitalizing our culture and reliving our culture and also it’s good for your health. You become athletic, active and disciplined.”
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