EBENSBURG, Pa. – Tucked away off a long gravel driveway a few miles from U.S. Route 219 in East Carroll Township lies an exclusive 15,000-square-foot facility that draws visitors from around the world.
Each summer, young athletes seeking to become state, national and world champions make the journey to Young Guns Wrestling Ranch to learn from some of the sport’s best coaches in one of the world’s wrestling hotbeds.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOpened in 2021, the facility – and the workouts held there – have become bucket-list items for young wrestlers.
“You’re in wrestling heaven,” said Jim Beach, Young Guns’ camp director, noting that the facility is within a 30-minute drive of Johnstown and Altoona, and that Pittsburgh and State College can be reached in about an hour.
Young Guns Wrestling Club
Jody Strittmatter (in white), founder and owner of Young Guns Wrestling Club, works with young wrestlers at Young Guns Wrestling Ranch in East Carroll Township on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.
“I bet – per capita – in this hour radius, there’s probably more good wrestling than anywhere else in the world,” Beach said, “which is kind of crazy to say.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStarted 23 years ago by Cambria Heights graduate Jody Strittmatter and his former Iowa wrestling teammate Eric Juergens, Young Guns grew into one of the premier wrestling clubs in the United States – perhaps the top such center.
By 2018, Strittmatter and his wife, Stephanie, were routinely hosting a dozen or more wrestlers to work out in their home’s wrestling room.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Young Guns offered virtual instruction online, but the lack of in-person training opportunities gave Strittmatter time to ponder the club’s future.
Young Guns Wrestling Club
Jody Strittmatter (in white), founder and owner of Young Guns Wrestling Club, works with young wrestlers at the facility in East Carroll Township on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We had kind of a vision over COVID, and I went to Stephanie and told her what I would like, and she designed it and made it look really, really nice,” Strittmatter said during a Thanksgiving Eve practice session featuring dozens of young wrestlers at the ranch.
Strittmatter and Mark Farabaugh, a construction professional, did most of the work in building the facility, while other friends and family members pitched in throughout the massive project.
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn addition to the six full-size wrestling mats in the practice room, the building includes dormitory-style housing for more than 120 overnight campers, a professional kitchen and cafeteria as well as laundry facilities.
An international draw
The ranch opened in 2021, and Young Guns hosts weekly camps from the end of May to mid-August.
In 2025, 1,254 wrestlers came through the camp, and about 1,300 more were on a waiting list, but were unable to attend a camp.
Young Guns Wrestling Club
Jody Strittmatter (in white), founder and owner of Young Guns Wrestling Club, works with young wrestlers at Young Guns Wrestling Ranch in East Carroll Township on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Once it’s full, it’s full, and there’s just nothing you can do,” Strittmatter said.
Beach said athletes from 46 states and five different countries came through Young Guns Wrestling Ranch in 2025, with some traveling thousands of miles for the experience.
“We had a group of 14 come from Guam, people from Hawaii. We had Romania, England, Germany. We had a South Korean kid,” Beach said. “Kids come from everywhere. We don’t really advertise. It’s just word-of-mouth. It just keeps spreading every year. The Young Guns name and the brand is big.”
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It’s not just individuals who want a chance to work out at the facility. Strittmatter said that the University of Pennsylvania and other college squads have worked out there on their way to competitions such as the under-23 national championships.
“The UPenn team will come through and they’ll work out, and different teams will come in here and use it,” he said. “You get chartered buses coming right up the driveway to the parking lot.”
A growing audienceA variety of factors have helped Young Guns’ popularity skyrocket over the past decade.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementYoung Guns Wrestling Club
Jody Strittmatter (in white), founder and owner of Young Guns Wrestling Club, works with young wrestlers at Young Guns Wrestling Ranch in East Carroll Township on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025.
Wrestling is one of the fastest-growing girls’ sports in the country, according to the NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association crowned its first girls’ champions in 2024. Bishop McCort Catholic finished second in the girls’ team standings in 2024, and Chestnut Ridge finished second last season, with each school producing multiple champions.
Pitt-Johnstown, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College and Penn State-Altoona have launched women’s wrestling programs, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association will hold its first women’s national tournament in March.
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Pennsylvania has traditionally been one of the best states for boys’ high school wrestling, but it had lagged behind states such as California and Hawaii on the girls’ side.
Since the PIAA’s decision, that gap has closed significantly, and Young Guns is drawing girls’ competitors from around the world to its facility.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Fifteen years ago, maybe we had one or two girls, and now we have probably 30 at any time, and they’re very competitive statewide, nationwide,” said Strittmatter, whose 11-year-old daughter Journey and 10-year-old son Jordy each won national titles in April. “We’re getting some of the best girls in the world training here.”
Young Guns has played a role in the development of some of the world’s best male wrestlers over the past decade, with Strittmatter’s proteges combining to win 10 NCAA championships and five world titles.
Spencer Lee, who was at the Young Guns Wrestling Ranch last week, is an Olympic silver medalist, while Jax Forrest, Bo Bassett and Keegan Bassett – each an age-level world champion – are Bishop McCort Catholic students who have benefitted from Strittmatter’s tutelage.
“Young Guns has done things the right way in terms of developing really, really great wrestlers,” Beach said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe noted that Jody Strittmatter and his brother, John, who also helps run Young Guns, aren’t all about winning medals.
“It’s about like being a complete human being,” Beach said. “A lot of people say something like that, but these guys live it. The way they motivate young kids is second to none. It’s unreal.”
Beach, who is originally from the Erie area, said his wife, Jen, came to help him with some behind-the-scenes work at a camp, but was so impressed by what she saw at Young Guns that they decided to relocate to the Johnstown area.
“We just want our kids around people like this, and that’s how we ended up staying,” he said.
“The wrestling part is really, really good, but the other stuff they do off the mat is so good that you almost forget about the wrestling. It’s crazy.”
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