HAMPSTEAD, N.H. — “Can’t get wrestling out of your blood. Once you fall in love with it, it’s over.”
— Connor McGonagle, NCAA All-American
Just over a year since the Timberlane Regional mat legend did the unthinkable, capturing NCAA All-America honors for Virginia Tech, McGonagle is pumped up to share his amazing passion and drive with aspiring matmen of all ages.
Joined by his former Timberlane teammate Taylor Donovan and ex-Alvirne High great Kyle Gora, McGonagle has opened the CMG Wrestling Academy at the Phan Zone Sportscenter in Hampstead.
The trio might want to think about hanging a sign with McGonagle’s quote on the front door.
“There’s so many kids in the area that want to have a place to wrestle and learn, and learn the right way. The don’t have it. Even when I was growing up, it wasn’t a thing,” said McGonagle. “I feel like the more we have, the better we’ll get as a whole. We’re just trying to get New England better anyways.
“Work with kids, make their dreams come true, even if their dream is just to start on their team.
Everyone’s goal is going to be different.”
The three coaches at the academy pack rock-solid wrestling resumes. McGonagle might be the best wrestler ever to come out of our region.
Donovan was a Division I state champ, a three-time state finalist with 109 career wins. He is currently a Timberlane assistant.
And Gora was a three-time high school all-American at Alvirne, who is currently the Broncos’ head coach.
“We’ve all been friends through wrestling for a long time. We hang out anyways. It all made sense. They’re awesome people,” said McGonagle.
“I just want wrestlers to have opportunities that I didn’t have. That’s really it. I look back at my career. I’m molding this after that, what would I have wanted? What would I have needed?
“It’s not just the wrestling. It’s talking to them about how they feel before a match, their emotions.”
The mentorship on the mat – a sparkling 42 by 42 surface that was used in the NCAA Division 3 championships – will be held five days a week in the facility, which includes boys and girls locker rooms, a weight/workout area and a parent area.
Mondays and Wednesdays will be the middle school nights. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be the high school nights. Those sessions will run from 6-7:30 p.m.
On Saturdays, beginning at 11 a.m., all levels will be put through the paces.
“Taylor is also taking on a 7-and-up beginner’s program for kids to have fun and learn, too,” said McGonagle. “Even if you’ve never wrestled before, we want to introduce people to the sport we like and that has molded us as people.”
McGonagle has big dreams for this endeavor and would love to host camps and tournaments in the sprawling Phan Zone facility.
It’s clearly a passion project for the three coaches involved.
“The goal is to keep growing and get as many kids involved in the sport as we can,” McGonagle said. “What I got out of wrestling, it taught me discipline on the mat and off the mat. I had to be disciplined and do things the right way. I had to be a good person,” he said. “Even if you lose, you have to shake hands after. When you’re the most upset you can be (after a loss), you have to calm yourself down and shake hands and know it’s just a game and you have to go back to real life. Those are some of the lessons wrestling taught me.
“While wrestling is hard, the values I’ve gotten from it are really what I hold on to today.”
You can find more about the new wrestling school at the academy’s Instagram page: @cmgwrestling.