Wrestling Week

Wrestling Week has become an annual tradition at Woodward Academy that is full of costumes, makeup, and the ridiculous personas that occupy organizations like the WWE. For the past three years, both students and staff have paid homage to the "sport" of professional wrestling in preparation for a show put on by Impact Professional Wrestling on Saturday Night.

On its surface, the week plays right into our student body's demographic: teenaged boys. They love the spectacle and it is a good reason to get crazy. But Wrestling Week is much more than that and a reflection of the philosophy at Woodward Academy. Organized activities are a staple on campus. During the week, students attend school, participate in high school athletics, have therapy groups, extracurricular activities, clean the dorm, and get homework done. The weekends are just as structured with schedules penned out at least week in advance.

Beyond keeping students engaged in positive activities, this week is a good opportunity for staff to get involved as well. When Program Directors, Group Leaders, teachers, and counselors get involved in any activity, it subtlety shows students that we can all have fun, and work hard together. The fact is that these fun weeks make the more difficult moments for students much easier to take on. They see staff invested in their life and they will be much more likely to open up and accept feedback from them. The organizer of the week, Program Director, Bill Badgely, took participation to a new level when he (and his brother) got in the ring for a final tag team event.

The above image of Group Leaders on campus says it all about the week. If you want to see all of the wrestlers from the week, and pictures from the event, visit our Knight Pics website.