All-American TC - Alaska: To Succeed, Be All In
All-American Training Center – Alaska
“You Must Be All In” – Coach Pete Dickinson
By Bill X. Barron
“Wrestling provides kids with the understanding of how hard work can benefit them,” cites Coach Pete Dickinson, head coach and founder of Alaska’s All-American Training Center. “It can change their lives, give them direction.”
An Alaskan native from Anchorage who competed for Robert Service High, still the state’s most successful program, Pete earned nine K-12 state titles including high school. At DII Minnesota State-Moorhead, he was the state’s first 2-time NCAA All-American.
After college, Pete worked in the oil fields, saving enough to establish one of the country’s elite training facilities on his property in Soldotna, where the club practices, holds world-class clinics year-round, and hosts state as well as national events.
Ahad Javansalehi, USA Greco National Assistant Coach, now the OTC head coach at Stanford, has served as an AATC special guest coach, as has Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith, a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist and 6-time World Champion.
AATC clinicians have included Dave Mills, Masters World Champion; Kris Nelson, NCAA National Champion; Jared Lawrence, NCAA National Champion, Pinnacle Wrestling School Head Coach; and Damion Hahn, 2X NCAA Champion, Head Coach SDSU.
Pete and assistant coach Kurt Strausbaugh now train upwards of 180 local kids. One of the most successful clubs not only in Alaska but also in the USA, the team has won two back-to-back AUSAW Grand Champion state titles in folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco.
In addition to three 42-foot wrestling mats and the space to host major competitions, the gym has an auxiliary gym, male/female locker rooms, a full-size fitness center, medical sauna, pro shop, paintball, air hockey, and even a Smoothie bar.
Recently the Alaska entourage traveled to Colorado for the RMN Nationals Championships, where they brought home team trophies in freestyle (1st) and folkstyle (3rd).
The All-American freestyle team had 28 placers with 15 finalists and five champs, while the folkstyle contingent had 22 placers, six finalists, and two champions.
RMN National Champions in freestyle (FS) and folkstyle (FK) include Kanin Kumfer (10U 61 – 4th FS, 1st FK); Nataleigh Shane (15U 123 – 1st FS, 1st FK); and Mason Bock (15U 123 – 4th FS, 1st FK).
Additional AATC club champions in June, 2022 were Trevor Michael (15U 137 – 1st FS, 2nd FK); Trinity Donovan (18U 145 – 1st FS, 2nd FK); and Hunter Richardson (18U 182 – 1st FS, 3rd FK).
“RMN provides not only great competition but also serves as a measure of our success as a club,” relates Pete. “Their events bring a lot of energy that really motivates our young kids to perform at their best.”
Getting to Colorado involves driving 2.5 hours to Anchorage, then boarding a 6.5-hour flight to Seattle. With a layover to Denver, that amounts to a full day of travel. But for Pete, it’s well worth the effort:
“From the universal start to the best awards in any system we see, RMN is a true promoter of the sport and is very attentive to our wrestlers’ needs.”
As partners in business, Pete and his wife Tanya were featured in the 2016 Alaska Journal of Commerce as two of the “Top 40 under 40” business entrepreneurs in the state.
“My wife is a rock; she’s the one who makes the vision a reality. Through working together, we built our own company, then put all our assets into a gym for the entire community that’s open 24/7, where we could give back to the sport that has meant so much for us.”
“Some kids have tough homes and struggle in life,” Pete elaborates. “For them, our facility is family. Not only does our gym provide a safe situation for local youth, but for many a wrestling scholarship is the only means through which to get a college education.”
“Building a diverse club with kids from a full variety of backgrounds takes an entire community where everyone is focused on a common goal,” shares Dickinson. “They have to buy into the program wholeheartedly, while entrusting us with lives of their kids.
“Our Soldotna Whalers board of mothers, fathers, and all sorts of dedicated people are the ones who truly make it happen. They go above and beyond to provide fund-raising opportunities for kids to pay travel expenses through car washes and parking lot sweeping.”
“Through wrestling, we believe that we are creating productive members of society. Wrestling imparts a work ethic that you can apply to any obstacle you face,” Pete asserts. “Every kid should be required to wrestle for a year.”
“For today’s kids,” he continues, “forces in the world contribute to an entitlement attitude. Kids need direction and wrestling is just the sport to do it.”
“It’s a difficult day-to-day existence in Alaska, but that difficulty breeds toughness. Alaskans are a hard-working people who make life meaningful through their diligence.”
“In order to be good at what you do, you have to be dedicated,” concludes Coach Pete. “You get out of life what you put into it. Become a student of your job, and you can accomplish anything.”
“Likewise, be a student of wrestling – study the best teams and wrestlers to determine what makes them successful. In short, you must be all in … in wrestling as well as in life.”