Aaron Brooks is all smiles giving back at PAL wrestling camp

Aaron Brooks could not stop smiling Saturday.

The Hagerstown native and three-time NCAA wrestling champion for Penn State was right at home, on the mats as the lead instructor for this weekend's Police Athletic League wrestling camp at Fairgrounds Park.

"It's a blessing," Brooks said. "The youth are everything. We were the youths at one point, and we had others giving to us. We grew up and now we get to give back to them."

During Saturday's morning session, Brooks taught various moves to about 40 campers, then would turn them loose to practice what he showed. Then, like a kid in a candy store, Brooks would jump into the action, locking up with whatever camper happened to get his attention in that moment. At the end, there would be laughter, smiles and handshakes. Then Brooks would find another camper to tussle with.

"When I did camps growing up, I didn't get to wrestle with the instructors," Brooks said. "I love doing that with the kids. I know they'll remember getting to wrestle with me."

"From my earliest memories of Aaron, he's always had a big smile on his face and always enjoyed the environment," said North Hagerstown wrestling coach Greg Slick, who was on hand to help with the camp, which included several current Hubs team members. "That's one of the things that has made him a special wrestler, is that he loves what he does."

JT Griffith, who will be starting as a freshman at Boonsboro High School in the fall, was one of the campers who got to tangle with Brooks. It was not his first time.

"We've been around Aaron for a while, so I'm used to messing around with him," said Griffith. "I've been to many camps they have done and I'm learning from people who have more experience."

"It's phenomenal," said Tim Griffith, JT's father. "To have Aaron, with his experience, come back here and give back, where else can you get that? You have to take advantage of that every chance you get."

"(Aaron) has a special gift," said John Brooks, Aaron's father and the PAL head coach. "Years ago, some of the kids he was going to wrestle in (state) quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, he was teaching them how to be better.

"It's a passion. When he's done competing, I think he'll coach. He has more to give to society than beating people up."

A Hubs reunion

Brooks, a four-time Maryland state champion at North Hagerstown High School, performed his demonstrations with another former Hubs wrestler, Thomas Monn, himself a two-time state champion who is coming off an All-American season as a freshman for Division III McDaniel College.

"Throughout my high school career, (Brooks) was doing these camps," Monn said. "I grew up working out with him and it's still an opportunity to get better, learn more and to see things the way Aaron sees them. Working with him is fun."

"(Brooks and Monn) have both gotten to be excellent clinicians," Slick said. "It's one thing to be able to show how to do something. Showing why you do it is really important."

Lessons in wrestling and life

Brooks and Monn both benefitted from camps as youngsters learning the trade, and talked about the lessons they'd like to pass on.

"It's the discipline," Brooks said. "These are long camp days and it teaches that discipline to stay focused for two two-hour sessions. It's a sacrifice. They can be anywhere they want in the summer and they're choosing to be here."

"Technique is everything," Monn said. "Technique is what will win you the biggest matches. It helps you grow and take the leaps, from youth (wrestling) to high school to college."

"Wrestling teaches us resilience," said Brooks. "You're not always going to get something the first time, just like life. Sports will knock you down just like life, but you learn how to be resilient."

"What I would tell every young kid is to be hungry for knowledge," Monn said. "If you have a thirst for that knowledge, you will get better."

"You're not going to wrestle or compete your whole life, but you're going to be a human being for your whole life. You have to learn to be respectful," John Brooks said. "When those kids come through the door, I'm not thinking, 'he's going to be an Olympic champion.' I'm thinking, 'I'm going to make him a good person.' That's my priority here. Everyone can give 100%, everyone can be a good teammate, and that's what this is about."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Aaron Brooks is all smiles giving back at PAL wrestling camp