Who We Are?
Our Mission
Tironook Wrestling was founded in 2014 by 4x NCAA D-1 All-American and Olympic Alternate Tyrone Lewis. Our goal is to change and impact the lives of children in every community by offering them different alternatives and resources to a successful future. A young wrestler involved in our events/programs can be expected to display self-confidence, work ethic and appreciation of self-worth. Our goal is to host the very best wrestling events/programs, while providing our wrestlers with a positive and encouraging training environment.
We believe that every wrestler that is involved in our events/programs can accomplish their goals and become successful in life. It is our responsibility to serve our wrestlers, parents and sport with integrity, sincerity and passion. Tironook Wrestling is a place where a young wrestler can learn the value of individual participation, along with understanding the importance of a team concept. We feel that this idea promotes the development of positive lifelong patterns and responsible behaviors that includes discipline, work ethic, the ability to set goals then achieve them, and respect for others.
Tironook Wrestling consists of very knowledgeable, dedicated, and reliable coaching staff, clinicians, and counselors that are committed to the long-term growth for all wrestlers. With a proven concept that has advanced and developed wrestlers for every level, we feel that Tironook Wrestling is second to none.
What is Tironook?
While living in Washington DC and working as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Maryland, Tyrone Lewis wanted to create a program for wrestlers to gain more exposure and opportunities to be recruited. One winter evening during the wrestling season of 2013, Coach Lewis went on a recruiting visit to scout a few prospects at a gym in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. Upon entering the gym, he noticed that there were multiple high level and top ranked prospects training together under one roof. Not only that, but Coach Lewis also observed representatives from some of the top wrestling institutions across the country such as Penn State, Iowa, and Ohio State (to mention a few), who were also there to scout some of these same athletes. At that moment, Coach Lewis instantly knew that his home state of Oklahoma needed exactly something like this for their local wrestlers.
After months and months of research, investigation, and conversations, Coach Lewis wanted to find a name that fits his concept of providing a platform for wrestlers to gain exposure and opportunities to be recruited, and that’s when he came across the word tiro/tyro. The word tyro is hardly a newcomer to Western language. It comes from the Latin word tiro, which means “new recruit,” or more generally, “novice.” The word is sometimes spelled tyro as early as Medieval Latin, and can be spelled tiro in English, in which the English definition of tiro is “a beginner in learning: novice”. Coach Lewis knew that the word tiro was the exact phrase that defined the type of wrestler that fit his concept, which is “a novice and inexperienced athlete who was striving to learn in the sport to become a recruit for the next level.”
Once Coach Lewis decided on the word tiro, he knew that it needed to merge with something else. Coach Lewis knew that he wanted to create a training and educational platform for wrestlers to better themselves while being educated in the process of recruitment. That’s when coach Lewis came across the word nook. The definition for nook is “an area, a corner, as in a room or any secluded or obscure area”. So, when coach Lewis put the two words together (tiro and nook) in 2015, Tironook was born.
Coach Lewis defines Tironook as a training area/environment for wrestlers to better themselves while gaining knowledge and exposure to become new recruits for the next level.