Now Enrolling · Season Starts November 2026 · Wilkes-Barre, PA
USA WrestlingChartered Club
SafeSport CertifiedU.S. Center for SafeSport
Altered Beast Wrestling Academy
Unleash the Beast
This is not a rec program. Altered Beast is an elite youth wrestling academy for boys ages 5–18 — five nights a week of high-level coaching, relentless mat time, and one standard: earn it. Wyoming Valley wrestling is coming back to the top of Pennsylvania, and it starts in this room.
Three programs, one standard — days and times are right on the card. Nobody gets turned away for being new, and nobody gets to stay comfortable.
Ages5–8
Little Beasts
Foundation · Movement · Love of the Sport
Where it all starts. Little Beasts learn the fundamentals the right way — stance, motion, balance, and basic takedowns — through high-energy practices built for young athletes.
Stance, movement & body control
Basic takedowns, escapes & pinning
Games-based drilling & mat awareness
Optional novice tournaments
Mon & Wed · 5:00–6:00 PM
Core Program
Ages9–12
Junior Beasts
Technique · Live Wrestling · Competition
The engine room of the academy. Junior Beasts build complete technique chains, wrestle live every practice, and test themselves at tournaments across Pennsylvania.
Full neutral, top & bottom systems
Live wrestling every session
Tournament schedule & travel team
Strength, agility & conditioning basics
Mon & Wed · 6:00–7:30 PM · Fri · 6:00–7:00 PM
Ages13–18
Elite Beasts
Advanced · State & National Stage
For junior high and high school wrestlers chasing the podium. Advanced technique, film study, strength & conditioning, and a competition schedule built for state and national events.
Advanced chains & match strategy
Wrestling-specific strength & conditioning
State & national tournament circuit
College recruiting guidance
Tue & Thu · 5:00–7:00 PM · Fri · 7:00–8:00 PM
The DenOdyssey Fitness Center · Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702Saturday Open Mat10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · All levels, all BeastsShow Up RightArrive 15 minutes early. First day? Just bring a t-shirt, shorts or sweatpants, and wrestling shoes if you have them. We'll handle the rest.
New to Wrestling?
Your First 30 Days
Brand new to the sport? Here's exactly what happens — no surprises, no sink-or-swim. Every Beast starts on a ramp built for beginners, and nobody skips a step.
The Week-by-Week PlanFundamentals first, drilling at your level, first live wrestling in week 4 — plus the Beast Rule that protects every beginner.
Week 1
Fundamentals First
Stance, motion, balance, and the rules of the room. Coaches assess movement, coordination, and experience to map your wrestler's starting point. No live wrestling — none. Week one is foundation only, so your kid learns the right way before anyone turns up the heat.
Weeks 2–3
Drill at Your Level
Partner drilling with wrestlers at the same level — same size, same stage. Technique chains get sharper rep by rep, and coaches introduce controlled live situations at a pace a beginner can actually handle.
Week 4
First Live Wrestling
The first real live goes — matched by age, weight, and experience. Coaches evaluate, place your wrestler in the right program, and lay out the development plan from there. Earned, not assumed.
The Beast Rule: Beginners are NEVER thrown in with advanced kids. Not in week one, not ever. Levels stay separated until a coach — not a calendar — says your wrestler is ready to move up.
Coaching Staff
Led by Beasts
Altered Beast is building a coaching staff to rival the best club programs in the country — competitors who have lived it, not just studied it, and who came home to forge the next generation of Wyoming Valley wrestling.
RV
Coach Rich Vitale
Head Coach
Coach Rich sets the standard for the entire room — practice structure, competition schedule, and the development path every Beast follows from age 5 to 18. Technique first, effort always, and accountability in everything: that's the culture he built Altered Beast on.
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His philosophy is simple: you don't build champions by throwing kids into chaos — you build them rep by rep, with technique drilled until it's instinct and standards that never move. Every wrestler in his room, from a first-year five-year-old to a state-title contender, gets coached like he matters — because he does.
Rich's track record is developing wrestlers the right way: novices who walk in knowing nothing grow into disciplined, confident competitors, and advanced wrestlers get the detail work that separates district placers from state medalists. Development in his room is staged, measured, and safe — nobody skips steps, and nobody gets fed to the wolves.
Background-Checked · SafeSport Certified
OK
Coach Omar Kellom
Coach · Head of Strength & Conditioning
Omerao Kellom — Coach Omar to everyone who steps in the room — runs the engine room. On the mat, he drills fundamentals until they're instinct and mentors young Beasts into confident, aggressive competitors. Off the mat, strength & conditioning is his specialty — he built and leads Beast Strength & Conditioning, the academy's training program for power, speed, agility, and injury prevention. His age-appropriate programming is why Beasts are still attacking in the third period when the other kid is running on fumes — and it's open to any athlete ready to outwork the competition.
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By day, Omar is a Corrections Officer — a profession built on leadership, discipline, and integrity under pressure. He brings all of it to the mat: calm when the room gets loud, consistent every single practice, and a mentor before he's anything else. His philosophy is to lead by example and build respect through consistency and accountability — because he believes wrestling builds determination, mental toughness, resilience, and self-discipline that outlast any season.
Ask him his goal and he won't talk about medals: "Prepare young athletes to become confident leaders who carry the lessons learned through wrestling into every aspect of their lives." That's why his room runs on teamwork, sportsmanship, and academic success — a culture of respect and accountability that follows his athletes off the mat and into the classroom. He coaches the same way with Lady Beast Wrestling Academy, the girls program at Odyssey — same standard, both rooms.
His philosophy: strong is a skill, and it's built — never rushed. Omar programs age-appropriate by design: movement quality and technique before load, progressive strength work matched to each athlete's stage of development, and conditioning that builds kids up instead of breaking them down. Safe and effective isn't a slogan in his room — it's the programming.
His track record is the athletes themselves — youth wrestlers and multi-sport athletes who got faster, stronger, and harder to injure under his coaching, and who keep coming back season after season because the work works. Continuity is his edge: the same coach, the same plan, week after week, compounding into results you can measure in the third period.
The Beast staff is still growing — more coaching announcements are coming ahead of the season opener. Interested in joining the staff? Contact the academy.
Club Membership
One Club. Three Ways In.
Altered Beast runs on membership — simple, recurring, and built for families. Go monthly for total flexibility, go annual and get two months free, or go Elite Competitor and put Coach Omar's strength & conditioning on your wrestler's schedule every single week. Either way, your wrestler gets every scheduled practice in his program.
More Than One Beast? — 30% sibling discount. Every additional wrestler in your family trains for 30% less.
Membership Plans, ComparedMonthly vs. annual vs. Elite Competitor — billing, savings, and priority booking, side by side.
FlexibilityCancel anytimeLocked in for the full season — best value
Priority BookingYes — open mats, clinics & special sessionsYes — open mats, clinics & special sessions
Simple and straight: recurring monthly payment, auto-renewing, cancel anytime — no contracts, no fine print. Your dues cover coaching and mat time — tournament fees and travel are covered by the Booster Club, and gear is purchased separately. Monthly members get priority booking for open mats, clinics, and special sessions. Register below and we'll set up your plan.
Top Tier
Elite Competitor
Club Membership + Weekly S&C with Coach Omar · Ages 12+
The full weapon. Elite Competitor welds your club membership and Coach Omar's strength & conditioning into one program — the mat work and the weight room driving the same plan, week after week. No gaps, no guesswork, no plateau. This is how Beasts separate from the pack: continuity that compounds into results.
Everything in club membership — every scheduled practice in your program
1 S&C session per week with Coach Omar, built into your schedule — not an add-on
One development plan — technique, strength, and conditioning progressing together
Priority booking for open mats, clinics & special sessions
Ages 12+ only — weekly S&C starts at 12. Wrestlers ages 5–11 join the club only and add S&C when they turn 12
One form, one signup — register on the club form below and choose Elite Competitor as your plan
$150 / month
The $75 club membership plus weekly S&C with Coach Omar, bundled into one rate — Omar's standalone S&C membership alone runs $150/month.
Registration is open for the new season at Odyssey Fitness Center. No tryout theater, no politics — fill out the form and we'll place your wrestler, set his first practice date, and tell you exactly what to bring.
New to wrestling? Good. Everybody starts somewhere — the Beasts in the highlight reel did too. Come see the room, meet the coaches, and watch a session before you commit.
1
Submit the formTell us about your wrestler — age, weight, and experience.
2
We confirm placementYou'll hear back by email with program, schedule, and fees.
3
Step on the matFirst day? Just bring a t-shirt, shorts or sweatpants, and wrestling shoes if you have them. We'll handle the rest.
4
Get your USA Wrestling cardUSA Wrestling athlete card required within your first 30 days. You don't need it to start — we'll walk you through getting one.
Beast Strength & Conditioning · By Coach Omar Kellom
Forged in the Weight Room
Not a corporate gym — no mirrors-and-smoothies fitness, no hiding in the back of a class of forty. Small-group and 1-on-1 training led by Coach Omar Kellom at Odyssey Fitness Center, for wrestlers and athletes from every sport — football, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, soccer, plus adults who still train like athletes. If you compete, this is where you get faster, stronger, and harder to injure.
Power
Speed
Strength
Agility
Mental Toughness
Injury Prevention
Age-Appropriate Tracks
Built for Your Age. Built for Your Sport.
Kids are not small adults. Every athlete trains on a track built for their age, their body, and their stage of development — technique first, load second, always.
Junior High · Ages 12–14
The foundation track. Movement quality, coordination, and bodyweight strength progressing to properly coached lifts. Sprint mechanics, change of direction, and the habits that keep young athletes healthy while they grow.
High School · Ages 14–18
The performance track. Max strength, explosive power, top-end speed, and conditioning that holds up in the fourth quarter and the third period. Built for varsity demands, postseason runs, and athletes with college ambitions.
Adults · 18+
Serious training for adults — former wrestlers and competitors, and anyone done with casual fitness. Strength, work capacity, and mobility, programmed and coached like an athlete, because you still are one.
Strength & conditioning starts at age 12 — wrestlers ages 5–11 join the club only, and S&C joins their plan when they turn 12. That's why the Elite Competitor club plan (club + weekly S&C) is ages 12+.
Sessions & 1-on-1
Book Coach Omar
Private and small-group training with Coach Omar — for Altered Beast wrestlers, athletes from any sport, and entire teams. Pick your option and send a booking request; Omar confirms your slot personally.
The serious option. Monthly memberships put you on Coach Omar's recurring schedule — small-group sessions, a real progression, and priority booking on every slot. Recurring monthly payment, auto-renewing, cancel anytime.
Monthly members always book first — priority booking on every session slot, before single sessions open up. All training runs at Odyssey Fitness Center in Wilkes-Barre.
Wrestlers on the Elite Competitor club plan already have weekly S&C built in — no separate booking needed. This form is for standalone S&C bookings with Coach Omar.
Booking Request
Claim Your Slot
Tell Coach Omar what you're after and when you can train. He confirms every booking personally — no call centers, no apps, no runaround.
1
Send the requestPick your service and the days & times that work for you.
2
Omar confirmsYou'll get a reply with your slot and what to bring.
3
Show up readyFirst session includes a movement assessment and your training plan.
Proof of Work
No Hype. Just Beasts.
No highlight-reel fluff — pace, pressure, and finishes, earned the hard way.
Beast Mode: Match Highlights
Takedowns, turns, and pins from the mat — straight from the academy's Facebook page.
From the Archive · Est. 2018Where it started — our first free class flyer, December 2018. Fitness, confidence, and discipline: the Beast standard from day one.
Real Kids · Real Results · Real Gear
From the Mat
No stock photos, no staged shoots — this is the original Altered Beast run, 2018–2020: the room, the medals, and the kids who set the standard. Flip to the Gear tab for the official team line.
The HaulThe whole crew after a tournament run — medals stacked deep and one very shiny belt. Altered Beast never traveled light.Friday Night Live — Feb. 2020The crew in the room, under the Beast on the wall. Not our largest group — but plenty of talent, and everybody got the work they came for.PJW State Qualifiers — Feb. 2020Medals, trophies, and a wall of Beasts who punched their ticket to states. This is what the work buys.Gold & SilverTwo young Beasts bringing home gold and silver, head to toe in Altered Beast gear. The hardware is real — so is the smile.The Singlet CrewSummer grind. The crew in full Altered Beast singlets — ready to scrap anywhere, including a parking lot at golden hour.Tournament DayHeadgear on, game face on. Two Beasts between matches — one all business, one still finding it funny.Picture DayOne of the original Beasts, repping the club for his team portrait. This is who we build the room for.
The real Altered Beast gear line — the same custom sublimated gear our wrestlers wear in the photos. Every piece is made to order, and every back carries your wrestler's own last name, shown as YOUR NAME in the designs. Include the wrestler's name, item, colorway, and size in your order. All sizes run youth through adult, and custom gear turnaround is approximately 3 weeks.
Competition Singlet
The official Altered Beast singlet — full custom sublimation, beast across the chest, your wrestler's last name down the back. Pick your colorway.
Outfit your Beast in one order. Packages are built from the same custom pieces above — singlet, shorts, shirt, and q-zip — with your wrestler's name on every back.
Package #1 — The Kit
$127.50 / package
Competition singlet — your colorway
Custom sublimated grappling shorts
Custom sublimated shirt — the team Loose Fit T-Shirt
Order by email or at the front desk during practice — gear is custom-made and distributed in the room. Sizes run youth through adult, and custom gear turnaround is approximately 3 weeks. Sizing runs true; exchange unwashed items within 30 days.
Booster Club & Fundraising
Powered by Beast Families
The Altered Beast Booster Club is the backbone of the academy. Run by our parents and supporters, the booster club raises the funds that keep training affordable and send our wrestlers to the biggest stages — so no Beast ever misses an opportunity because of cost.
Where the Money GoesTournament fees and team travel — the Booster Club covers the costs beyond your dues, so every Beast competes no matter what a family can afford.
Tournament Fund
Covers entry fees for local, state, and national events — from a first-year novice's first tournament to the national circuit for our Elite Beasts.
Travel Fund
Fuel, vans, and overnight lodging for competitions more than 75 miles from Wilkes-Barre — so the whole team travels together, every time.
Gear Fund
Gear is purchased separately by families — this fund provides scholarships that help cover gear and training fees for families who need a hand, so no Beast sits out over cost.
Sponsor TiersBronze $250 · Silver $500 · Gold $1,000 per season — put your business behind the Beasts and in front of hundreds of Wyoming Valley wrestling families.
Parents power this program — running concession stands, driving carpools, working tournament tables, and leading our fundraisers, from car washes and basket raffles to our annual golf outing. Every hour and every dollar goes straight to the wrestlers.
Wyoming Valley wrestling was once a dominant force in Pennsylvania — feared in every bracket, respected in every gym in the state. That standard slipped. Altered Beast Wrestling Academy is here to take it back.
And it was never just about wrestling. Altered Beast started with family — built for Emily and Johnny, the reason this club exists at all. What began as one father's mission for his own kids grew into a home for every young wrestler in the Valley who needed a place to belong and a standard to chase.
Here's how the money works — straight up, no fine print. Membership dues cover coaching and mat time. The Booster Club covers tournament entry fees and team travel. Gear is purchased separately. Cost should never be what keeps a kid off the mat — and the Booster Club is there to help families who need a hand.
Altered Beast is reopening its doors at Odyssey Fitness Center in Wilkes-Barre. The room is ready. The standard is set. All that's missing is you — bring your wrestler ready to work.
High-Level Coaching
A staff that rivals the best club programs in the country — technique-first instruction scaled to every age and level.
Relentless Mat Time
Five nights a week of drilling, live wrestling, and conditioning. Champions are built in the room, one practice at a time.
Built for the Podium
From a first-year novice to a state-title contender, every Beast follows a development path toward district, state, and national podiums.
Contact
Contact the Den
Questions about registration, sponsorships, or the booster club — reach out. We answer fast during the season.