Stenz receives special use permit for family to run wrestling club
ALPENA — In August, the Alpena Township Planning Commission voted against Jake and Cari Stenz to hold a wrestling club at their house, but on Monday, they went back to the commission for a special use permit and it was approved.
The special use permit allows the Stenz family to run Stenz Wrestling Club, LLC on their property on Russell Court in Alpena. The club is now permitted to run for up to three days a week from 6-8:30 p.m. during the school year, and three days a week anytime from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the summer.
“Part of the problem in August was that we jumped the gun a little bit and we didn’t have everything together that we needed,” Jake said. “I was told to fill out paperwork, turn it in, and I should be good to go, but obviously there’s more to it than that and there were some things that we were missing.”
After the permit was not approved, Jake took a week to go through the paperwork to figure out why they were denied and what he and his wife would need to do in order to get the permit. Jake and Cari went back to the commission on Monday and were approved the special use permit.
“I had a pretty good feeling about it, but I didn’t know,” Jake said. “I have a couple of neighbors who were against it, but there’s also people in the neighborhood who think it’s a great idea.”
Jake said that one of the reasons they created the club and getting a permit was to purchase insurance to cover kids in case someone gets hurt since wrestling is a contact sport. Jake uses the pole barn on his property with a mat in it for kids to use. He said that a goal of the wrestling club is to start small and hope to grow it into something bigger.
“Wrestling is not a big sport here, it doesn’t get a lot of coverage, and it’s not a mainstream sport, but there’s a lot you can learn from it,” he said. “There’s a lot you can learn about self discipline. When the little kids come in, we talk about nutrition and when you shouldn’t eat, like candy bars are not good to eat before practice and you need to be drinking water and not pop.”
The next goal for the wrestling club is to insulate and heat the pole barn so next year, they can continue running the club through the cold months. Jake said that is why they went back to the planning commission on Monday, to make sure that they have the permit so Jake can do the things he needs to do so they can meet the guidelines.
Stenz Wrestling Club, LLC is registered as a non-profit organization and one of the guidelines is having to complete IRS non-profit paperwork along with some other things that are needed.
“I want to do things the right way,” Jake said. “I want to give kids an opportunity to learn how to wrestle.”
Jake said that he wants to see the wrestling club grow and move to a larger building where they could run more activities for kids. He said that if the club grows, than the sport of wrestling grows.
“We’re trying to do a good thing,” Jake said. “Wrestling has always been a part of me, it’s in my blood and I want to share it with kids. I’m trying to start something that I think would be great for kids in our area. It allows me to work with young kids and high school kids and try to help them better themselves.”
For more information about the wrestling club, visit their Facebook page at Stenz Wrestling Club, LLC.