NM GOLD: Character, Respect, Humility

Written by Coach Rey Gallegos

NM Gold is an elite all-star team from New Mexico with its roots and coaches coming from Las Vegas, New Mexico. The coaches instill small town values in their wrestlers and emphasize hard work, teamwork, self-confidence and physical and mental discipline. Our wrestlers believe in themselves; they believe if they put their mind and heart into a goal, they will accomplish anything.

We believe that this sport is bigger than wrestling. We teach life lessons: be humble, respect authority, and listen to what wrestling teaches you on and off the mat. Our coaches motivate and encourage our young athletes to not only focus on the sport of wrestling, but on character development and good sportsmanship. We want our kids to be successful individuals not just in wrestling but also in life. We know the sport of wrestling is the best way to teach perseverance, confidence and build character.

At the end of the day, it is not about talent or technique, but who has the will and the heart. The style of wrestling we teach is called Rubalcaba Style of wrestling, named after their high school coach Joey Rulbucalba, who mentored and coached in Las Vegas, NM. He taught our coaches not only to be great wrestlers but to be successful in life. The style can be compared to the Dan Gable wrestling method which emphasizes attack-style wrestling with an offensive approach.

NM Gold has been very successful in its own state, with its team members becoming multiple state champs over multiple years. These wrestlers have also been successful on the national scene, with several wrestlers winning and placing at RMN events all over the West. Most recently NM Gold is the 2018 New Mexico National Showdown Team Champs (see photo). Some of the wrestles who have made a name for themselves that you will want to keep an eye out for are: Romulus Padilla – 15U 80; Daniel Trujillo – 15U 75; Isaac Probst – 15U 80; Lorenzo Gallegos – 10U 65; Marcus Abeyta – 8U 65; and Santiago Mendrano – 8U 69.

NM Gold would like to thank RMN for providing wrestlers throughout the Southwest an opportunity to wrestle elite teams and wrestlers from across the country. When we travel as a team, we view it as time with our wrestling family. NM Gold will be representing New Mexico at the following RMN events: Terminator Worlds, RMN National Duals and Individual Championships, Aztec Warrior, and the USA Nationals.