Tough people require tough lifestyles
At the age of seven; every male Spartan was sent to military and athletic school. These schools taught toughness, discipline, endurance of pain (often severe pain), and survival skills. At twenty, after thirteen years of training, the Spartan became a soldier. The Spartan soldier spent his life with his fellow soldiers; he lived in barracks and ate all his meals with his fellow soldiers.
Very few places in American Society can provide an environment to toughen the human body and mind. That's where wrestling comes in. A young wrestler is like a Spartan. In his early years he is taught toughness, discipline, endurance of pain and a work ethic unmatched in any other sport. As he gets older he spends time training, traveling, eating (and not eating), and staying in the same quarters with fellow wrestlers. He will sacrifice things, which appear abnormal to other Americans, such as dieting and going without water, while still having to train with an extreme amount of intensity. He learns the lessons of sacrifice; they give him a better understanding of the sufferings of the world oustide of America. It teaches him that life is not easy, but the human body and mind can endure while under stress and pain. The sport teaches the body and mind to endure the unavoidable stress and adversity that life hands them.
Wrestling is one of the last places in American society that molds Spartans.
