New York Wrestling News was pleased to sit down with Kellen Devlin and Steve Hart at KD6 in Buffalo for our Club Coverage Series. If you feel like a particular club should be highlighted in this series, please email nywrestlingnews1@gmail.com.

Club: KD6
Head Coach: Kellen Devlin
Founded: 2020
Location: University of Buffalo Wrestling Room

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣 & 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘕𝘠?
Coach Devlin: “It started as a private open-mat practice throughout the pandemic. Over time, word spread and interest grew. It took on a life of its own & grew organically. I knew I wanted to give back to the wrestling community that had given so much to me.”

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥?
Coach Devlin: “We’re working to build an established, high-level, centralized youth & high school wrestling club that provides athletes with the coaching, training, & resources they need to pursue their goals at the state & national level.”

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭?
Coach Devlin: “The relationships we build with our athletes & their families. With the addition of our youth program, we now have the opportunity to work with wrestlers throughout their entire youth & high school careers, building lasting relationships & supporting their development every step of the way. Also, having access to the University of Buffalo’s wrestling room & facilities is another incredible resource. It allows the athletes to train in a Division 1 environment.”

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴?
Coach Devlin: “Wrestling reaches far beyond the sport. We hope the lessons our athletes learn through the club help shape them into dependable, accountable, and respectful people. The same people who become great employees, friends, leaders, and contributing members to society. The world needs more of those kinds of people in it.”

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣?
Coach Devlin: “I would have to say finding a large enough training space. We quickly outgrew our original private facility, and thanks to James and Frank Cunningham, we were able to make a Buffalo gymnasium our home for a period of time. When Donnie Vinson was hired as the Head Wrestling Coach at UB, it opened the door for our next chapter.”

𝘕𝘠𝘞𝘕: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣?
Coach Hart: “For me, one of the most rewarding parts is watching our athletes develop and seeing their progression from one year to the next. I also really value the relationships and connections we build through the sport, especially as we travel to train and compete in different places.”