Ella,

While I may not compete anymore outside of the practices occasionally, I am currently both a Strength and Conditioning as well as a Nutritional advisor for a college wrestling team at my alma mater. I have since instituted kettlebell training (per my expertise) to increase areas important to wrestlers such as grip strength, core strength, as well as muscular conditioning along with their regular strength and conditioning programs.

Where our approach differs from other wrestling teams is that we find a way to naturally fit athletes into the weight classes without involving starvation or dangerous crash dieting methods. When I competed, and I know this is common in many programs, guys would binge and then starve themselves back down before competing and weighing in. I work with athletes (mainly in the Paleo realm) to foster healthy leanness year-round so that they can better fit into their weight classes comfortably, with good levels of strength and energy to be able to compete. Those that embrace these techniques as I teach them tend to perform better overall.

I love to play basketball.  Like to have my time on the court.

I've been wanting to join some local leagues but I am way too nervous to go try out or sign up. I was hoping for Soccer or Softball. Soccer would be better for my fitness and I would get motivated but I would be better at softball and most likely have more fun.
Of course time is a factor as well and I am currently a student so my time is a little spread thin.

I've heard many 'paleo people' say that they can definitely tell the difference when it comes to participating in sports or getting exercise while on a paleo diet. Apparently, not only is there sometimes a noticeable improvement in performance, there's almost always a change for the better in the way that you feel after playing or working out. This may be especially true for endurance activities such as cycling and running marathons, and some pro athletes have actually tracked their results during the transition to a paleo diet, which can include an increase in performance and stamina. Yet another reason to try this diet?