Wrestle Dad

Synopsis

They called him Notebook Jimmy," or "Jimmy With the Notebook," on account of the fact that he carried the green spiral wherever he went: dual meets, summer tournaments, club practices. Jimmy was one of the fanatics. He spent years as a wrestling dad—measuring life in long car rides, crowded gyms, and weekends that start before sunrise and end long after the final whistle.

As Jimmy and his son Brady take their final road trip to Atlantic City for the New Jersey State Wrestling Championships before Brady heads off to college, everything feels different. Every match carries the weight of something bigger. Not just wins and losses—but endings. Of seasons. Of routines. Of a version of fatherhood that had long defined him.

Wrestle Dad is a humorous, touching story about obsession, identity, and the quiet heartbreak of loving something you cannot hold onto forever. It is a love letter to the New Jersey wrestling community, capturing the beauty of the bond between father and son, and the unforgettable cast of characters that only the wrestling world could produce.

About the Author

Scott Laterra is a writer, attorney, and father from Northern New Jersey. He grew up in a wrestling family, and returned to his roots when he became a wrestle dad to two wrestlers. Drawing from years spent inside the culture of high school wrestling as a participant, a fan and then as a father, his writing captures the highs and lows of competition, the parent-child bond that forms through a shared love for the greatest sport in the world.