Miami Wrestling Club is shaping young champs — with help from Li’l Abner Foundation

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (WSVN) — A group of kids are becoming the best versions of themselves, both physically and mentally, with the help from a South Florida foundation.

At the Miami Wrestling Club in Palmetto Bay, young wrestlers are able to fine-tune their strength and skills.

As part of the Li’l Abner Foundation, many of these athletes are homeschooled at its center, and they compete throughout the country year-round. Some of them went on to be Florida High School Athletic Association State Champions in 2025

Jovanni Tovar is one of those kids.

“The foundation has helped a lot, you know, helps with our homeschooling program so we could wrestle and train, so it’s been really helpful, making me a better wrestler and person, too,” he said.

Tovar has been wrestling since he was 6, and he has already competed internationally twice.

“That was an amazing experience, going out of the country twice: once to Brazil for the Pan American Championships and once to Greece,” he said. “In the Pan American Championships, I got second, so that was a pretty fun experience, and then at World’s, I got fifth.”

Tovar credits the club for teaching him valuable lessons and guiding him through his career.

“When you fall down, you got to keep going, come back up, can’t just let it bring you down,” he said.

Tovar’s dad Jose, who’s been wrestling since fifth grade, is their coach.

“It taught me a lot of life lessons, how to deal with adversity, how to persevere, and those experiences have allowed me as a coach to give back to the community, to my athletes, you know, give them that guidance,” said Jose.

Jose said he feels proud and privileged to be able to give back to young athletes who may need extra support.

“It’s one of the best privileges, seeing them grow as they start off — there’s challenges, they’re dealing with their adversity — and working together, and seeing them persevere and get better,” he said.

State champion Abigail Gonzalez said being in the club has helped her stay focused on sports and academics.

“Really just look forward and never say ‘I can’t.’ You could always do something if you set your mind to it,” she said. “if you say ‘I can’t,’ that’s where you lost right there. Just set your mind to something, say ‘I can do this,’ and anything is possible.”

Elijah Castanon, who won a championship in seventh grade, said he has high ambitions, and his goal is to get one percent better each day.

“Started at 4 years old, I started with jiu-jitsu, and then my dad put me in wrestling. That all started me, to get better at jiu-jitsu, and now I’m doing wrestling,” he said. “I want to win the Olympics one day, win World’s. I’ll be number one in the country, so training every day motivates me for that to be number one.”

Established in 2009, the Li’l Abner Foundation is a nonprofit that facilitates access to educational, recreational and health services for underserved residents in Miami-Dade County.

The foundation has helped over 3,000 young lives.

“I’m really proud of all my kids, because I think they really show and represent themselves, their parents, and the club and the foundation in a very well manner,” said Jose.

In late December, the team is set to compete in the Florida state 18M State Indoor Championship. Jose said he hopes his future alumni come back and continue to contribute to the community.