Welcome to the Cedar Valley Training Center

About the Training Center

Nate Hansen grew up in Gregory, South Dakota. Coached by his father John, he was a 6x SDHSAA state placerwinner and won three state championships at GHS. With the solid wrestling foundation set by Nate's dad (as well as brothers Chad, Matt and Nick) he was able to continue in the sport at Luther College. There, he was deeply impacted by the late Greg Lonning as well as Coach Mitchell and O'Gara (his brother Matt even joined the Luther staff). Nate went on to become a two time All-American and won the NCAA Championship in 2007. Inspired by the leaders who mentored Nate, he began his coaching career as an assistant at South Dakota State University after college. While coaching there, he began training in Brazilian Jui Jitsu in order to compete in MMA and grappling events. In 2012, Nate was hired as the Head Wrestling Coach at Simpson College. During his seven years at SC, Nate refocused his competitive energy back toward wrestling while working to build the program. During this time, Nate was able to take multiple international training trips, adding to his coaching and grappling skills as he learned from World and Olympic champions in Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Russia. These experiences have led to several USA Wrestling National titles. In 2019 Nate accepted and assistant coaching position at the University of Dubuque which allowed him to compete more frequently. He represented the USA at his first international competition in Tiblisi, Georgia in 2019 and again in 2022 where he earned silver at the Veterans World Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Later in 2022, Nate found his way to the Viking Wrestling Club and began to get involved in the Vinton community. During this time, he returned to the Jui Jitsu scene and is currently a Blue Belt under John Gutta. Through Jiu Jitsu, he met the GRIND BJJ owner, Matt Gallagher. They began their coaching partnership in 2024 as Nate took the head boy's wrestling coaching position at Vinton-Shellsburg High School, Matt agreed to assist the program. Matt was born and raised in Iowa and recently returned to the Vinton area after retiring from the Army. While in the service, he was given the opportunity to train and teach in the Army’s Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP) which led him to the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Being a former wrestler, Matt found the transition into BJJ to be very natural. He has trained and taught in gyms all over the US and Europe. In 2020, Matt opened the first GRIND gym in El Paso, Texas. That gym continues to be a success with large child and adult programs. Matt received his black belt from Tom DeBlass in October 2020, and his first degree on the black belt in 2024. Matt enjoys traveling and teaching at several camps throughout the year for the BJJ Globetrotters, an organization that promotes cross training and traveling with BJJ. He believes these experiences give him the ability to develop a Jiu Jitsu program that is easy to learn at any age, skill, or fitness level. Nate is a USA Wrestling Bronze Certified Coach and earned a CSCS Certification through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He lives in Vinton with wife Sarah, and their two sons- Abram and Barrett.

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Matt and Nate are dedicated to helping youth through Veteran wrestlers achieve their goals. The academy is designed to provide an outstanding environment for athletes of all levels and abilities. Whether you’re a novice or a professional, reach your potential with Hansen Trained Wrestling Academy.  I look forward to you and your family joining us and I’m excited about the opportunity to bring BJJ to Vinton!