About The B.A.M Training Center
The Bird Azarian Memorial Training Center is a 501(c)(3)charitable organization and wrestling club sanctioned by USA Wrestling. Founded in 2023., B.A.M. is dedicated to developing youth and high school wrestlers in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois while honoring the Bird and Azarian legacy. B.A.M., located in Burlington Wisconsin, provides high level wrestling training for athletes of all experience levels. Come find out why so many state and national champions choose to train at BAM!!
The Josh Bird Legacy
It is an honor for the Bird family to have the Bird Azarian Memorial Training Center named after Josh Bird. Josh leaves a legacy of hard work, determination, grit, and love of wrestling.
Josh slept, ate, and breathed wrestling for most of his life. His natural state was the wrestling stance from the day he could walk until the day he died at 23 years old.
Josh had many accolades as a wrestler including multi-time State and National Championships thanks to so many great coaches (including his dad) and the support system that mentored him along the way.
I am extremely grateful for Coach Ole and the big, powerful impact he had on Josh, his life, and his wrestling career.
To all that enter the B.A.M. Training Center and in the spirit of Josh, make every match count, every day matter, and love like there is no tomorrow.
-- Caryn Bird
The Bird Azarian Legacy
The Bird family's wrestling legacy was born, when a man named Tony Azarian, took me under his wing when I was in college, like did so many of us at UW Parkside. His family became our family and when he passed away April 15 2000 we were devastated. I was blessed to be entrusted with coaching his young men, Tony, Danny and Kody, in addition to his (late) nephew Anthony, and Anthony’s best friend and training partner Anthony “Ole” D’Alie. In short, that led to Caryn starting to do Sports hypnosis with the young men. Every day of practice and my life was surrounded around the premise, “how would Tony do this.” I can remember Tony bringing his family and others to our college practices to wrestle or watch as their father wrestled with the college guys.
The legacy of Josh and our family continued based on the legacy that Tony taught me and of course when Josh was born. He was our first son and I had a passion for the sport of wrestling and all it had done for me in life to be successful. We wanted these friendships and disciplines taught through the sport of wrestling to be passed down to our children and share it with the community and beyond, As Tony did in Racine.
When we moved to Burlington, we got involved with coaching at CCHS, where my high school teammate was the head coach. From the time Josh could basically crawl, he would attend practice with me, (as Tony’s kids did when we I was in college) and several days he would watch practice from a door hanging bouncy and would bounce and watch, as we grew and could walk, he would attend matches and tournaments with us and became the team cheerleaders, parents would rally around him, help to feed him, change him and keep an eye on him as he ran around gyms, and ride is fisher price, human powered 4 wheeler
When Josh was three a few friends with young boys (Pat Hornickle, Al Ehlen, Tom Fitzpatrick) started to plan for a youth wrestling club and in 2001 it was born, at that time Josh was 4 going on 5. From that day forward the dream was born, and we built friends around the state and across the country. These friends became family, as we traveled together and competed against each other.
As the time would continue this bond around the sport of wrestling provided great opportunities for international travel and meaningful friends, mentors, and wrestling/academic scholarships for many young people.
This dream to honor the Azarian family was beginning to formalize when Ole came back to Wisconsin after college and started an elite wrestling program in Waterford and later moved to Burlington. After Anthony Azarian died suddenly in a construction accident, we named the building on Schemer Street the Azarian Memorial Training Center to honor Tony and Anthony Azarian. This is and was home to so many outstanding Athletes including Josh. After Josh lost his life in a sudden accident, we were challenged to continue to give honor the Azarian family yet incorporate Josh’s legacy as well. Until one day Ole was doing a camp with Crass Trained, and (Jordan or Josh Crass) said BAM ( in a very loud and intense voice), and that was it, it couldn't be more perfect especially the way they all wrestled. Bird Azarian Memorial Training Center.
-- Kevin Bird
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