One got into the sport because of a teammate.

Another, a coach's son, knew he wanted to be a wrestler since he was 3 years old.

The third came out of nowhere to become the first Tri-State champion from Post Falls High in 20 years.

As youth club wrestlers, Drake Foster, Alius De La Rosa and Seth McLeod cut their wrestling teeth on the mats for the Post Falls-based Team Real Life youth wrestling club.

And this just in - they're pretty good.

"It's been great," said De La Rosa, a sophomore at 126 pounds. "We've got a well-rounded team. It's nice to be competing with the little guys and helping them out too."

Club wrestlers compete in up to 10 tournaments, in either folkstyle or Greco-Roman, during the course of a year. McLeod competed with Team USA in folkstyle last summer.

"I think it's definitely an advantage to have to be on that team," said McLeod, a junior at 170. "You get to wrestle in those tournaments and compete year-round with great coaching and great partners. It's a big opportunity."

"It definitely helps a lot having good wrestling partners in the room with you," said Foster of wrestling with Team Real Life. "They're always challenging you to get better and it also helps when competition comes up, because you've already faced a challenge at practice, so you're used to being in tight matches where you've got to wrestle well."

All three also won high school state 5A championships last year in Pocatello.

Foster, a junior, finished fourth last year at Tri-State at 120 pounds after a runner-up showing as a freshman at 106.

"My freshman year, the nerves kind of got to me," said Foster, who is at 120 again this year. "Last year, I had never been the No. 1 seed in that kind of tournament before, so it kind of messed with my head a little bit. This year, I'm going in relaxed and just going to try and go out and wrestle."

Foster, who also plays soccer at Post Falls, didn't start wrestling until he was 5 years old.

"I got one of my friends (T.J. Wolf) involved with playing soccer," Foster said. "In exchange, he got me started in wrestling for Team Real Life. From there, I met Seth and all those guys and that's how Team Real Life was formed."

Foster believes that playing soccer helps him on the mat as well.

"I definitely come into the season in a little better shape than most kids," Foster said. "It's just a nice break from wrestling so I don't get burned out, and it's really fun to do."

McLeod, who played tailback on the Trojan football team, moved from Michigan, immediately getting involved in wrestling.

"My dad (Doug) was a coach in Michigan when I was younger," McLeod said. "I used to want to go to practice with him and play with the other kids. When we moved to Idaho when I was 4 or 5, and Team Real Life was just getting going, so my dad got me into it and I just loved it."

McLeod finished seventh at Tri-State as a freshman and lost to teammate James Ost in the 145-pound state 5A final as a freshman. He wasn't able to compete in last year's event due to being benched.

"Last year, the week before Tri-State, I was in the finals at the Inland Empire Classic finals and lost," McLeod said. "And I kind of threw a fit. It was childish and stupid, but I ended up getting in trouble for it and had to sit out a week. It's not going to happen again."

De La Rosa, who joined Burt Beamer - who won titles in 1992 and 1993 at heavyweight - as a Trojan Tri-State champion last year, winning at 106 pounds.

"It was a little nerve-wracking at the tournament," De La Rosa said. "I knew I was kind of in the mix, but being a freshman coming in, not a lot of people knew who I was. But after I won, I was pretty excited."

De La Rosa moves up from 106 to 126 at Tri-State this year, which begins Friday at 10 a.m. at Christianson Gym on the campus of North Idaho College.

"I know I've got a target on my back," De La Rosa said. "All I can do is train to beat that target on my back and not let anyone gain on me from last year. There's going to be a strength difference for sure. Last year, I was a lot stronger in my class, but this year, I know I'm not going to have that advantage."

Since McLeod is a few weight classes from Foster and De La Rosa, the debate on who's the best remains.

"We argue about this a lot," McLeod said. "We're not at the same weight, so it's not something we've got to worry about, but Drake and Alius wrestle a lot. Drake has great hips and has great awareness on the mat. He's very strong for his size and goes hard a lot. Alius is very technical, strong and doesn't make too many mistakes. He's a very strong wrestler."

"I don't know, but it would be a good match," De La Rosa said. "Drake would probably win because he's got better technique."

Where they're seeded at Tri-State won't matter, thought Foster and De La Rosa believe they'll be in the mix again.

"If I'm one of the bigger seeds, I'll be a little happier," Foster said. "Everyone is going to be trying to beat those (seeded) kids, so they're going to go out and wrestle their hardest."

"I think more than anything, losing as a freshman motivated me," McLeod said. "I've dreamed of being a four-time state champion. To go in and lose to my teammate in the finals, it crushed me and definitely motivated me to go out and win every single match I compete in. That can't happen, but it's really driven me. I love the competitiveness of wrestling. When you've got a chance to go out and show what you can do and what your team is capable of, it's really exciting. It's a tough sport, not everyone can do it and not everyone will do it. But the more you put into it, the more you can get out of it."