Anybody who’s attended Warren Township High School the last few years has, at the very least, heard whispers of wizards and warlocks in our varsity wrestling room. Every year, students walk through that burly steel door in the Almond campus basement with an interest in wrestling, just to emerge spent and sore. That’s because there’s a monster lurking on the mats.
He’s a wrestler so quick, so shifty, that his smaller size makes him untouchable; he’ll take on any opponent until he’s too exhausted to wrestle. Then, when it’s hardest to get up, like magic, he’ll be attacking like he was just warming up. The 113-pound USA junior national team wrestler, Caleb Noble, is one to put on a show, hence the nickname “Showtime.” If you ask Caleb what the nickname means to him, he’ll say, “Showtime means to put on a show. For me, showtime means putting my best foot forward and showing out for the crowd. And yeah, I’m a showman, you know?”
The first time I ever encountered Caleb was actually on the mat. I was on the varsity wrestling team, practicing with the regional champions on the 2023 team. The coach had us doing a takedown drill; we had to get 10 takedowns in a minute, and we switched partners every two minutes, so it was inevitable that I would end up with the showman. He let me go first. I couldn’t get all 10 takedowns, but I got 6. I was happy with 6. When it was his turn to go, I could not blink without being taken down. It was like wrestling Spider-Man or the Flash. He probably got 12 or 13 takedowns by the end of the minute. Mind you, I was about 175-pounds at that time, and he wrestled at 113-pounds that year. The difference between the elite and the average is versatility. Caleb knows how to wrestle in many scenarios, whether it be a weight disparity or competing in a whole different sport.
The same intensity was seen when Caleb attended a 333 Jiu-Jitsu open mat recently, even though his main sport is wrestling. Here’s what he had to say: “Once the gi came off and it was like no gi, at that point I was able to do my stuff. I was able to get into collar ties. And once I collar tied, I slid somebody by and I teleported to their back. I got good taps on them from my footwork. I feel like my footwork separates me. Being able to be, I want to say shifty, you have to be able to maneuver your weight to the point where they’re not able to anticipate your movements.”
Did you get a lot of submissions? “I got a submission on you.” I tapped him twice, by the way. “All right once, but I got demolished,” he claims.
While Caleb was rolling with a big guy named Alex, he shot a textbook, technical, slide-by takedown and took him down. I spoke to the head coach at 333 JiuJitsu the next day, and he said, “Alex said he felt awful about himself getting taken down by such a small kid. The thing is he didn’t know who Caleb was, so once he got home and looked him up… he said he felt a bit better about himself.” After hearing that, I set out on a mission to find out why Caleb is such a good wrestler.
While Caleb was rolling with a big guy named Alex, he shot a textbook, technical, slide-by takedown and took him down. I spoke to the head coach at 333 JiuJitsu the next day, and he said, “Alex said he felt awful about himself getting taken down by such a small kid. The thing is he didn’t know who Caleb was, so once he got home and looked him up… he said he felt a bit better about himself.” After hearing that, I set out on a mission to find out why Caleb is such a good wrestler.
A conversation with Warren varsity head coach Bradley Janecek gives an inside look at how Caleb sets himself apart from other wrestlers every day: “Caleb excels using calculation and creativity while wrestling. Caleb is constantly on the lookout to put himself in a situation which requires him to act or react in a creative manner. Caleb knows his basics; however, this mindset allows him to be very hard to defend. His willingness to try something creative and daring are the reasons why he is considered to be one of the best high school wrestlers in the nation.”
Coach’s claim kept up at open mat, despite Caleb being out of the wrestling season and the fact that Jiu-Jitsu isn’t his sport. Though, ‘out of season’ isn’t all that accurate, because you need the off-season to be an elite wrestler, as Caleb explains it: “High school wrestling, I’m gonna put it blunt. It’s a lower scale. This is where I want to put my name(in the wrestling scene). if you want to take wrestling serious, You do that year round.” He trains all year round. He described his weeks: “I practice five, sometimes four days a week. If I feel really lazy, then I’ll go six.” So if you’re feeling lazy, you’ll go more? “Yeah, I’ll go more. If I’m feeling lazy on the weekend or like on a Friday after I did practice, I wake up on Saturday, I feel good, I don’t feel sore or anything. Maybe I’ll go to the building and go work out”
How do you get out of bed when you’re feeling lazy? Caleb talks about where his motivation comes from, saying: “see, what motivates me is probably my brother, because if it’s coming from my dad, my dad’s, like, ‘go train’. I feel like I don’t want to train no more. It’s different. But when my brother says it, it’s like, he wants me to get better, but he’s gonna do it with me.” “My dad taught me everything I know in wrestling, he’s brought me up to my level. I feel like my brother has almost developed me a little bit more from training with him from last year. Last year was the first time I’ve ever trained with my brother.”
Caleb’s older brother, Kyrie Noble, was a Division III collegiate wrestler at Harper College. He now coaches Caleb at their family gym called Toss Em’ Up Wrestling Academy. An older brother with experience in the wrestling scene is a huge help to Caleb’s game. Kyrie puts it like this: “I knew at a young age he was special. As he got older and gained more knowledge he formed his own style. Most coaches tried to change who he was and what he was doing, so I started to coach him from a different standpoint. Making sure he stayed true to who he was on and off the mat while also not looking at his style of wrestling as flawed, just different than most would dare to try. As you can see being himself on and off the mat is a big part of his success.”
An example: “ The most memorable moment would have to be his first of many US open stop signs. We worked tirelessly for that seat at the top. Being able to watch him grind and motivate him to go beyond his limits and watch him do it over again on the national level, the youngest in the bracket, was just impressive and a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of!!”
Caleb has such an amazing, supportive family behind him. It is one of the biggest reasons he’s so good. It’s really reflected here when Caleb talks about where his love for the game comes from: “It came from my dad. Like when I woke up, when I started remembering stuff, my eyes opened on the mat.. I was wrestling my friend. My partner in the wrestling room. We were wrestling in the tournament that I was wrestling in. That’s, like, when I woke up. I remember that match. And for me, it’s just my dad is always throwing me in it, and then my brother also did it. So, yeah, it’s like a family business.” Is it ever mentally draining? Caleb assured, “I’ve always loved wrestling. Like, my dad has never, ever put that stress on me. After I lose a match, he’s never yelled at me. He’s never done anything, anything. Anytime he sees me down he wants me to keep my head up. That’s what he wants me to do.” This loving atmosphere that Caleb lives in is the reason for Caleb’s success. We can talk about the footwork and the crazy practice mindset, but none of that is possible without the bonds he’s built on and off the mat. His technique is only as good as his confidence in it. He can only get that confidence knowing that his coaches, peers, and family are by his side as he walks the path of a true American Olympic wrestler.
He knows that no matter who’s on the other side of that mat, when duty calls and he steps on, it’s Showtime