EVANS CITY — In wrestling circles, it's known simply as “the room.”

It's where high school wrestlers congregate for practice after school, receive on-mat lessons from their coaches and get involved in intense one-on-one drills against teammates.

These days, “the room” has expanded to other locations at numerous facilities, the gatherings usually taking place at night.

The wrestling clubs.

“They've popped up all over the place,” Butler coach Scott Stoner said.

There's the Gladiators in West Allegheny, Iron Man in Mt. Lebanon, Letters Training in Shaler, Young Guns at various locations, etc.

“We have kids go to a number of different clubs,” Mars assistant coach Joe Fink said. “With how competitive wrestling has gotten in Western Pennsylvania, a kid almost has to extend his training to succeed in the sport.

“Clubs do provide opportunities for them to work with different partners, get another look.”

OMP (One More Period) in Evans City is believed to be the only such wrestling club in Butler County. Run by Seneca Valley assistant coach Joe Montalbano and former Shaler wrestling standout Mike Heinl, OMP also has a facility in Sewickley.

OMP has two different sessions, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for younger, inexperienced wrestlers, 7:30 to 9 p.m. for the advanced wrestlers.

“We probably have 40 to 50 kids at the high school level,” Montalbano said of the club. “They come from all over the area — Seneca Valley, Mars, Hampton, Freedom, Butler, Knoch — and from as far away as Reynolds and Sharon.

“Some kids do a mixture of clubs. The opportunities are out there. Kids can experience practice in a lot of ways at a lot of places.”

Stoner admitted the added practice time some wrestlers voluntarily take on can discourage others from taking on or staying with the sport.

“It's becoming tougher on the kids who just want to participate, to experience wrestling, who don't want to invest that kind of extra time,” the Butler coach said.

Montalbano is a math teacher at the Seneca Valley Intermediate High School. During wrestling season, he assists Raiders head coach Kevin Wildrick after school, grabs dinner afterward, then gets to the club at Evans City by 5:15 p.m. to prepare the room for its first wave of wrestlers.

He gets home around 9:30 p.m., then repeats the cycle the next day.

“Kevin (Wildrick) gives me a lot of flexibility, but it is a grueling pace,” Montalbano admitted. “You have to love to do it. I do and so do the kids because they're running that same type of schedule.”

Clubs have had a positive affect on wrestling performance. Knoch's Guy DeLeonardis, Butler's Levi Donnel and Caleb Hartung frequent OMP and are coming off stellar high school seasons.

Mars freshman Brandon Krul won 21 matches and qualified for the WPIAL tourney as a freshman for the Planets. Three of his Mars teammates join him at OMP after high school practice.

“Going to camps helps, too,” Krul said. “I like the exposure of getting on the mat against kids from other schools at the club.

“You can sharpen your skills, learn new techniques. It's just another way to get better.”

Krul and other Mars wrestlers are trying to get younger teammates to join club wrestling “to help strengthen our (high school) team.”

Kim Krul, Brandon's mother, views his club wrestling experience as beneficial.

“Brandon's been getting on the mat there with (WPIAL champions) Dylan Chappell and Alejandro Herrera-Rondon of Seneca Valley since they were all little kids,” she said. “They've all become friends through the years.”

Montalbano has coached against OMP club wrestlers during Seneca Valley high school matches.

“That can be awkward,” he said. “We just want to see everybody do well.”

Wildrick said 90 percent of his Seneca Valley roster is involved in club wrestling. The Raiders have developed into one of the top high school mat programs in the state.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Wildrick said. “These are hungry kids who want to thrive in the sport, who are looking for extra work. They are good wrestlers who are making each other better.

“It's not for everybody. But no one can fault that kind of effort.”