Daniel B. Wood

About the author: Daniel B. Wood is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, a national daily newspaper. He covers a variety of issues, including subjects of interest to young people such as education and entertainment.

Teenagers from working-class neighborhoods have joined an estimated 1,000 backyard wrestling federations in which they emulate their professional wrestling idols, sometimes emerging from the matches covered in blood. Despite the risk of serious injury, backyard wrestlers perform perilous stunts with little supervision and no regulation. Some organizations do have the help of professional trainers, but both the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling discourage these backyard leagues. Backyard wrestlers who hope to become pros face poor if not impossible odds: the pro leagues recruit professional and collegiate athletes, and of these, few make it to the...