Our history...

Joel Allen is a dedicated teacher and coach at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa.  He is known for his high energy and positive approach to teaching and coaching. Allen strives to build strong relationships built on trust.  He is co-owner/founder of one of the largest team wrestling camps in the country.

In his latest coaching stint, Allen has resurrected the Wahlert Golden Eagles. In his first year, he began renovating and expanding the Wahlert’s wrestling facility. It currently houses over 5,000 sq. feet of mats and has been professionally designed, complete with graphics and records. In 2018, he led the Golden Eagles to an Iowa team State title with just 4 wrestlers at the tournament. In 2019, he was recognized as the Iowa Girls Wrestling Coach of the year. His girls placed 3rd at state in the first year of the program. In 2022, Coach Allen coached his second girls state champion. In 2024, he added a third girls state champion and a forth boys state champion.

Allen wrestled for Loras College in Dubuque Iowa. There he was a member of a team that was ranked as high as 6th in the country. He wrestled in high school at St. Edmond in Ft. Dodge, Iowa. He has a Masters degree in Education from Morningside College. He and his wife Emily are parents to five future state champions, Declan, Tiarnan, and Eamonn and a two beautiful daughters named Sinead and Aoife. You will see his crew running around at ISI. They have basically grown up coming to camp! 

Founded by two high school coaches, Iron Sharpens Iron Team Camps was created when Coaches Joel Allen and Steven Farrell were frustrated by overpriced University run camps available to their team.

Allen and Farrell endeavored to create a camp where economics wouldn’t keep wrestlers from the transformative experience team camps can offer. They wanted students everywhere to have the opportunity to grow both on and off the mat while enjoying and learning from the company of fellow students they likely would never meet otherwise. And most of all, have fun! Sharing this vision, they recruited the best technicians in the country and soon, ISI Team Camps was born.

A modest 192 wrestlers were in attendance of the first camp in 2010. News of ISI's superb reputation quickly spread and by 2019, attendance was around 3,000 wrestlers with multiple locations and dates available. This year, over 3,000+ wrestlers are expected to attend. Iron Sharpens Iron Team Camps will only continue to grow from there, both in attendance and the number of locations.  Check back for a location near you!

Steve Farrell was an original co-founder of the camp. He has since moved on from the camp but played an integral role in building ISI Team Camps in to the premiere wrestling camp in the nation.