Ned Zollinger became heavily involved in Idaho youth wrestling while traveling with his sons to local and national tournaments in the 1990s.

He served as USA Idaho Wrestling State Chairman from 1996 to 2016 and was a member of USA Wrestling’s Kids/Cadet Council Executive Committee and the USA Wrestling Junior Olympics Board of Directors.

Until his passing, Zollinger was a member of USA Wrestling's Youth Development Council, a position he held for over 20 years.

Zollinger spent countless days attending USA Wrestling events in Idaho, the West, and across the nation. As a dad and administrator, he attended the Junior Nationals from the 1990s through his last time in 2024, where two of his grandchildren competed, his son Bryan coached and his other son Brock officiated. Wrestling has been a family affair for the Zollingers. His aforementioned sons, Bryan and Brock, along with Brett, have been long-time members, and his daughter Janell formerly processed USA Wrestling memberships for Idaho-USA Wrestling.

While other USA Wrestling regional championships were regularly rotating, Zollinger was a proponent of a central location for such events, which would allow for increased institutional knowledge by the community, host, participants and families in attendance. Since the West Region made the decision to host its annual championship in Pocatello, Idaho, in 2008, other regionals looked to mirror the success and similarly have removed their annual rotations in lieu of a centralized host with combined regional resources.