Uncategorized

As a younger coach, I used to always post our stats and leader board on the wall of our locker room and wrestling room after each match. I thought it was a cool way to keep guys engaged and motivated. After a lot of trial and error, talking to a lot of other experienced coaches in wrestling (and other sports) and reading a lot of books on sports psychology, my viewpoint started to change. Turns out a lot of psychological studies out there prove this doesn’t necessarily help with motivation, at least not for a big portion of our kids. … Read More

Want to know how to win a wrestling match every time? I am all about giving wrestlers concrete tasks to follow rather than abstract concepts.  Finding a way to measure mental toughness and grit is a necessity if you wish to teach it to the masses.  With this in mind, I came up with 7 situations that win and lose close matches and I regularly remind my wrestlers they need to win these situations, every time, if they want to learn to wrestle to dominate and beat great opponents. Teach your wrestlers to win these situations and execute the proper … Read More

I am no stranger to criticism and I would consider myself to have very thick skin, but I’ll be honest the pot shot criticisms many people like to take can change my mood for the day.  If your a coach, teacher or anyone that puts themselves out to help others and puts a lot into it then you know that dealing with criticism can be a part of your job description.  Since I know for a fact that this type of stress DOES run good people out of positions like this, I thought I would write about how I handle … Read More

It has been 20 years since I wrestled for Dan Gable. I still remember the question reporters, family, friends and strangers used to ask most about him … “What makes Dan Gable such a great coach?” The most likely responses have always been … “His intensity.  He is just soo intense!” “His drive…  He is soo driven” “He knows how to get through to each individual athlete” These are all true, but they really don’t give you much insight if you’re trying to be a great coach yourself. I remember, I would give the same types of answers and then I … Read More

Nutrition is a weapon. It doesn’t matter if you are driving a Ferrari or a moped if they aren’t fueled, and what’s more, a properly fueled moped will outrun an empty Ferrari every time. But even that metaphor is insufficient, because nutrition is much more intricate than the fuel that powers an engine. Want to gain muscle? Lose fat? Maintain muscle and lose weight? There are recipes for all these ends, the only thing that stands between you and your ideal machine is the knowledge to do so. Sadly a lot of this knowledge is still a mystery to many. … Read More

In my competitive career I know I lost some matches due to nerves. Everyone has their own mental space they need to be before a match to perform at there best. Finding that space can be difficult. When preparing for big matches less can be more. This can be especially true in tough duals. Maybe even more so in the semi-finals or finals of a big tournament. I have seen many wrestlers tire themselves out. They wear themselves out emotionally and physically. They often do this with too much preparation before big matches. All wrestlers have had this happened to them. Feeling anxious or nerves … Read More

The weight room. Coaches and athletes everywhere appreciate the increasing importance of building physical strength, but most lack understanding of the nuanced benefits that strength training offers. Lifting isn’t just a blunt tool for developing explosiveness and strength, it’s a scalpel with the potential to develop the mind, body, style, and even potential, of any wrestler. Zach Even-Esh, is a strength and conditioning expert with a background specific to wrestling. Below are some of his insights into the flexibility and importance of strength training.    Training the Personality Imagine if you had to train two groups of animals, one domesticated, the … Read More

If you struggle to get your wrestlers to react appropriately to moves in practice… Or if the monotony of drilling is starting to bore you and your athletes…. Then it’s time to listen to this episode of the podcast. On Episode 5 of the Attack Style Wrestling podcast, we take a deep-dive into drilling in practice. Drilling is where wrestlers forge the little habits that make the difference between a college and middle school wrestler. Are your elbows loose? Do you reach?  Do you lay soft hands? Are your feet heavy? Are your ankles exposed after takedowns? Do you hit … Read More

Nothing is quite as annoying a person who is constantly trying to prove themselves. Obviously there are worse things, but having to nod your way through the repetitive, self-centered stories of someone who you’re not very impressed with is its own special kind of torture. Similarly, it can be awful and intimidating to be around an impressive person , and having them barely utter a word…The silver lining is that there is meaning behind the behavior of the boring blabber mouth and the understated success. Research shows a deep seeded pattern in the way people think. Some people view their talent … Read More

The second part of this two part series focuses on educating people on and short, medium, and long term goals. Like superficial, personal, and habitual goals, these goals are tools that are used in different ways but are all aimed at the same result. Once you understand all of them, and how to combine them, you should have something akin to a road map for your idea of success. Short Term This type of goal should be invented daily. It represents the little steps which add up to your medium and long term goals. “Drill one hundred single legs”, “Win … Read More