My newest favorite wrestling quote

...but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
...and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.

One of the things I love about wrestling...  all the talk in the world does not prevent the fact that one day your work ethic will be tested.

Off-season incentive program

FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!  Hit the Comments Link below to let me know what you think...

On a whim, I made a custom hat at Lids while I was at the MAWA Eastern Nationals tournament.  It has a SWC logo on the front and says Skyline Wrestling Club on the back.  I'll try and post a pic of it later.  But it has received a lot of positive feedback.

This has given me the idea of creating an incentive program to reward wrestlers who put in the off-season effort into wrestling.  The basic idea is that we keep track of some sort of activity.  And at certain acheivement points you get a reward.  The reward is something that is cool to have but it is also a type of trophy that can be shown to others as a sort of bragging rights kinda thing.

Some rules:
Give me an activity to track
Give me a reward a wrestler would like
Keep it simple

Here is an example: After 30 national level matches you get a SWC hat

So let me know what you think.  Post feedback here if you can but let me know somehow either way.

New Weight Classes

Last month, the national governing body of high school sports (NFHS) voted to change the weight classes in wrestling.  A lot of people in wrestling are hating on this change, but is a result of a lot of research and feedback.  So I don't see it changing again for a while.  Here is what led to this change:

• Someone said, "Should we change the weight classes?"
• A group of people came up with 3 new options
• Each state held a survey amongst coaches/ADs and we got to pick one of the 3 options or leave it the same
• There were more votes to make a change then to leave it the same, but none of the options had more votes individually then the number of votes to leave it the same
• Since there were so many votes in favor of change, the following year they had a vote with two options, leave it the same or Option B
• There were more votes among coaches and ADs in the nation for Option B then leaving it the same

Option B

Option B was created by taking a sample of 200,000 WRESTLERS.  They looked at the CERTIFIED WEIGHT of each kid and made weight classes that would give equal 7% distribution.  So that means that 14,000 of the 200,000 kids would be in one of the new weight classes. 

Old to New:

103 - 106
112 - 113
119 - 120
125 - 126
130 - 132
135 - 138
140 - 145
145 - 152
152 - 160
160 - 170
171 - 182
189 - 195
215 - 220
285 - 285

Result

There are two basic results:

1. 103 is up 3 pounds to 106
2. 135 is removed and 189 is split into 182 and 195

Why I voted for it:

I like the change for a couple of reasons.  I always thought that the jump from 103 to 112 was the most difficult bump in the sport.  103 is dominated by underclassmen while 112 has its share of juniors and seniors.  I also think some of the hardest cutting kids were wrestling 103, maybe for the same reason as listed above.  In the short-term some of our guys can make 106 and 108 that probably can't make 103 and 105 next Dec/Feb, we'll see.  I also hear a lot of football players quit or not even come out because of the weight classes.  I'm hoping that the new spread up top will give some of these guys a little breathing room so they don't have to worry about weight' we'll see.

Won't matter in 3 years:

My experience has shown me that no matter how big a deal some people think the new weight classes are, we won't even be talking about it in three years.  Everyone will be used to it.  Its just how it is and it doesn't fundamentally change the sport (like removing weight classes or cutting wrestling programs, both of which have happened in the NCAAs).

So lets suck it up, figure out what weight we are going to wrestle next year, and help get some big guys in the room to fill out the lineup.

Baseball and the other sports that don't start with Wr...

...and end with estling.

Let me start with some straightforward statements to make sure there isn't any confusion.

Here are some simple things I believe that I don't say a whole lot:

I like basketball, volleyball, football, cross country, soccer, and all sorts of sports other then wrestling (not necessarily in that order).
I'm slowly learning to appreciate baseball.
Can you play a spring sport and be good at wrestling in the winter? YES!
Can you go on vacation all summer and be good at wrestling in the winter? YES!
Can you play a fall sport and be good at wrestling in the winter? YES!
Skyline will not win the district without athletes in the lineup that only wrestle 3 months a year (instead of forfeits)

Here are some simple things I believe that I probably say too much:

Some sports, like football and long-distance running, are good cross-training sports for wrestling.
Some sports, like baseball, are not.
The only way I know to be better then the other guy is to work harder then the other guy.
Can you be the best that you could possibly be at wrestling if you only wrestle in the winter? NO!
Skyline will not win the district without a group of year-round wrestlers in the lineup.

So let me summarize...

You can play [insert sport] in the [insert season] and wrestle in the winter.  You will still win matches, be a productive part of the team, have fun, and so forth.  In fact, without you the other bunch of guys that wrestle year-round won't be able to do much as a team.  We need you.

Here is the thing though.  I'm a comptetitive guy and I like to see my guys win every match I think they are supposed to.  I'm going to ask you to go to team camp.  I'm going to ask you to go to spring tournaments.  I'm going to ask you how often you lift.  I'm going to ask you to wrestle some in the fall.  I'm going to ask you to do those things and others because I know what it takes to make you the best wrestler you can be.  I care about your success and I'm willing to do the extra things to reach it.

Isn't that the sort of wrestling coach you want?

Have a Plan

If you couldn't figure it out, I'm a TYPE A personality (aka Control Freak).  There are some negative consequences that result from this, but I like to think the positives out weigh them.  One of the positives is that I have a hard time not having a plan.  Often I have a plan B and C for most situations also.

I would encourage you to embrace your inner control-freak. 

HAVE A PLAN!

The great thing about planning things out is it helps to give you a clear set of steps to reach your goal.  And those steps give you confidence.  You might not be a state champ now, but you know what it takes to get there and you are following those steps.  That gives you confidence.

Start BIG and go from there.  Have a dream.  It doesn't necessarily need to be realistic.  It is a whole lot easier to be a state champ when you WANT to be an all-american.  Then set a long-term goal and dedicate yourself to it.  Make sure it is a realistic goal based on your talent but make it a BIG goal.  Do some research.  Tell your coaches and parents your goal and how bad you want it.  Ask them what it takes.  Find people who have done it (or at least got really close).  Ask them what it takes to get there too.

Now setup short term goals and tests.  To get where you need to be, what do you need to do in the next year?  The next three months?  This week?  Today?  Focus on the short term plans with all of your might.

How do you know if you are getting there?  What is your lifting goal over the next 3 months?  How many matches are you going to wrestle this spring?  How many matches are you going to win at team camp?  Spring Nationals?  Super 32?  How many miles are you going to run this summer?  Focus on your short term goals with all of your might.

Sometimes you will get discouraged because you haven't yet reached your BIG goal.  Stick to the plan.  Reach your short-term goals and make sure those goals are based on what the experts told you.  Do not give up if it doesn't come fast enough.  Important things take time.

The biggest hurdle you will face is yourself.  Are you going to CHOOSE to do what you need to do?  Or are you going to waste time on distractions that keep you from reaching your short-term goals?  I find most kids who do not reach their goals in wrestling can look back to the last 12 months and find some specific distractions that they could have CHOSEN not to do.

Quick Review:

• Write down your dream
• Write down your BIG long-term goal
• Ask experts what it takes to reach the BIG goal
• Set short-term goals that will lead you to the BIG goal
• Make plans that will help you reach your short-term goals
• Stick to the plan when you get discouraged
• Focus with all your might by removing distractions that won't help you

Talent and Opportunity

I recently studied Matthew 25 and there is a wrestling lesson in there too.  Talent and Opportunity. Everyone is blessed with a certain amount of both. 

So lets start with talent.  Basically, how good could you possibly be?  You don't have any power over how much talent you received. Don't pay too much attention to what other people think about your talent, but you only have so much.  But you do have talent.  The modern word for talent came from the Bible. It originally represented a specific amount or money (about $1,000)  The translation develop because the expectation was to make an investment. If you just sat on your talent you are lazy.

This is how we get to opportunity. You are also blessed with the opportunity to invest your talent.  You are given a chance. The funny thing about opportunity is that it has an expiration date. You only get four seasons in high school. The post season and the cross town dual only come once a year.  Everyday is an opportunity to get ready.  What have you done this month, this week, or today?

Lifting Part 2

Part 2 - Fall Lifting

If you are reading this for the first time, make sure you review Part 1 to see a good set of lifting rules that will apply to the fall session of lifting also.  We learned that PHASE ONE of lifting is POWER.  Spring is a good time to develop that power by doing low-rep high weight pyramid reps.  Increase your MAX!

The other two phases of lifting can be worked on in the fall and in-season.

Phase 1 = POWER (How much can you lift?)
Phase 2 = EXPLOSION (How fast can you lift a given weight?)
Phase 3 = Muscular ENDURANCE (How many times or how long can you lift a given weight?)

Everyone talks about their max.  Most people work towards a max.  In wrestling, you only have to be powerful enough to not be overpowered by the other guy.  Most of your POWER requirements are relatively fixed.  But how important to you is it to: A) Push/Pull/Squeeze/Lift faster then the other guy and B) Push/Pull/Squeeze/Lift for a full 2 minutes without any break?

So you spent all spring getting JACKED why don't you use the fall to make that power useful?  In my opinion, the priority should be like this: Fall - EXPLOSION then ENDURANCE and In-season - ENDURANCE then EXPLOSION.  But you should tailor your lifting plan to your weakness. 

So lets look at creating an EXPLOSION workout.  Here are some good guidelines:

1. Follow the same spring guidelines but make the adjustments listed below.
2. Use free weights or non-conventional weight (kettlebells, sandbags, ropes, medicine balls, etc.)
3. Don't concern yourself with putting huge weight on the bar.
4. Spend the first two weeks throwing weight that is well lighter then you think you should use.
5. High reps, better yet use a time period.  How many times can you do the lift in 30 seconds?
6. Make a noise (Bruce Lee can't be wrong)
7. Focus more on lifting speed then perfect lifting technique.  This is why we start with light weight.
8. If possible, design a circuit that address different parts of the body (core, upper, lower) and types of lifts (push, pull, lift)
9. If possible, throw and hit things.  Tires, medicine balls, logs, hay bails, etc.

I'd also like to hear some examples of what you may have done in the past to increase muscular EXPLOSION!  Please post your examples in the comment section below.

SPEED and POWER!