Monday, October 25, 2010

Priorities

Most kids, entering a wrestling program for the very first time, think that wrestling is about strength.  It doesn't take long for them to find out differently.  The first day, take a big newbie and put him against a much smaller, much more skilled wrestler and the issue is soon resolved.

Skills trump strength. 

I would prioritize those things a wrestler needs in the following order:

An attitude of "I can do it."
Skills
Stamina (aerobic and anaerobic)
Strength (Grip first.  No grip means all the other muscle just puts you in a higher weight class)

By the end of the first season, wrestlers come to realize the above are essentially correct; but not purely so.  If you know 5% more moves than me but I am twice as strong, then maybe strength wins that battle.

Two more weeks until the start of the season.

Jim

2 comments:

  1. 2 weeks... I'm cramming for the season like a final exam. I'm merely a student of the sport. By observation, I can learn just as much from an elementary wrestler as an Olympian. Love it!

    What percentage would you give to the mental aspect of wrestling to the physical?

    See you on the mat Coach.

    EB

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  2. EB,

    I'm kind of like Yogi Berra. Wrestling is 90% mental; the other half is physical.

    Jim

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