10 Key Traits for Success in Your First Wrestling Season
If you're a new wrestler, you may be nervous about what the season will look like. Will you do "good"? Will you like it? What is going to be like? What do I do to be good at the sport?
Well, I am here to tell you that you probably already have every trait you need to succeed at this sport. It's a matter of applying these traits.
Here are a list of 10 traits and concepts that you can focus on in your first wrestling season.
1. Attitude. Be a positive influence and presence. You signed up for something. Show that you want to get the most out of the situation and sport. See the commitment through. See how far you can grow and improve in the sport. You can bring a positive attitude on Day 1.
2. Effort. Work ethic is universally respected and recognized. Your coaches and teammates will see your work ethic and effort. You can do this on Day 1.
3. Focus. Coach is showing a technique. Instead of having your mind in the clouds like every other teammate, be different. Pay attention. Think about the 5 technical details Coach explained. Ingrain them into your mind so when you go out and drill it, you can nail all 5. I know for a fact that your teammates are not going to this level of detail. I know for a fact that your opponents are not going to this level of detail. Why? Because I've coached 40 individual state championships and even they do not pay attention all the time. They get distracted and are leaving potential improvement on the table as well. This is an area where you can gain ground on your competition and training partners.
4. Teamwork. Operating in a team environment will be important to your wrestling experience. Why? Because nobody is going to stick around an activity if they do not like the people in it. Be proactive in your teamwork. Ask an experienced wrestler how they do a certain move. Ask another wrestler to sit with you at lunch. Help a teammate out when it is their turn to clean the mats. Give them a knee pad when they forgot theirs. It's all about looking for opportunities to help another person out. That's simply it. The more you look, the more opportunities you will find.
5. Growth. Get better every day. Continuous improvement. Your first day, you will learn a few movements. Now, the second day, you will have a chance to improve on those movements. You will suck on your first day. But if you do better in the second day, you are progressing. That's what we're after. Progress. Chip away at progress. It doesn't have to be all of a sudden. It will be a little bit here, a little bit there. Then, at the end of the season, you will be a completely different wrestler. Just like teamwork, if you look for ways to get better then you will start to see the endless possibilities on what you can improve on.
6. Resilience. The first lesson that my Dad taught me in wrestling was you have to learn "how to lose". I hated this statement as a competitive kid. But what he meant was that you need to 1) learn how to handle losses and not freak out 2) learn how to rebound from losses and get better. Resilience is our ability to overcome adversity. Adversity is inevitable in our lives. Wrestling provides us with an opportunity to build our resilience. We might lose a close match. Okay, what can I do to get better next match? How can I have a short memory, get my confidence back, and stay focused for my next match? This is a resilient mind at work.
7. Delayed gratification. We work so hard and it's all for nothing! When we do not see immediate reward in any activity, we question whether it's worthwhile. We do not get the positive reinforcement to continue. This is where delayed gratification comes in. This is our ability to wait for a result on a long time horizon. This is a tough pill to swallow. We want results and we want them now. But guess what? We need to put in so much work to get the results we want. Then, it still might not come. We still might need to put in more or different work. That is life. There's no guarantees. But if you do adopt a patient approach then it will serve you and your mindset. If you start in say 9th grade, think about how much better you will be your senior year when you have 4 years of practice! That'll be awesome. I went through that. I had no idea how much work it would take. I just focused on what's in front of me and stuck with it. Let the results come later. Adopt a delayed gratification mindset.
8. Coachability. Listen. Absorb. Apply. Taking instruction from a coach or any person is a skill. This skill can be developed in wrestling. This will serve you both now in wrestling and later in life. Learn now. Listen when your coach is telling you something. Take it in. Think about how that information applies to your situation. Be excited about getting better. Coachability extends beyond just listening though. Openness to input, active engagement, and an improvement focus. That's 3 components of coachability.
9. Consistency. Show up. It's as simple as that. Mat time is one of the most critical things in wrestling. The compound effect starts to help your development. The only way to compound things is to do them repeatedly. Show up to open mats. Show up to lifting sessions. Show up to optional practices. Show up to every meet. Then, go above and beyond. Once the season is over, recognize the value of consistency and start going to Freestyle, Greco, and wrestling club practices. Consistency, consistency, consistency.
10. Adaptability. You are in a new situation. How quickly can you go from complete beginner to somewhat knowledgeable about what's going on? Can you challenge yourself to pick it up faster than your peers? Can you familiarize yourself with the sport, rules, people so that you acclimate? This will be important in the early going and then it will continue to be a trait you lean on when you go to wrestling clubs and meet new teammates and coaches. Adapt and overcome.
This is not an exhaustive list but it's a starting point. I was getting asked about new wrestler tips so I wanted to put something down. Here it is...
