"A Note to New Wrestlers, Parents and Coaches"

There are no secrets to success.

 

After the 2008 Beijing games, 9 time world and Olympic gold medalist Buvaisar Saitiev was asked what makes Chechens so good at wrestling.  He looked at the reporter skeptically and responded, "Eh   .  .  .  great air, great food, good genetics, and a love for wrestling?  I don't know."  Saitiev didn't seem to understand the question. 

 

Ask any great performer about the secret to his success, and you are likely to get the same reaction.  It's not that they don't know why they succeed, but rather, they don't see it as a secret.  Why they win is completely obvious to them  .  .  .  It's common sense.

 

I have read a number elaborate lists of habits, charts of intelligences, and tables of tendencies created by celebrity coaches, business leaders, and self-help gurus that attempt to formalize this "common sense."  At bottom though I think whether or not you're successful boils down to how your ACTIONS answer two questions:  Am I COMPETENT? and Am I COMMITTED?  

Am I COMPETENT?  Here this means, Do I know HOW to wrestle?  Have I mastered the sport's basic skills, tactics, and strategies?  Have I conditioned my body with sport specific training?  Do I fuel my body with the right foods?  To be a good wrestler, the answer must be YES on all counts.  Further, for better or worse, the wrestler must answer these questions by comparison.  That is, Do I know how to wrestle better than that guy over there?  While PR's are powerful motivators in some sports, they offer small consolation to the wrestler getting physically punished and mentally humiliated in front of a large crowd while wearing tights.

For this reason, all wrestlers must ask themselves Am I COMMITTED?  This means, Do I know WHY I want to wrestle?  Do I know what my goals are?  Will I reach these goals no matter the time or sacrifice required?  Again if the wrestler is to succeed, the answer must always be YES.  Only complete commitment will sustain the wrestler through the sport's physical and mental trials.  Remember, a loss in wrestling is not like a loss in any other high school sport.  It is humbling and, for some people, insufferably so. 

There is no secret.  It's not magic.  It's common sense.  If a wrestler commits more completely than his opponents to becoming more competent than his opponents, then he will find success on the mat.  By learning to succeed in wrestling, the athlete will learn life lessons about the power of preparation, the value of hard work, and the importance of humility.  If a wrestler's commitment ever flags, he will learn another lesson, a lesson not as easy to digest.  In either case, wrestling really only reveals what's already inside the athlete.

 

Coach Moore