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an hour ago by Replica Watches
9
I do not think whether he was good or bad is necessarily the point bc he stated that he had negative ruminations with a complete fear of losing moments before a competition along with shakes (tremors) which is certainly not considered "normal physiological functioning. The dry mouth and increased heart rate; however, could be considered normal unless they impaired this person's ability to perform at an optimum level. This definitely sounds like performance anxiety which is very different from plain nervousness. I am quite certain if we asked most wrestlers what their thoughts were on match day or moments leading up to the actual battle, they would exude varying degrees of confidence not complete fear, anxiety, and gross tremors coupled with dry mouth and tachycardia. That is a disorder and professionalism intervention from a sports psychologist should not be ruled out.
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5 hours ago by Dr FrankenBlue
9
You might have just been a bad wrestler. You think you're the only guy nervous out there? Find any wrestler, even the toughest guys, and ask them if they get nervous before their matches. If they say no, they are lieing.
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21 hours ago by brah
9
Thank You
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November 6 at 9:10pm by kristoff thomas
9
I say just grow a pair Michigan Wrestler and compete hard!
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November 6 at 5:36pm by Red Dog
9
Some people have anxiety disorders that terrify them when it comes to public performance whether it be competition or public speaking, etc. For public speaking the drug propranolol will eliminate the physiologic response (heart pounding) but since its a cardiac suppressor (beta blocker) it would be detrimental to take prior to competition. Another way to think about it is that despite the inner torture you went out and competed nevertheless. That takes a high level of courage and is a personal triumph in and of itself that you can be proud of.
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November 6 at 11:22am by Robert Gendler
9
Michigan wrestler,
there are things to overcome that! sport psychology is one, also i've heard of championbydesign.com helping out guys like danny felix, national champs, olympic champs etc
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November 5 at 8:19pm by sport psychology
9
I love the message but unfortunately I suffered from "performance anxiety" which at that time was simply called stage fright or negative ruminations. There was no formal diagnosis and treatment was few and far between (no medications either). That mental disease which I believe it is when left untreated will destroy a wrestler no matter how hard he trains, no matter how much he visualizes success, no matter how much he truly wants to become a champion and pays the physical price to do it. But when you hear the buzzer go off in the preceding match and you pull off your hoody, snap your headgear, all you feel is you heart pounding out of your chest and suddenly become overcome with dry mouth, shakes, total fear of losing, and anxiety. No matter how hard I ever tried, nothing worked, I was a failure not by my choice but due to physiological reasons which were uncontrollable at the time. But I still LOVE Coach Kemp's messages, they are so inspiring!
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November 5 at 6:33pm by Michigan Wrestler
9
Excellent advice that can be carried over into your career -- amongst other facets of life and personal goals -- as well.
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November 5 at 6:29pm by Thanks
9
This post is way past the date this article was published, so no one may ever read.... However, I am a former WI high school wrestler, and I agree that wieght cutting is important, and essential to form the best team. Ex. 2 studs way 140, 1 of them needs to move up or down.....Anyway, my real point, and question is: Why does Wisconsin still have a 103 lb wieght class? Minnesota allows 7&8;graders to wresstle varsity, we don't.....We never had a kid small enough to wrestle 103, either allow underclassman to wrestle, or get rid of the wieght class......Kids can only cut so much!
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October 31 at 2:09am by cmoney
80
Just by waking up in the morning...You've Made it to the "Average" Club.
Love that line. Great post Mr. Kemp.
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October 27 at 7:50pm by Jim Harshaw
12
It's tough for someone who has no understanding to be excited by a 2-1 match. Just like many Americans don't like soccer because of the limited scoring even though there is a lot of excitement in the game. The better understanding people have of the sport the more they will appreciate it. Score is not always an indicator of action.
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October 27 at 12:40pm by Chris Van Scoy
30
Our greatest assets is our greatest fault. Too wrestling crazy. I know the sport is growing, however many kids are getting burned out. Number go down way too much for 6 years old to 12 years old, something like 50% .Hint, wt. cutting and gone every weekend, where is the fun in that. In addition, urban wrestling is growing, but rural wrestling is dying. I think marketing at a grass roots level will work better. Cut the 50% drop to 25%, by making the sport fun and enjoyable. Don't worry about wt.. Plus, I am tired of hiring if you want to be good it has to be like a job. Really at the age of 6 or even 10, that is realist, Come on.
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October 27 at 12:22pm by Just thinking
30
Abraham has figured it out... your first paragraph below explains it succinctly. Now we just have to make people aware... there are specific actions to take that make that happen.
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October 27 at 7:28am by Jim Harshaw
30
Good comments throughout. I think that building awareness is key - just like most people here do. Lots of people I talk to about wrestling (ours is not a "wrestling town") get interested when I talk to them, but never seem to be aware of when HS matches are happening, or they aren't aware of the kids programs available in our town.

They have no frame of reference for wrestling to be an "entertaining" sport to them. We're not on TV that much, we're not well advertised, and so people don't watch much wrestling and aren't familiar with it. The people I invite to matches are entertained (if they come) and show some interest. The problem is that there is nothing else to latch onto - aside from MMA. I'm a huge MMA fan and I think it will actually help the sport survive in tough times and maybe even thrive one day in the US (as one poster noted - a different discussion).
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October 27 at 1:13am by Abraham
30
Take all non-wrestling fans to a near sold-out, wrestling meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with how rowdy that crowd gets and they'll be instantly hooked. Guaranteed.
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October 27 at 12:58am by An idea...
30
Perhaps keeping our greatest wrestlers front and center within USA Wrestling. Promoting their legendary status thus the youth interested in the sport know these figures and some of the history of the sport. Title 9 is brutal, but clubs can be established just the same. Other countries have their national wrestlers gain celeb status. A way to get this going for the Herberts, Smiths, Gables, Sandersons, Baumgardners of the wrestling world would sure help right?
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October 27 at 12:39am by Johann Gerlach
30
Maybe if USAW would get its head out of its A$$ then the sport would move forward. A change in leadership there is needed.
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October 26 at 9:49pm by Truth Capote
30
If wrestling were easy then everyone would participate, but it's not. Many do not have enough heart, discipline, dedication, or mental toughness to wrestle.
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October 26 at 7:24pm by Ryan McCormack
30
can you please make a movie about wrestling. ala bud greenspan or ken burns?

i think you can sell it to PBS or ESPN.
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October 26 at 6:01pm by ken
30
Dave I'll agree with you to a point. But the fact is that NBA franchises aren't closing their programs because the Bulls dominated the 90's or the Lakers or the Celtics. They don't have to worry about Title 9 either. As a Gator fan I'm enjoying our 2-3 year run, but there is so many D1 football teams the competition is such that on any given day a team can be beaten.
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October 26 at 5:11pm by Mark Green
30
I think that most of us (on this board) agree that wrestling is the greatest sport out there. Part of problem we face is a lack of backing from certain colleges as well as the knife in the back that we all call "Title 9". I also agree with the poster that stated that very few teams win the National Title every year, which also hurts. Living in Florida where wrestling interest is skyrocketing (as is alot of states), and no D1 team is an epic failure. Every year we send our best (Eric Grajales, Kendrick Sanders for instance) out of State to wrestle. Now if we had our own D1 team, letting some our best guys travel out of state wouldn't be as bad. But now, all of our best travel out of state. Florida doesn't even have a D2, D3 or even NAIA. This is the same for places like Georgia, Texas, and several other states. Just about every wrestler in PA wants to go to Penn State, or Iowa kids want to wrestle for Iowa State and so on. Its a local pride thing.
The fact is that we need a revamping of the system to get HS wrestlers interested in attending these college events live, much like the football players would go see the Gators or the Nittney Lions or the Buckeyes or the Hawkeyes etc. In addition, to help defer costs (travel, facilities) of wrestling teams to the University (I know certain teams do it now), lets let families and fans who cant make it to these duals pay for live streaming webcasts of college wrestling events. If we can't get TV coverage, lets use the internet to our advantage. It's cheap to webcast events and could easily defer costs to the universities. I know that if my son were wrestling and I couldn't make it I'd gladly pay the fee to watch the event live. Look I don't know what the answers are, there's a whole lot of smarter people out there than me, but there is so much talent out there with fewer and fewer places to go, it just doesn't make sense. Not trying to be a "homer", but just imagine if say the University of Florida with its huge buying power recruited the Altons or kept Sanders or Grajales or even David Taylor and we had an actual "balance of power" in wrestling, instead of the same 3 or 4 teams competing every year. I may be off a little, but this happens in NCAA football all of the time, we need more rivalries and we need them publicized. The problems (besides Title 9) is that some of the Universities just don't care for sports that don't pull in money, and even though many teams can almost pay for themselves, they dont generate a big cash flow and that needs to change. Sorry for rambling, I may be completely wrong but we all can agree that a problem exists.
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October 26 at 4:58pm by Mark Green
30
Robert- I agree with you on many of your points. I do, however, think that wrestling is as entertaining or moreso than any sport. It depends on the marketing. Using your example, knowing the subtleties of a duck under is akin to understanding the 4-3 defense... I don't understand anything about the 4-3 defense but I still enjoy football (Go Steelers!)
Familiarity with personalities will help bring wrestling people back into the fold. From there we can build.
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October 26 at 4:55pm by Jim Harshaw
30
To the person who said that people aren't interested when the same team wins every year. Look at how many people jumped on the Bulls bandwagon when they dominated back in the 90s. People idolize sports dynasties.
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October 26 at 4:40pm by Dave
30
A few more thoughts. I think the one huge reason amateur Wrestling is not a mainstream sport in the USA is the entertainment factor (or lack of). Look at the most popular sports and you will find obvious entertainment factors that most people can appreciate without a serious knowledge of the sport. Getting a ball into the end zone, through a hoop, or over a fence is not subtle and is something most people can relate to. On the other hand wrestling prowess is subtle. Most people who are not knowledgeable about the sport of wrestling cannot appreciate or understand a good duck under, a great gut wrench, a superb high crotch. These are subtleties only the serious wrestling spectator can appreciate. The technical aspects of the sport are not easy to understand unless you are a serious fan or have participated. I'm not saying its hopeless but I do think its very unrealistic to expect the sport of wrestling to achieve similar status to other mainstream american sports. The american public will never find enough entertainment value in wrestling because you have to delve into the sport in order to appreciate it on even the most basic level. To the average sports fan points scored in a wrestling match are just not as spectacular as the way points are scored in more popular sports. Thats why MMA has become more popular than wresling. A knock out is far more impressive and obvious to the average joe than a two point near fall. All that said it doesn't diminish the greatness of our sport one bit. I still think our sport is amazingly rich but its subtle and highly technical. It doesn't need to and probably will never be accepted by the public the way football and baseball are. Maybe we all need to come to terms with this and still feel good about our beloved sport.
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October 26 at 4:27pm by Robert Gendler
30
The beauty of our sport is that it is not main stream, corporate America has not taken over and watered it down. Wrestlers in general are true sprortsman who are dedicated to something that they are passonite about. The value you gain from this sport is much deeper then a million dollar contract. We have become so intoxicated with fame and fortune we loose track of whats real.......
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October 26 at 4:25pm by plain jane
30
"It's exciting" "It's not exciting" "Singlets are gay" "Mine is a basketball school" "the reporters in my town don't like us" Every sport can come up with an excuse... (Football, Cricket, Soccer, Wrestling, Badminton etc)
Here's the crux- people are more interested in topics about which they are familiar. We can make people more familiar with wrestling or, more specifically, your athletes, your program, your tradition (like Roone Arledge did).
How?
First- define your target audience. (Hint: It's not likely the mainstream)
Then- do what businesses do (like the NCAA...but that's another topic)- reach them through marketing, PR, promotion
Need examples? email marketing, Facebook, mobile marketing, music at your events, sending press releases, having an announcer, blogging, informative event programs, an up-to-date website....
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October 26 at 4:23pm by Jim Harshaw
30
I have a couple thoughts on this topic. Firstly, I believe wrestling lacks greatly in marketing. Wrestlers, who understand the sport, can appreciate a great 2-1 match. We (wrestling fans) need to sell the other aspects of the sport (Arledge's story lines) while teaching the wrestling principles. I felt that is what was missing in Real Pro Wrestling.
Here is the double edged sword. What separates wrestling from all other sports is the omittion of excuses. It is not in the wrestling DNA to research background stories. It is fun to know where a wrestler came from, but ultimately we want to see them compete. For me, watching two wrestlers battle tells such a great story I don't need the history lesson. Those who don't understand the sport, need the lesson. Lets give it to them.
Humility among it's athletes is another corner stone in the sport of wrestling that separates it from the rest. A sense of entitlement is the American way. How do I get rich right now? To make a long story longer, I believe American Banks wouldn't be in the situation they are in now if they were ran with the principles associated with the sport of wrestling. Americans prefer sports that allow for excuses upon defeat. There are 10 other guys on a football field to point the finger at (not to mention the refs and other team). If you want to see parents teach children unaccountability, just go the a high school football game. Track is another that doesn't allow much room for finger pointing. You don't see much of it until the Olympics, but they do a good job of story lining there. I have never participate, but enjoy watching during the olympics and not as much during NCAA when the build up isn't as great.
The movie "Veritas" John Trenge story, did a great job of teaching the principles of wrestling while telling a great story centered around John's career.
We hook them with the story and teach them the principles.
That's what I'm thinking.
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October 26 at 3:26pm by James
30
but on the real, maybe there could be some updates to the rules to make the sport more exciting? Tom M. says that some wrestling matches are excruciatingly painful to watch... and this is true. but on the other hand, almost every one of Darrion Caldwell's matches that i've seen are exciting! even metcalf's matches are often exciting and he wrestles a completely different style. maybe some rule changes to keep these 2-1/overtime/defensive/scoreless matches less boring and force more action and keep intact an offensive mentallity.
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October 26 at 3:15pm by ped
30
with that said maybe we should implement the use of a ball into wrestling...ike let me fold you up into a ball then dunk you/kick you/throw you in the endzone for a TD... or just leave it at the fact that we have balls.
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October 26 at 3:12pm by ped
30