It's time to set some of these coaches out there on the right track. If you coach at any level and you're still doing some of these things... please stop. Stop for the betterment of your athletes, and, more importantly, stop for the betterment of the sport.

STOP Being Negative

It's not helpful at all. If you want to motivate your athletes, take the time to find out what makes them tick… individually. Look, are there some athletes who respond better to negative reinforcement? Of course, (even though most psychologists would agree that they can be cured of that) but how do you know which kids are motivated by what? I've been forced to sit through a few "Positive Coaching Seminars," and some of them are bunk. Others are really worth the time. Here are some things that I picked up from the better ones.

A) Positive:Negative Ratio: Be conscious of your positive-to-negative remark ratio. Many psychologists say that having a 5:1 ratio between positive comments to negative comments is the best-case scenario, but I work on the "Build-Burn-Build" rule.

B)  Make Contact: Wrestling is a contact sport. A handshake, a high-five, or a pat on the head goes a lot further when imprinting their young brains with information. I use this one in most of my life (in seven out of 10 times that I tell my wife I love her, I have elbow control).

STOP Forgetting What It's Like To Be In Their Shoes 

This is the one that I struggle with when trying to explain it to young, really motivated coaches. It was not too long ago that you were in an athlete's shoes. Ask yourself if the sprints that you deem as "mandatory" are actually "MANDATORY." Are the spin drills that you're making your athletes go through actually beneficial or are they just a time filler until they go live and you don't have to actually coach anymore?

STOP Being Robots

Emotionless, fun-sucking, robots... that's what a lot of coaches are today. Look, there is obviously a time to bare down and get busy, but this sport can really be a drag sometimes. THATS RIGHT! I said it: Wrestling season can SUCK at times. Wrestling, as a sport, is one of my favorite things on this earth.

STOP Being Lazy

There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part you need to be on the mat. The only reason that you don't get on the mat with your athletes is because you're either really out of shape or you're afraid of getting beat by one of your athletes. Neither of which is a valid excuse. If you would like to coach a sport in which fitness is key, you may try getting in shape yourself. If you are worried about getting beat by of your athletes, get over yourself. It's not about you; it's about your athletes.

STOP Yelling Inane Things In The Corner

Dear dad/coach, please stop SCREAMING the words "GET UP! GET UP!" at your 10-year-old wrestler when you're in the corner. That does your athlete no help at all. You don't think that they're trying to "get up?" You don't think that the thought to "get up" hasn't crossed their minds? Be constructive. Be specific.

STOP Placing Too Much Emphasis On One Match

When I hear a little league wrestling coach getting his athlete warmed up for the finals of a mean-nothin' local holiday tournament and they're saying things like "This is it..." and "This is what you train for..." it gives me chills. No one cares about what a kid down in the sixth grade. Let me clarify. NO ONE (including the 25-year-old version of the very kid who is competing) CARES (if the outcome of a sixth-graders' wrestling match makes or breaks your weekend go get a hobby) CARES WHAT A KID DOES IN SIXTH GRADE (anything short of curing cancer... it doesn't really matter... it's all practice for either the next level of the sport or for life off the mat).

Your job is to keep the status quo in terms of energy, enthusiasm, realism, etc. For example, if you're the kind of coach who likes to keep it light in the corner, that's great for before the finals. It diverts attention from the event and puts it on the task. If you're a no-nonsense kinda coach and you hardly ever joke around with your athletes, that's fine too -- just don't deviate from that at all. Be just as intense in the round of 32 as you are in the finals. This shows your athletes that the final match that they are about to wrestle, while it may be the last, is by no stretch of the imagination, the most significant. It's just another six minutes in a 32-foot circle that is going to take place.

STOP Treating Every Athlete The Same

I get it... Dan Gable says that we all must have a "system." Was Gable an amazing coach? YUP! No argument here. But you know what he had that you probably don't? His pick of every wrestler in the country. Having a core set of techniques that you like to focus on is great. I would encourage that. But understand that if you are teaching to a room of 30 and you are teaching the exact same thing to a 13-year-old freshman who weighs 113lbs and an 18-year-old senior who weighs 195lbs, someone is getting the short end of the informational stick. So what goes into a wrestling style? Body type, experience level, personality type, these are all ingredients that get thrown into the pot when determining a wrestling style.

STOP Saying "That Won't Work"

How many youth coaches tell their young athletes not to hit headlocks? Lots, right? Ever ask said coaches... why? They usually say that it won't work at a high level. Headlocks are a good, solid, simple technique when done CORRECTLY. The reason that a lot of coaches tell their athletes not to hit headlocks is because A) the way that they're hitting it won't work at a high level and B) because said coach may not understand the finer points of the technique that will allow their athlete to hit at a high level.

STOP Telling Kids To Cut Weight

You're a role model, whether you know it or not. Please don't squander the adulation of your athletes by forcing these kids to starve themselves. For the most part, the weight-cutting ship has sailed at a youth level, but I think that some of the last holdouts exist because so many coaches identify parts of their character and they're mental toughness with how much weight they cut. Think about it, every coach has a cutting weight story. Cutting weight, under most circumstances, is the easy way out. It's far easier to not eat for a day or two before competition than it is to mentally, physically, and emotionally commit to getting stronger for a full year.

STOP Teaching Technique Before Skills

There is a major lack of basic skills being taught in this country. I'll prove it. Ask any wrestler who you know what consisted of his or her first day of wrestling practice. I can almost guarantee that someone (who may or may not be qualified) taught them how to get into a stance, then they ATTEMPTED to teach them how to hit a penetration step (...poorly). Not everyone can hit a penetration step successfully. If they can, they probably didn't get good at it until they were sufficient at about eight to 10 other skills. Even if they hit it perfect on day one, they have no concept of timing, so they don't know when to execute the technique. The way that I look at it is this: Teaching penetration step on day one is a lot like teaching a dog to roll over. They probably won't get it on day one, and if they do it's only because they recognize that it is really important to the person teaching it to them. A great place to start is the 7 Basic Skills set forth by USAWrestling.