Wrestling Blogs - Ben Askren

Talent depends on aptitude, genes and the kind of training that the young sports stars undergo. This versatile website that I found has helped to empower sports professionals with the means of finding and recognizing sports talents. Result-oriented leaders, companies, scouts and managers should encourage schools to develop and support sports skills that go towards the makings of a champion.

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I think talent does not have much to do with physical characteristics. It's more mental. Mental strength will take you anywhere you want to go. Physical characteristics don't mean much if you are not squared away mentally (focused, unwavering belief, etc.).

i like that, and i can relate. Throughout my high school career ppl over looked me because i was a 5'6 kid wrestling 171 pounds. never looked like the typical wrestler but, once that whistle blew it was on

One of the enjoyable aspects of wrestling as compared to other sports is that genetic “talent” plays less of a role. Sure its true that certain physicalities place limits on a wrestlers success, but work ethic and attitude play a role as in no other sport. In football your 180+ with a 4.4 40, or your out, your 6.5 plus or your out in basketball – no exceptions. Many of us watched Mat Kyler come up through the PA ranks in HS, working summers as a freestyle ref. He was 5ft nothing, 100 and nothing. No other sport would even have looked at him. The heart and soul of that boy put him near the top of his weight class, nothing else. He’ll be a success wherever he decides to go in life.

Having said that, we need to watch our adaptation of rules so as not to poison the sport. We have college coaches pulling starting wrestlers from the lineups so they don’t get beaten and lose their ranking position – keeping others from achieving their potential spot. Its OK to grow 300 lb HS guards with over-eating disorders, but god forbid a wrestler is 0.3 lbs over his lowest weight certification, better move him up a weight class so as not to jeopardize his health. We replaced qualifying tournament place finishes with a popularity contest – or sorry, I meant rankings. I’m surprised we haven’t yet adopted some sort of instant replay non-sense.
I’m sorry, but I’ll take a Bret Metcalf and a Tom Brands any day. You are not going to find either of those guys promoting this leg-riding, action stopping crap that bores even the most ardent fan. I want to see Kolat flips, Metcalf double-leg tackles, and Mike Za dancing in his seat like he was on the mat himself.
This is exciting stuff, and it is attitude, not talent, that makes it sooo much fun.

your born with talent you cant learn it. and it sounds like you need to put in the extra work outs

Is the second wrestler you, ben?
just kidding
but what i think makes the most talented wrestler is someone who has just naturally good hips and creates pressure with his hips.
these are the kids that once they learn some technique and scrambling ability are tough to beat

I agree. Some people can work just as hard as the next guy but not show the results physically. There are some great wrestlers who if you saw them in their street clothes you would never know it.

In other sports I think coaches make the mistake of recruiting athletes instead of players. Wes Welker said the Patriots never put him on a stop watch, never asked him his time in the 40 when they picked him up. He certainly doesn't fit the prototype pro football player at 5'9, 185 lbs. and was undrafted then cut by the Chargers, picked up by Miami and traded. The Patriots watched him on film and knew he could play football, and he led the league in receptions.
You can't judge a book by its cover.

or i guess what im trying to say is, i lose every other match to good kids like Bubba Loftus and J. T. young by 2 or 3 points. how do i get past this. its to the point where im really getting depressed about it.

i agree with Ben, but i have a question. My first year of wrestling I was pretty good. now five years later im tons better than i ever thought i would be, but still not as good as my opponets. I have the body of the greek god, and i have the speed, but what do I do if I dont have the control and endurance? How do i BECOME a talented wrestler?

I think this is spot on.

i thinks it all comes down to the difference between a GIFTED athlete and a TALENTED wrestler

I completely agree. That might be because I happen to be one of those frumpy wrestlers. I don't think being a Greek god makes you talented. I think having a certain amount of skill and working to make it so these skills work better for you make you talented. It is the same for other sports. Just because a guy is really tall and fast doesn't mean he can shoot a basketball. Or say you have a soccer player who can run extremely fast, if he can't control the ball he's worthless. I don't think talent is something individuals are born with, it's something they develop over time through hard work.

i think that most of wrestling talent is completely a mental attitude. In my opinion, those who are successful at wrestling are those who encounter resistance with determination and will never stop working until they achieve perfection. The wrestler who works to get every drill, every takedown, every turn perfect will succeed. THAT is talent. Its not a physical attribute, but its the willingness to push through barriers and to never make excuses for your mistakes. Its the guy in the practice room who will drill a move an extra 5, 10, 15 times, to make sure that he can hit it right. Some may just describe it at stubborness, but really its just work ethic. The wrestler who is willing to work the hardest and in the third period of those close matches has fire and grit in him, hes the one that will win.

The guy talking about ability to visualize space had something there. Talented wrestlers are the ones who "just get it". From what ive heard from college recruiters, and something ive noticed on the college level, is that the difference between your d1 d2 and "lower" classes is talent. Most hardworking, high work ethic individuals between levels are separated by talent. This talent is the ability to use your hips, or to fake out your opponent, create motion, or various other fundamental aspects that are common to many high percentage moves. Work ethic, strength, cardio, and mentality are all other things. A talented wrestler one who has the ability to cover their personal gaps and achieve goals that were previously thought to be unattainable.

One of our all americans is very athletic, has quick feet, strong push pull, and various other facets that create exceptional wrestlers. However, it was possible to see him "turn the corner" at a tournament last year, when he beat higher ranked guys. His mentality, which had been suppressing his talent, changed, and he was hitting moves he may have practiced once or twice. You could visibly see that he now "had it".
Thats just my opinion and youve brought up a great topic with many responses. And I hope you had fun in Waterloo signing all those autographs! Ill be awaiting the results your fight. Praying for hard, yet safe training. Give it to em.

The first wrestler you described is athletically gifted, not talented.

The second wrestler you described is trained, not talented.

A talented wrestler is someone who has a natural ability to control their body or other qualities that allow them to prevent themselves from being put in situations that even trained or athletically gifted wrestlers would have issue with.

http://www.google.com/search?q=define:talent&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

at a high level, division 1 wrestling, can an uncoordinated frumpy person ever amount to an all american? In high school I think almost anyone can be all-state or a state champ but once you get to a high level doesn't athletecism become a pre-requisite for success?

Ben I think you have to know your opponent. I think a good wrestlers are both types . Certain moves work against tall guys verses stocky strong guys. Have to have endurance. Have to be smart.Have enough speed and strenth. Knowing opponent tendencies and be able to adaped on a dime. If you impose your style on opponent then you look good. Some styles will stump a wrestler at one time or another. Being in every situation a bunch of times (Mat Time) makes you good. Knowing how to react with out panic.(This is what made you great.) It might take a time or two but a good wrestlers will Identify and correct mistakes he has made in a loss. To me its the guy who comes back to beat a guy he has lost to is a good wrestler. Ben Its a profound question. That why we love the sport so much.

David Taylor is talented. Saw him in 6th wrestle in Junior High States and he had it all. The flo, the muscle, the endurance, body position, chain wrestling, and the most important thing he has is the will to win and to get better. Will be interesting to see how he does at Iowa State next year.

Talent is defined as any natural ability or power; as well as a superior ability in an art. If you take the definition of talent I would say that there are several degrees of talent in the sport of wrestling. If you are athletic, strong, or fast you have a natural ability therefore making you talented. On the other hand you may have other superior abilities (i.e. funk, great riding skills, position, etc.) that allow you to be considered talented. The ability to push yourself a little further when your mind and body say quit is not talent. This is desire and no matter what has to come from within yourself. The will to win and dominate is a mind set. Not all people have this, but all can have this if they find it inside themselves. There is a warrior in every male athlete. Men were designed to fight since the beginning of time and what has separated greatness from mediocricy is the desire to win. Sports like wrestling and MMA come the closet to being a true warrior and that desire and will to win is what separates the top from mediocre. Just my take on it.

Everyone has their own strategy to winning matches, I believe the talented wrestlers are defined by how they adapt to each opponent, not JUST size, speed, control or endurance, of course all of those are vital, adaptation cannot be factored out.

love it you I would say that you are very talented. It goes into the point of athleticism, if it is god given or gained through hard work or a combo of both, some wrestlers are just freak strong or fast while others may have gained both through training since he was 8. I was not always built like a greek god I was a tall skinny 135 pounded freshman year and filled out in college through lifting and training. which is why I love wrestling depending on your body type you can learn to adapt it toward your style, great examples Dallas Herbst and Chris bono both midlands champs and polar opposites. Great debate Ben.

exactly, wouldnt have put it any other way. I am in high school and we had challenge matches today for our match tomorrow. One of my teammates is the "frumpy" guy but he has strong hips and he like to work legs. Another one of my teammates is really strong..as a matter of fact we call him Deisel Dave( his name is david). Anyway, dave has been varsity the whole year and the other guy has challenged him for varsity every week this season. Well guess who won tonight?? FRUMPY.

Everything you just mentioned is completely correct, but I think you are missing a few very important peices of the puzzle. I am not a wrestler, I will admit up front that I have no idea what a wrestler is going through on the mat. I am, however, a wrestling fan and have had lengthy discussions about wrestling with friends of mine that do wrestle and everything that I have heard, read about, or seen has been about the mental ability to handle the sport. It's about being smart enough to know when to do something, when to pull a certain something out of the bag. I have seen plenty of super talented, athletic kids that never did anything because they were just flat out dumb.
It's about knowing your sport well enough to be put into ANY situation and thrive, no matter what sport you're playing. Half of it is mental is the old adage I believe.

Here is a pretty good read, "Outliers" by gladwell. Will force you to look at this topic in a different light. It all comes down to diliberate focused practices, 10,000 hours or 10 years to become world class.

"Now that his years of training have yielded such spectacular results, everybody's talking about his 'God-given talent.' That's how men who don't try very hard comfort themselves." Musashi

talent to me is the potential an athlete possesses...talent must be cultivated. while you can have a "talented" athlete who fails due to commitment issues, focus, (insert example from posts below), etc. you can just as well have someone who does great things. but it's the latter which requires more work, people often fail to realize their full potential (especially in a sport as grueling as wrestling) because the path of least resistance is to believe your talents need no refinement or cultivation...here is a prime example (one which I think Ben can also understand due to their relationship on and off the mat): a kid i wrestled with in high school, Keith Gavin was phenomenally talented, even in the high school ranks his technique was sound, work ethic was killer etc. He never wrestled in a PA state final despite the fact that he was immensely talented. But when he got into the right environment in college he was able to cultivate his talent. At Pitt it seemed like Gavin became a new wrestler...to see him battle you in the finals and then win it this past year validated my prior convictions that Gavin was the real deal in terms of talent...
Obviously some of this is inherent, but I think it's the potential to be great which an athlete must come to realize through training, focus, conditioning, etc. etc.

The beauty of wrestling is there is no talented look. Anybody who has the heart can join and become a champ. I never thought you were a physically imposing wrestler until you started getting ready for the Olympics, but you were the best wrestler there in college. If body style mattered, we would be bodybuilders

when I hear people call someone talented, I think it is unfortunate for that person, because I assume that they dont work hard... often this is because they dont Have to work hard since they can often be successful based on talent. As we all know, the true Gems are the rare people with both the talent and humility of a great work ethic too.
I almost feel bad for the guys who get labelled talented, and I was be eager to wrestle them because I knew that I could likely break them down and wear them out. You could say it might be a curse to have talent, since the odds are good that if you have talent, it will end up being untapped and unrealized potential, unfortunately.
I beg to differ with Ben in that when I see a guy who looks/is talented, I assume that he has no gas tank, and get excited to beat him. Maybe thats just me... Also agree with Martin's points below, and others; talent and a few bucks gets youa cup of coffee, while mental toughness/structure is the true test of talent in my book :)

Talent is measured in lots of combination the person has to be a technition, conditioned, has to have an aresenal of stuff to do at netural, top, bottom, and espcially at overtime that person has to be MENTALLY TOUGH that is the #1 thing which only a few people master. And hard worker at practice because talent is accumulated takes all of these things to have talent compared to god given ability.

My take on talent is that the talented wrestler is one who works hard to get their endurance up, who has all the technique, and has the natural speed/strength. In wrestling this is the talented, while in other sports you do not need this much, there are so many amazing athletes in wrestling that to distinguish the talented you must look farther than the natural athleticism of the wrestler.

Ben,

You have made some astute observations about genetic gifts, in relation to athletics. As a former high school wrestler, I learned to respect the guys with great grip strength, balance, persistence, flexibility, tenacity, power, stamina, etc. I believe these are all primarily genetic gifts.
As a current high school tennis coach, both boys and girls, I see the genetic gifts and lack thereof on display every day---things like a quick first step, anticipation, ability to visualize space, timing, vision, reflexes, ball-eye-hand-racket coordination, competitiveness---and I believe all of these can be enhanced to some degree with top-level training, but the essence is either there or not there---and that is a genetic fact.
I believe the same is true in academics---abilities to comprehend math or science concepts, words, spelling, grammar, etc are gifts---again, which can be enhanced somewhat.

While I agree with Paloma about BJ Penn, it brings up a whole new category of talent when it come to wrestling. BJ can bend in ways that would snap most peoples limbs. I've seen wrestlers who use this ability to take them to the next level or get them in and out of situations that most people can't. I watched a skinny, string bean, no muscle wrestler win states 4 years in a row in PA. He could bend in ways that make you sick looking at it. He had to be tough mentally and in shape, but that flexibility to him to the next level.

BJ Penn, the current light weight UFC World Champion is a classic example of what you are talking about. If you look at most top level guys in the UFC they are 'jacked' (a.k.a ripped, shredded, etc.), but BJ isn't well defined, well muscled, and doesn't look at all like someone who is a world class athlete. In fact, if you put him in football, basketball or baseball, he'd likely be an average player with average skill for those sports. BUT, when it comes to MMA , more specifically, Jiu-Jitsu and boxing, he just 'gets it'. It's second nature to him. His balance, base, timing, anticipation, etc., are combined gifts that ultimately beat a great physique, or just raw athleticism.

However, beyond that, the thing that separates BJ Penn from others is mindset and mental toughness. The mind and how you think is what makes one a champion and another guy just another competitor. Take two guys with equal athletic ability and match them up in a fight. Who wins? Aside from unfortunate luck or circumstance, the guy who has the superior mindset wins.
I had a dog once who was a natural at catching a frisbee. If you brought out a frisbee, all his focus and desire was directed toward that frisbee. The interesting thing is, he'd make the same awesome catches whether we were alone playing or if other people were standing around in the park watching. Now before you call me crazy, here's the deal and how it relates: My dog's focus and desire to catch the frisbee every time, and his ability to tune out everything except catching the frisbee was possible because he didn't have a human mind capable of rationalizing thoughts and fearing failure. If he were a human and 20 people were at the park watching him catch the frisbee, he'd most certainly drop a few frisbee's because his mindset would be something like this... "Oh man, all these people are watching, I don't want to look stupid. What if I drop a frisbee, those people will think I suck, my owner will abandon me, other dogs will laugh at me, and that other dog over there looks like he's faster, bigger stronger and better at catching firsbee's."
So in the end, physical ability is just a small piece of the puzzle; however, the ability to have or develop a world class mindset is what really makes the difference between those who do and those who come close.

Wrestl'ing in my opinion is all based on how hard you work. Im a HS wreslter and i get this buried in my head everyday by coach who i think is the greatest wrestler "since sliced bread". But he always talks about for 20mins of pratice of people (ex Bret Metcalf) who works 10x harder then everyone and isnt the strongest but puts in the work. He also refer's back to matchs where he was down or someone else was(Bret Metcalf NCAA finals) and they overcame that obsectule. Wreslting is a different talent though you know unlike the normel talent like something stupid like moving your ear's or something. Wreslting talent I think is being confident in the stuff you train on and build on everyday, also when your put in tough situations or someone is deep on your legs your able to true that into points or escape. Or your opponent knows a move is coming and your able to get it off because you master'd that move. Wreslting talent is also based on how hard you work and dont just drill going thru the motions you are always thinking of ways to counter something and chain wreslte turning 1 move into 7 different ones. Wreslting talent in a nut shell in my opinion is how much you think of new ways to wreslte, how well you drill something to point unstoppable. Remember you cant be "talented" on top if you dont work at it

I think talent in wtrestling means bheing good at it and also having a great love or passon for it. To me i think that talent in wrestling can be your decision insted of a gift you are born with. A talented wrestler is a wrestler who may or may not be good at it he just loves the sport and cant get it our of his head. Talent in wrestling in wrestling is very different than in any othere sport because u can become even more talented unlike football where mabye your are born big and musculer

I think having a talent for something is sort of an inate feel for the sport, something that cannot usually be seen but can be done...regardless if the participant has an athletic looking body or is very strong, although these components may play into the total equation of success in the sport; its the intangible, God-given part of the total athlete that is the wild card,so to speak. Say, for instance, someone can practice for hours on the piano(not a sport but same principle) and still only be able to play chopsticks, whereas another person with innate ability can sit down and play Beethoven after only a few lessons. I know that wrestling takes alot of hard work even though you may be extremely talented, but it is the intangible gift of talent that will balance the scale towards the more gifted athlete.

Ben - this will come off as a smart Arse comment, but not really intended to be. Your observations are kind of no kidding info to experienced fans. Ben Askren was pretty good and he certinly did not look like an imposing threat. John Smith, Wade S and Cael to name just a few were not "jacked up" and Saitiev does not look like a threat to people who do not know what that skinny frame can do to a highly trained athlete. Sure, we make an assumption based on the first of our senses that comes into play, vision. We see a seemingly fit dude and think he must be tough, then the brain kicks in and we make a better assessment.
Ben - did you worry more about a jacked up opponent more than a less imposing one ? I doubt it, you were a confident dude that was planning on funking whatever was in front of you, and did it quite well. The name of the game is to win using whatever you got to your advantage. Some tech and major, some win by 1pt. We respect the ones who consistently win almose, no matter how they do it.

I think some words are getting mixed up. Most of the time "talent" is thought of as "natural" physical effectiveness in the sport at hand, seemingly using less effort than others have to use to get similar results. I don't put guts, determination, unusual cardio vascular capacity, etc, under that same word-- thought they are all important. Your example makes the point. You have enought talent to take time off and come back and beat another very fine wrestler. But if you do that and then wrestle someone close to your own skill level who's in extraordinary shape and determined to win, the odds are against you. You had an edge in "talent," but some other factors tipped the balance.
Enought vocab--One other thing, even though it's admittedly your life and you didn't sign up to be everybody's everything: a lot of young people want to be like Ben Askren and will never come close, but some can experience some level of success at wrestling or something else through "hard work," though they'll never have the other gifts you have. I'm nobody to lecture a guy like you about hard work, but it may take a commoner like me to point out that kids watch and listen to you more than you think. When you're much older, like me, somebody will come up to you and tell you how their life took a positive turn in some way because they heard Ben Askren say, "even if you don't have the most talent, you can win or at least get somewhere, sometimes, on 'hard work.' " Maybe it perpetuates the vocab issue you raised, but it does something good, when you're talking about a kid who doesn't have anything going except his own force of will and his heroes.

Obviously i believe that kids are "talented" but the traditional use of the word means that it is the physical ability that they were born with. Now maybe people have an easier time getting things into their muscle memory, is that talent?...or maybe they can visualize and understand a move better...soooo maybe I would also argue that the reason they dont understand those things is because of the mental structures they have created in their head. For example learning a move, the physical aspect of learning a move doesnt work with some kids...like you pointed out in your blizzard video...see below, i believe that it is harder for some people to learn moves but not because they were born with it, but because of how the mental structure is built in their mind. A physical understanding of the body and its motions maybe wasnt incorporated at a young age into the foundation, thus when theywant to become athletes in high school they have to go back and "dig up" their metal structure foundation and really work at incorporate it into their mental structure of how they understand the world. Either way "talent" in wrestling doesnt mean "talent" in basketball or football.

and maybe im totally off, it is obviously hard to understand "talent"

I'm a wrestler who by the standard definition has very little talent: I have no metabloism and don't gain muscle that easily. But I have amazing lungs, and I am just naturally more conditioned than everyone on my team. That's a good perspective Ben.

ben as a coach at the youth level i look to see who can learn how to do a
somersault, cartwheel and than if they can do a kip up. we have some chubby kids
who can do those activities and they win matches. we have some kids who are so
skinny they can do this and they win matches. i think at the elite levels you need enough strength to stop an opponents move.

i hope you come back to wrestling and compete at 180 for the olympics.

I agree, Ben. Talent is not as simple as height/weight/40-time/bench press. Maybe some guy has a higher pain tolerance. Doctors will tell you that does vary by individual.

Maybe a guy is more flexible. Maybe a guy has a gift of more balance. Those aren't that obvious to the naked eye.
Talent is a term that's overused. Championships are normally 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Not vice versa.
You still envision moves in your dreams, ala John Smith? Best of luck, Ben. Good job representing Wisconsin.

Also maybe there is the element of talent in wrestling that is "where you know WHAT to work on."

If you take this interview from the macro and apply it to a single wrestling match like you are talkinga bout Ben (you just know what actions you will do to best ware out an opponent, and reserve and conserve each one of your actions or for the most bang for your buck.) So in each match you are just working smarter than your opponent. On the flip side of the coin you can work hard and wear yourself out on bottom and never get out from there.

Now going back to the Macro, Maybe talent is knowing and confronting your weaknesses. A lot of people fear there weaknesses and dont want to confront them. Either way I think wrestling is in a whole other level of category for talent.

Or am I off track from what you are getting at?

Well I did not even delve into the mental portion so don't worry about that, but the exact bias I was talking about was brought up when Joe brought up that Metcalf wins on hardwork. Now I can't say for sure with Metcalf, but I used to credit my ability to go balls to the wall and wear some one out to hard work. Now I realize that hard work helps it, but I could take a month off do nothing come back and still be able to put forth enough effort to wear out 80% of the guys ranked in the top 20 in 7 minutes. There are just some things in your genes you can't change.

I believe that the conventional wisdom thinks of talent as a combination of our athletic gifts, genetics, our muscle make-up and the sub-conscious mental attributes (balance, mat awareness). I also believe that Ben is right when you consider other aspects of a wrestler's game. When someone is really "gifted" in wrestling, it's the results we see regardless of what athletic traits make up that athlete. The ability to work hard and ignore physical pain is also a gift, one that many champions take full advantage of. Like Tiger, MJ, Gable or Cael the greatest of each sport have these natural athletic and mental gifts as well as the inner drive to succeed and the ability to push their bodies beyond what their competetors is capable of. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we can only take what we have and improve on it as best we can - always learning and always working.

Your wrestling analysis should apply to ALL sports.

For example, the MVP of the NBA is a small skinny white kid from Canada, Steve Nash....not once but two years in a row.....Ben, your definition of basketball talent doesn't fit him......And Tom Brady of the Patriots was NFL's best last year.....is he the best because he's big and fast? I think not.
In fact, your analysis applies to all aspects of life including business/career, spitituality and building successful relationships.
Guess what?....we're not the only ones to discuss this same subject.....I believe this quote sums it up...... "Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
-Walter D. Wintle

I think talent in wrestling is baloney! Freaking a, look at Robles. I think the beauty of wrestling the talent is the mental perspective or strength but you arent born with it...it is developed over years of building a mental structure. IE....Your adaptability to change when things arent working or looking for new ways to improve or having the mindset to enter a competition and compete at your highest possible and not tighten up under pressure.

Basicly I think "talent" in the traditional use of the word is as much apart of wrestling as it is in Poker.

I think you need to get your money back from your English writing classes.

i think being a gifted athlete in wrestling is having the qualities of good balance and good hip control. while that being said, you dont at all need these qualities to be a fantastic wrestler. in my opinion brent metcalf isnt the greatest athelete, but his hard work and dedication destroys people like darrion caldwell, who do have this good balance and hips. caldwell is really good with all those awkward positions and is very fluid, but metcalfs grit won it out for him. Again the bottom line which makes wrestling so great, the harder worker always wins!!

Failry true, I would only added that when people talk talent they are taking potential to be sucessful which still means that (1) this person may have all the requisite physical skills to be a worldbreaker. (2) There are many an athlete in all sports that past the look test , but they don't have the Psychological make-up ( example intangibles, meantal toughness, drive,etc.

Ask yourselves how many athletes you'v enknow over the years who in your mind where world breakers but never reach there potential for what ever reason??? We probably have awho's who of athletes that most never heard of for any number of reason

Totall true. I have had teammates in the past who fit that exactly. Kids who have their own high points and very talented but dont look like much. To be honest this kid is great. He is currently a junior in highschool a 2x state 3rd division 1 in OH. He has been completely dominating ppl this year and looks very promising to be a 2x champion. But if you were to see him in a singlet or walking down the street yo wouldnt think he is an athlete. He just looks like your normal average high school kid

all great points. one thing that i have observed in my career and have found to be very important is a wrestler learning his own body style. for example, a long lanky and slow kid probably shouldn't attempt to wrestle a quick jitterbug style. it just doesn't fit their genetics. the best thing that a kid can do is look at himself and learn his on body, his own strengths, and more importantly his own limitations physically. gaining a 'feel' for the sport is paramount. a person can be the fastest and strongest, but if there feel for position is lacking, they will be exposed very easily. and of course the mental side is huge.

In wrestling I define talented guys have natural abilities. When I think of this I immediately think of a friend I wrestled with for 4 years up until he quit. He was naturally talented in wrestling. His hips were amazing, noone could ride him, and his duck under was so fast it I had really never seen too many people stop it. He went to state his freshman year but won 2 lost 2. He had so many natural abilities it was unfare sometimes. The reason I say that is because he refused to work hard in the wrestling room, he was lazy, would skip practice, and really didnt apply his talents to make his self better. Our sophmore year he lost in a wrestling tourny and walked out, and never came back...what a shame it was....

Hell, even mental toughness is a "talent". I am more impressed by the attributes that people weren't born with. That is what is so awesome about wrestling; you don't necessarily need to be a good athlete to be a good wrestler, just improve the areas of your game to compensate for what god gave you. That is why you have champions like Chris Bono and Nick Marable, but also Mark Branch and Dallas Herbst.

I completely agree with that. Wrestling has many biases based on skill and athleticism

Good post. Strength and quickness are easy to spot, but balance, flexibility, and endurance are just as much a part of physical talent in this sport. And why do we often categorize the mental aspects of the sport separately from "talent". I would say tenacity, courage, situational awareness and the ability to perform under pressure are also innate talents to a large extent.

Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong may each be the greatest ever in their respective sports. But I'm not convinced they could have been world class in any other sport but their own. (OK..maybe MJ in volleyball)

I think balance and body control as you call it are the most important aspects in wrestling. The thing is that it is hard for someone to watch a match and say man look at that kids body control. It is a lot easier to see the muscle mass, or how fast someone can shoot.