Wrestling Blogs - Richard Rockwell

Little more freedom to do what I want with my blogs here. http://theowfblog.blogspot.com/Enjoy. more »

Am I a Dickhead Coach?

Now before you go off the deep end on the derogitory title, let me explain. I recently had a kid quit the team and when asked by another wrestler why he quit, he said "Because the coaches are dickheads." The wrestler then asked, why he thought we were dickheads and the kid said "because they want me pass classes and show up for practice." Huh? Are you kidding me? That's how a coach is considered to be a dickhead nowadays? Because we ask the students to do what they should be… more »

Got your attention already? Good. I titled this blog in hopes to get some attention from the readers about a subject that is driving me nuts.

The subject is about the matter of who is claiming who trained who and this in fighting over which clubs or coaches are best.

I get so tired of reading about this club training so and so or this coach having the best technique. Whatever happened to just training wherever to become a better wrestler. When has wrestling turned into this coaching or club competition?

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Flew out to US Nationals again this year, only this time I brought someone to coach from our team.

We get to Vegas only to find out that my kid won't be making weight so he has to wrestle up. While okay at local tournaments, its not quite the same caliber of kids at some local event and after winning his first two, he quickly finds out why he should've made weight.

He puts All-American Tyler Cox on his back three times and gets no points for it. Tyler doesn't take kindly to it… more »

As wrestlers we are taught discipline at an early age when it comes to our diet and eating habits. We are taught to eat healthy foods and not stuff ourselves with junkfood in order to keep our weight down and stay in top physical condition.

I was no exception to this lesson, but I'll tell you about the one time I broke this rule.

Wrestling in HS, I learned to run constantly to keep my weight down and eat right, so I figured when I headed to college, it would be no different. Boy… more »

I've always said the thing that separates wrestling from the other sports, are the memories we have from our trips to meets or the overnight trips.

If you are in an area like mine, where you travel at least 2hrs to get matches and go as far as 4hrs sometimes, you tend to spend a lot of time on the road, with your team.

You learn over time that wrestling starts to become its own brotherhood of sorts and you tend to bond more with your teammates or kids you coach more so than… more »

As I sit here thinking about what more could be done to save the University of Oregon wrestling program, I can't help but think that we as wrestlers are somehow compared to the warriors of the movie "300."

For those who don't know, the story of the 300, goes back to ancient Greece when 300 Spartans tried to hold off a million Persians and nearly won. It talks of their bravery, standing up for their beliefs and never backing down no matter what.

I liken the programs or wrestling leaders who are fighting for… more »