Youth and HS Wrestling and Burnout

keep it fun and simple...

red dog is the man !

i began wrestling at five but i quit at 7 because pal only had two matches and my dad didnt want to pay the money ffor parties. Then i began wresling at MHS as a freshman and won 2 but i had more fun just enjoying the season and all the great friendly coaches and wrestlers who waited for me to catch up. i began wrestling at boise kids wrestling in idaho that after half the season i went to arrowrock freestyle and competid in one of idahos biggest tourneys the minico tournament in rupert idaho. Arrow rock was my favorite team to be on it was fun and intense now i try to get my cousin and brother to wrestle

I just completed my first year of running the practices in my youth program. I've been coaching in this program for 7 years. Our head coach stepped aside in 2007, so a couple of my friends and I got together and decided to keep our sucessful program going. I took the challenge with some doubt, but mostly realistic goals. What I found out is, this is what I was born to do!! I found myself in tears praying to god and thanking him for giving me the courage and desire to lead these young boys. I'm always struggling to find balance in my coaching technique! What is too much? How hard should I push a youth wrestler? What I found was tremendous positive feedback from the parents and wrestlers. We ended up with our most sucessful season ever. Taking 6 youth to state. What I personally got out of it was the desire, and drive, to be the best person I can be for my wrestlers. Wrestling teaches us to deal with extreme circumstance with desire and heart. I've always considered wrestling a "One percenter sport" !! 99% Of the rest of the world cannot handle wrestling. It takes a specific character to endure the physical, and mental struggles of our sport!! As an Infantry Marine, and Wrestler, I consider myself blessed with the ability to adapt, and overcome all situations;-) !! I hope this letter is helpful to other coaches. God bless wrestling !!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!

Wrestling more than any other sport you have to get the kids while there young and you have to make it fun. They also need encouragment. Sports like football, basketball, and track you can be good quickly. If your a great athlete, you fast, or tall you can step on a football feild and be good right away. Track, if you got it you got it. I think alot of potential great wrestlers are pulled away by the flash and instant sucsess that can be obtained by good athletes in other sports. No matter how good an athlete you are to be a great wrestler takes time and work. The first couple years can be very wrough. I think also in todays prep sports age kids are forced to specialize more, to be able to compete. Sports seasons overlap, and kids play there sports year round now. Its hard for kids who pick up the sport late to catch the kids who have bean in for a while and go to tounaments year round. So basically you need to get the kids young and they need to see how great wrestling is and wrestling needs to be there #1 sport, not football, track, soccer, or LAX. I think it is easier to keep lightweights around because other sports really are not an option for a 5'6-5'10 135lb kid. Its unfortunate, but wrestling is fighting an uphill battle against the bigger more flashy sport. GET THE KIDS YOUNG.

my dad never went to practices. he let the coaches coach me. i also had three older brothers that were stand out wrestlers, on a small island. I won a lot when I was younger b/c I wrestled the same four chubby kids every year but I couldn't beat my brothers so I always pushed to catch them.

Champion By Design at Beat the Streets!
AT EVERY STAGE OF LIFE.

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MILKSHAKES AFTER THE TOURNAMENT ONLY IF YOU DO YOU BEST ON THE MAT.

i'm not sure if this is an option for you. but, there are folkstyle tournaments throughout the spring and summer in my neck of the woods. the beauty of this is that my sons wrestle folkstyle all year round. they don't like switching to freestyle and have no aspirations of wrestling in the olympics. they just want to improve their folkstyle technique for next year. maybe your wrestlers would be more interested in continuing in folkstyle during the offseason. if they hadn't performed to competitively during the folkstyle season - attempting to learn a whole new set of rules may not be that appealing.

I have great motivation for my kids, win and you get to come home at night to the nice warmth of the family in our warm humble abode, lose and you are OUT on the street with the hobos. That has worked pretty well over the years for my kids, 3 still live at home, 2 have added to the hobo total in our great country. Heck, if that's baseball, I am batting .600!

I just completely my first year Head Coaching a HS team in northern Cali. Not the hotbed of wrestling, so there's a need to introduce this sport first, but I'm already thinking about this aspect of my coaching future: keeping the kids interested. I'm doing all I can to promote freestlye/greco with limited success at best, but I continue to work and give them the opportunity. But I noticed some of my kids hitting the proverbial wall.

Mat time is the only true way to get growth, but I varied tournaments in skill level to the best of my ability, keeping them mostly in competition in which they could compete, so they wouldn't get destroyed week in and out. That was one thing which I found helped. I think it's a good thing to have a good bus ride road trip with the team. Having some wrestling related games I found helpful. Kept them from the grind of the cuts, the meets mid week and tourney on the weekend. Gotta space it out some.
I've got a LONG way to go and I'm not even really one to give a valid opinion given my team's 0-7 league dual results, I've got to build this team b/c I think this sport does wonders for kids and doing what you can to minimize this burnout effect is a big part of this sport. Great topic. I'd say focus at least a day out of each week on having some good fun and that will surely help. Anybody got any tips on how to help build a program from the ground floor when the school barely has a history in the sport? I know I've got to get a feeder program going to start, but that will take some time. Getting the kids to attend the freestyle club hosted at another local HS has been just unsuccessful. It's a tough one.

it seems like your suggesting that, in the long run, there is no place in this sport for losers. and you may be correct. as amateur youth wrestling is set up in america now - it's all about the competition...the sport of it. it's not valued as an art. as something to be pursued for the sake of it's practice alone. i believe that this will be the downfall of folkstyle wrestling. that it's value as an art (like, say...tai chi) is rarely recognized.

We were talking about this the other night at a CYO dinner. The guest speaker, who coached 5th-8th grade wrestlers for years, said something that stuck with me. "The goal ought to be to have all your kids come out again next year. Everything you do ought to be aimed at that." It's an interesting philosophy, because it puts the kids first. What do kids want? They want to be inspired, they want to learn and improve, they want to be a part of a great team atmosphere, they want to know that you care about them, and yes they want to win. That's what we mean when we say "make it fun." It's not easy, but more coaches and parents need to aim at this goal, particularly at the youth level.

Joe:

I think the quickest way to burnout in wrestling is to stop eating and/or drinking water to make weight.
I believe there was an article I read somewhere in which there was a survey of top athletes in various HS who did not wrestle. They were asked why didn't you wrestle. the overwhelming major answer was not being able
to eat normally. second on the list was wearing a singlet. third was wrestling conflicted with their winter sport
of basketball/swimming.
All sports experience burnout. Some kids as they get older into hs years no longer want to work hard to improve. Adolesence is a very difficult time. Add on top of that the academic pressure and you have a recipe
for good athletes not continuing their sport. I have seen all-state kids walk away from wrestling in 11th or 12th grade. there is no one formula for success. if there was Gable would have found it already!
ken

Mike,
you are the coolest guy I know! I want to be a middle schooler in your program.

Great topic and good information guys. I have only three yrs coaching experience but will offer just a few suggestions, a couple of which I gleaned from a HOF coach(not wrestler) from NY, who I'm lucky enough to know through one of his sons : 1) As a coach, display your own enthusiasm for the sport during practice...enthusiasm is infectious 2) Greet each/every wrestler at the door every day as he walks into practice(e.g. "glad to see you today Billy") 3) Give internal team awards after every match/tourny (e.g quick pin, outstanding wrestler, best comeback, best homerun move) & print them out w/wrestler's name & picture and post on wall of wrestling room and/or school hallway for one week of 'face time'. 4) Use positive reinforcement 90% of the time if possible; treat the kids with respect & as adults as much as possible 5) show as large a variety of technique as possible, from each of the three basic positions (top,bottom,neutal). I was a student of the sport and was fascinated with slick techniques growing up (still am).

I could not agree more. Winning is fun! Yes, teach to be a good sport but from a young age you should not lie and say hey, you are going to work really, really hard and it's ok if you lose. No, it's not. There are times a wrestler will lose. Even a Metcalf. But it's not ok with him, I'm sure. Is the world going to end? No. The question is, "If you don't like that feeling, what are you going to do about it?" Answer: Work harder.....most kids simply aren't pushed to do that and it is human nature to look for the easy route. It is the rare kid who has a "burning desire to win". This personality quality CANNOT be taught and it CANNOT be coached. Some kids want to win more than anything. The only thing you can do to push them past a loss is simply say, we will work harder and get him next time. But ultimately, 98% of kids who quit call it burn out and we all know the truth: They were simply losing too much and it sucked. Parents and coaches who say have fun are kidding themselves. Everything about wrestling is hard! The practices, conditioning, weight loss, travel, etc. It is exhausting. Burn out is another word for quitting. I think there is a lot of value in playing games at times, letting your body rest at times, but a kid won't reach the top of the podium playing. And who said if a kid wants to quit, he or she should be allowed to. How many kids would become great champions if their parents would just say suck it up in the hard times because tomorrow is another day and can elicit a better result. What's wrong with saying, no, you can't quit! How many champions would our sport have never seen if every parent acquised to a whining kid in a down moment. Parents are there to guide kids, not pad every step on a silvery clouded lining. Parenting and coaching is hard. Saying no, you will go on and keep practicing, is hard. But it has to be done. This sport is hard. There is no easy way out. Champions know that and so do great coaches and parents.

Partners Partners Partners. Friends that love to compete. Been coaching youth for 13 years have seen kids come and go the ones who do well in HS & col. are the ones that take to the work. Wrestling can break your heart! If you can find enjoyment in the work and have LONG TERM Glasses and look at Development not winning and loosing you might find a wrestler. From FLOW "between age five and fifteen kids will wrestle 1000 matches that dont mean , dont care what the tournament or the opponent" . Have seen kids not win a little league match and become state champions in HS.. On the other hand have seen kids win everything National Tournaments and all and not stick it out. Funny things happen when they hit Puberty. Coaches, Moms, and Dads need to keep Long Term Glasses on and find enjoyment in the WORK!
Dont like the word Fun. Love to compete yea like that.

BLUE SPRINGS SOUTH
( :

To get a kid to train my big line is "only you can push yourself!" I say that at the end of every practice before we do our buddy sprints. I tell the kids Im done yelling and now its time to prove to yourself you want to be a High School State Champ, NCAA Champ and for some of you Olympic Champ. Im like a broken record! I also use Caels line about getting 1% better each practice. One kid every practice in the "Words of Wisdom" session we do says that he got 1% better today. Thanks for that one Cael!!

I really think that when Im done showing the technique and I ask "whos got this?!!" Some kids get so excited to get up in front of everyone and show it, its crazy! Then they get the big clap from the team when they're done. I have a new drill Im doing for attitude.. I yell out "what did you call me??" and all the kids yell "PUNK!!" they love it and I think its building their attitudes. I have another one we are doing during pushups i yell "Down" and they yell "LOVE IT!" after about 8 or so I yell "How many is that!!!?" and they yell back "WHO CARES!!!" it gets pretty crazy. When I yell "Whos tired" The kids all yell back "NOT ME!" so I think the whole talking back concept is working on even the most timid kid. During a clinic once a new kid realizes im being funny they really like it. Its priceless when some little kid calls me a punk. Walks in the room timid the first day...walks in with a little swagger the second!

I am taking over a program next year, and I've thought a ton about this. In my first teaching job interview, the principal, a former wrestler and now assistant coach in our program, asked me about coaching wrestling and how to keep kids out.
I said, like most here, "make it fun."
He replied with, "how do you make it fun if the kid goes out every time and gets it handed to him?"
I've been working on creating a framework for answering this question, and I call it the Bruin Rubrics. You can check it out on my blog under important program links. http://www.bruinswrestling.blogspot.com

Other thoughts I have about keeping it fresh comes back to an idea formulated through coaching the distance runners in track and being a professional dogmusher. Obviously, wrestling and running are very different athletic contests with different physiological requirements for success, but commited wrestlers, distance runners, and sled dogs all have something in common--a crazy individual drive. I feel the most elite of each sport can be insanely intense everyday without burnout, but that also comes with an insane dedication to recovery, both physical and mental. I heard on a Gable tape, he spent an hour more than even the most dedicated everyday, but it wasn't all extra workout, it was an extra hour focused on recovery so he could push just as hard the next day.
So, as coaches, are we expecting the same intensity and hours put into recovery for every kid as Gable did? Is that sustainable without burnout for the average highschool kid?
Another important point is taking the athlete where they are. Olympic cross-country skiers train around 450 hours a year not including warm-up/stretching/recovery/etc. Even if you have the heart of a champion, if you've never trained before, your body cannot sustain 450 hours a year from scratch.
Besides scaling up the workload, one possible solution is to look at making every practice a mission and every practice hard, but not necessarily every practice intense. In track and dogmushing, you have a base workout, you have intervals, you have hills, and you have long slow distance. Physiologically, they are mixed and designed to progress the body through periodization from base to strength to speed to peak. Mentally, they keep you fresh. The idea is, if you go intense on your easy days, you'll not be able to go as hard as you possibly could or need to on your intense days. What you end up with if you go every day intense is this flatness, mentally and physically. So, is it possible to make a wrestling practice hard and mission driven, like a long slow distance run, but not mentally intense and draining. I think so. In the end, when you ask for intensity, you will get it at a higher level. The quickest way to demotivate the "right" person is to ignore the facts of their reality. (That is actually from a business book) You need to ask for the best from every kid, but if you don't look at the reality of their abilities and you ask them to be Dan Gable, you will demotivate them and they quit.
So, I apologize for the soapbox, but these ideas are developed after my own personal burnout from obsession with weight cutting and a need to get away from the sport--that is where the dogmushing, track, and skiing came in. But now I'm back because of how wrestling has made me a better person.

trade the gear such as shoes and singlet it always keeps me hooked on wrestling

I think coaching is everything at a young age. A positive environment is paramount and little to zero weight cutting should be allowed. Or just get Mike Krause as your coach.

i think the culture of such intensity and commitment has driven some kids to burn out. wrestling is a very intense sport and requires alot of time and effort. the only real way to hold such focus would be to change the nature of the sport. however, if a more recreational no-pressure way to wrestle (health clubs, rec leagues etc) then i believe we could draw a larger crowd and hold the allegiance of athletes for a longer period of time

cutting weight and loosing.
cutting weight sucks.
loosing is mentally draining.
if your a guy who never cuts weight, and beats everyone, wrestling will always be fun.

1) Watch the best
2) Don't obsess over weight
3) Schedule off-time
4) Learn from your own experiences (wins and losses)
5) Set short and long term goals

great topic agreed.
I can only respond from my own life experience. Wrestling may have saved my life. At the very least directed it in the right direction. From young punk to Police Sgt/Homicide and coach and dad. My two sons seem to be developing at different levels the younger having the greater success right now. But as a former wrestler and coach youth -Hs I always catch myself in times when I want to push them. I have been accused many times for cheating me sons during a wrestling season because I decided from birth that I would back off from coaching them mat side...even during those "big matches', State finals etc.... People may not agree, but it works for me. I am lucky because I have a core group of people in my State that I trust with my kids any time the compete. It is the parents job to instill honor, respect and discipline in their young son. I agree with comments made about too much idle time spent with video games etc...Get your kids active no matter what the activity. Wrestling teaches life lessons without the individual even being aware of the lessons as they happen.
I challenge any current or former wrestler to reflect for a minute and tell me how wrestling did not make you a better person.....You couldn't do it ...

great topic

Take video games away and a lot of this wouldn't be an issue. Kids find it so easy to quit because they have video games at home where they can compete all they want and if they lose, no one yells at them or sees them lose. Much easier for a kid to sink into his room away from the public to do that than man up and put it on the line.

ALong those same lines, if there were more dads sticking at home and becoming role models for these young men, kids would less likely to quit as well.

A lot of good stuff posted, many of our youth kids have a lot on their plates, between tons of home work and parents that insist on entering little johnny in another sport really loads a kid up. With that we work hard to keep the kids engaged, video generation learns very fast and gets bored even faster, change up practices, but most important, read them, if they are all rolling their eyes you are loosing them, engage!

I guess im a crazy wierdo haha

I'm on the fence on this one. I've coached a lot of different kids over the years and believe every kid is coached a little different. Some you have to be stearn with, others you can't, some you let them do their own thing and they're fine and others you need to help constantly.

The biggest thing in coaching, IMO, is finding out which kid is coached, which way. My own son, I'm stearn with because sometimes its needed. Even when he loses. For instance, I have constantly reminded my son when he is not giving it 100% during a loss, but he always felt he was. No matter how many times I said it, he never believed me. So I started recording his matches and having him watch them. My was he surprised that I was right. After that, he began noticing more when he was trying as hard and has worked to fix it.
I've also had to play the jerk role when letting kids know they didn't give it their all when they lose. If kids are never told these things, they will never know what they are doing wrong. Soon it becomes a habit and that is hard to break.
And yes, quitting should never be an option if you know a kid is just frustrated and actually doesn't hate it. I probably quit 500 times in my career, but I always came back. I was fortunate enough my coach always talked me out of it. He later told me, he always loved it when I quit because he knew 10 mins later, I would work even harder. Eventually I learned to focus that hatred of losing to working on winning.

For me personally it is just showing an interest in my future and telling me when I am doing somthing wrong and when I am doing somthing right. But I personally have the desire to train and become the best, you cant teach that. When my coach told me that he could picture me wrestling in college and that I was the hardest worker and when my older teammates tell me that I am the future of my schools program I get motivated. compliments and actually caring about the wrestler is vital.

I don't think that this discussion has much merit. Yea there are more and more kids quitting wrestling, yea there are more and more lunatic parents, yea there are more and more frantic coaches, but there are also more and more nude bicycle accidents. The reason there are more and more of one thing is becuase there are more and more people in this world doing everything more and more. I don't think that there is a trend I think it is just the way it is and the way it always was proportionatly. There is no way to make a kid want to train harder! Make the experience as enjoyable as you can (that includes enjoying the labor and the fight) and wish him the best of luck. This is the greatest sport in the world and if some kids don't buy into that well tell them to take up nude cycling.

This past season I had my hardest working group ever for middle school. I try to get the kids to want to work hard. I demand a lot out of them, but I also try to be aware of their needs. If they are all tired and sore, I'll take it easy on them. I try to break up the routine and play games. I also NEVER yell at a kid for loosing--EVER. And I HATE being around parents or coaches who do! I ask for 110%. Anything less is unacceptable!

Burnout happens at all levels. And not just to wrestlers who start at a young age. I think the recurring theme in this blog is that wrestling has to be fun. I agree totally and there are countless ways to make practice and competition fun. It's not hard to see when someone is not enjoying themselves.

When I see burnout in kids it is usually the result of a parent or coach pushing too hard. Emphasizing winning instead of development. People know when their best interest is not being put first.

This was illustrated to me recently at a club practice. This club coach has coached numerous state and national champions, even some olympians, and he is a legend in the Portland OR area. He had one his boys who had just won a college national championship come to practice and after practice this NC was asked to answer any questions the wrestlers had or parents had.

One question was "Have you ever thought of quitting?" His answer, surprisingly, was "All the time!". The coach jumped in and asked why hadn't quit and his answer was "Because you wouldn't let me". Coach then dropped this pearl of wisdom and said "He didn't quit because he knew my encouragement was for his benefit and not mine".

Parents and coaches sometimes want winners because it looks good for themselves. Wrestlers pick up on this. Coaching should be for the benefit and development of the athlete.

In a world of predominately lazy people, based around immediate satisfaction. We must give them a reason to enjoy the struggle of hard work. When a kid is faced with a leisurely life style vs. a constant battle, their character is revealed. Whether or not it is an innate capability, we should nurture the kids to believe it is in their nature(feed their ego). They also must be taught to respect the value of their training.

"Who, at best, knows in the end
The triumph of high achievment;
and, who at least if he fails,
at least fails while doing greatly,
so that his place
shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who know
neither victory or defeat."
T. Roosevelt

LOL at that comment. I just heard the legend of juice box at cadets.

I get a kick out of the parents that tell their kids go out and have fun. These parents never push their kids. They don’t always quit but they rarely never compete at that next level. They don’t become a 2 time or 3 time state champion. What these parents don’t understand it’s hard to have fun while you’re getting your but handed to you. And a lot of these kids do quit because they get tired of losing.

Are there some kids that get burned out? Yes!
But I think there are a lot more kids that quit with the parents that talk about having fun. You just don’t notice that there gone because they were never on top of the podium!

Two words: juice box.

I agree the approach cannot be stressfull during the younger years... and honestly once the athlete gets to the high school age range the approach varies per athlete...
some need mentoring...some need more intensity... it all varies...
but I believe a strong base of fun and learning starts the foundation that benefits the entire sport as a whole...

I know my brother loves wrestling and has a strong will to improve day in and out. I pretty much coached him his entire life up until high school......i always pushed him very hard and always stressed "being tough". Told him that nobody should ever outwork or outtrain you. Not only that, but i took him to big matches/tournaments and drew and stirred EMOTION (which i felt was the MOST important). Id talk to him...." you see that, he just won the Region. Imagine how that feels? Look he just won that dual match and helped him team win, and he was expected to lose, that is called being TOUGH and wanting it more than the other guy". I showed him how great it is to win, and then from then on any time he won i would ask him how great it felt....just made him want to win more and more.........

I'm a head coach of a Middle school team in PA which is 7th to 9th grade.... Playing games is a great way to keep there mind off of wrestling at times but not even playing games that deal with wrestling.. games such as basketball, football, relay races, etc and also I found this year giving them a extra day or two off during Christmas break was a great idea from how i had my team practice 2 years ago over Christmas break.. The kids were more fresh and wanted to get back in the room when it was time to practice. Always if possible i would end practice with something fun besides our conditioning work outs at the end.

I have a couple friends that have won multiple HS state championships in Iowa and went on to wrestle at Iowa and Iowa State. They ultimately ended up quitting because their heart wasn't really in it. It was tough on one friend because he was a legacy wrestler and quitting obviously goes against everything your tought in youth wrestling and life.I saw first hand how the sport really tortured these guys because they didn't love it to the extreme. I think wrestling is a tough sport because you have to give up so much to be good. When you walk onto a college campus the last thing you really want to do is diet religiously and workout all day while your in your prime with the funnest time of your life happening around you. It worked for them for a couple years, but ultimately they had been doing this lifestyle their whole life from a real young age and were tired of it. There's very limited careers in the sport after college unless your in the elite class, so theres no real monetary reward to stay in the sport like the major sports have. It's a monotonous grind and it's really a tribute to those great wrestlers who enbrace it because you know they really love the sport. Alot of parents push their kids right out of the sport with all the pressure they put on them. Unless your a crazy weirdo like Metcalf, it's probably not normal to really love the misery of wrestling unless your self driven.

let them have fun and mess around a little until middle and high school

There are many variables that one has to take into consideration. One is if your talking from a parent/coach stand point , tournament organizer/coach stand point, or just a prent taking your kid around to tournaments and practices. All parents must learn that there is a 2 year learnig curve in wrestling at each level that the wrestler enters. ( example .. junior high to high school... high school to college... college to elite level..)

Here is why,
here in California you have those types of coaches/parents/ organizers, like I mentioned above, and depending on what HE OR SHE decides to be as a parent, that is how the wrestlers year will go.
Example, if you are a Dad/coach you are organizing practices have your son involved in your daily routine.
Not only that but going to almost all tournaments which equals mat time. This parents wrestler will be on the podium once in a while but will be a lifer wrestler.
Then there are those parents that are just parents. One type of parent that stands out in my mind is that parent who is financially able to go to any tournament in the country and go practice with any club anytime of the week along with private sessions with D1 coaches or wrestlers. These parents will find the best partners for there kids. These parents will also create friendships with other parents and find time to practice together. One example is I know of a parent who will travel anyewher from2-4 hours every Saturday for a good work out for his two sons. You see these kids on the podium at every tournament. But some will reach the point of burnout at the high school level. Not rare at all to see this. One can argue that most don't.
The other type of parent is that parent that puts another sport first. Football then wrestling. Baseball then wrestling. This parent is the type of parent that wants to win more than their wrestler. They will put the minimum amount of time and effort but expect the same results as those who I mentioned above. After they get their results and thier wrestler does not place as they wish they stop going to practice but return the next season.
I can honestly tell you that here in California the tides will be turning. Heres why, what we call the northern section and the central section ( Sacramento, Selma, Central Catholic. Clovis, etc.) have been working hard on developing their folkstyle junior high and elementary leagues for the past two decades. That area now can be held as the hot bed of California. But, just two years ago the southern Califorina area and the San Diego area have switched their associations to folkstyle.
Heres why I feel this change was very important to the area and the sport.
As you get more and more involved at the k-8 level you see that those dads who wrestled in high school and some college or juco wanted to get involved. In the past parents were very hesistant to help coach because of the freestyle push, now changing things to a folkstlye, it has become easier for parents to volunteer because they remember most their folkstyle days and not their freestyle days. To me personally we at the grassroots level can find more growth in the sport by creating folkstyle leagues rather than freestyle leagues.
oh one last thing that had kids going wild this year were the awards given out. Just check out the California Super Tournament coverage. You will see what I meen.
just my two cents

i think its a delicate balance of personality and wrestling content knowledge. The kids Im in contact with need to see a small amount of my personality (jokes, noises, and intensity during instruction/demonstration) so i can keep their attention and show some positivity while they are going hard and their thoughts might not be so positive. Sometimes they find it annoying and sometimes it brings them out and they can open up when they laugh or see something entertaining.
Kids have to trust that you have the wrestling knowledge that will allow them room to wrestle in their style and fit into your program's philosophy at the same time. They want to learn "new stuff". Little things that go along with neutral (set ups, TDs, finishes), top (breakdowns, tilts, and pinning combos), and scoring on bottom seem to go a long way. Coaches need to be thirsty for multiple ways to train kids. I feel like the schools and clubs that are at the top every year have coaches who are on top of their game with this. I like this topic b/c its going to ultimately save our sport.

I would suggest you head over to Brinzers site and check out some discussion on this topic.

But on a whole I will tell you some general concepts that hurt and some that help.
Too many feel that a 8 year old winning States will translate into being a NC at college. There is way too much emphasis on winning at the youth level. Kids that are more physically developed will win most of the time at young levels regardless of knowledge since neither kid can have much wrestling knowledge. So kids get extremely burned out at older ages when they go from winning to losing and they do not understand why. And the parents just yell at them telling them they need to try harder. When the issue is TRAIN harder and better. Actually learn a series of moves and practice them every few days year around. Too few kids when they learn to wrestle are taught how to pin (head hunters) rather than the art of the sport. So a big problem starts with coaching and focusing on winning rather than development.
So how do I see it. How do you keep them interested? Since my son started wrestling at 11 and has been at it for a bout a year and a half I will tell you what has worked for me. First off realize my son did very little winning the first year and just a little more this second year. We do not focus on winning but rather style and effort. The goal is to be aggressive and execute or attempt to execute the moves he has learned. By contrast I become extreme critical of defensive wrestling. The goal is to get them to find enjoyment in the development. He is making huge improvements over the last few months. We also wrestle almost year around. Not in tournaments but we go to a couple of camps that are 8 weeks long and a couple of days per week (actually called Advantage WC). By keeping him active year around we are constantly moving forward in development. Not losing weeks "getting the rust off".
He is really starting to understand and correlate effort in training to success on the mat. It has taken close to 2 years so I would say another thought is to have a long term goal. We set ours at 3 years to make it to States and the 4th year win the tournament. Since the goals are so long term we are able to focus and discuss development. The winning will come do to the skill level increase and training. I do not ever expect to spend much if any time talking to him about winning. It is all about training and preparation. The winning will come.
As far as getting them to wrestle hard with heart. That can only come from the kid. But it can be nurtured by the coach/ mentor/ parent. People will have passion for things that they have ownership of. So you have to step back a bit and let them take over ownership of there effort and execution. Not easy and I do not have any advice as everyone is different.

I started coaching a young friend of mine at age 8 . He was having a blast. His Dad is so intense that he has quit twice and last night he told me he was done forever because he did have fun any more (He's 12). To him I was very upbeat because I see a future California State Champion, but inside I was so angry. I have told his Dad to lay off, let him go to practice by himself, stop coaching him by screaming, stop taking him away from other fun stuff he likes to to make him wrestle. The kid got to meet and wrestle with Cael last summer, his eyes were bright, he was in awe. Now he does not care and I blame one person, His Dad. Parents need to let their kids become what they are inside, not force them to become exactly what the parent needs or thinks they should have achieved given a second chance. Wrestling is a blast. My best friends are still the guys and girls I hung out with on those long Saturdays in the dead of Winter in Idaho!

Parents, inspire, don't defire!!!!

I think more fun should be implemented at practice so less pressure will be put on these kids, coaches should know when to turn it on for them and know when to turn it off to let them loose. We do not want these kids suffering from burnout by the time they hit high school. They will eventually begin to work hard themselves once they realize how great this sport is as long as they are not forced or pressured early on.

You talk to a lot of coaches or parents and they say burnout doesn't exist. I just laugh when I hear that as those kids they speak of usually don't last to HS because they burnout.

Joe, I feel the same way. In my opinion, no coach can make you wrestle your best. The inividual has to empower that themselves, and then act on the initiative. A concept that needs to be implemented to keep young wrestlers and older as well from leaving is more competition. I can join USA wrestling, however the chances of a freestyle tournament in my region is slim to none. If our nation will not help out with our programs, then we the wrestlers need to get together and make it happen. I'm sure there are other concepts and reasons as to why this is happening.