WRESTLING MEETING THURSDAY NIGHT !!!

The Slope Wrestling Club will be holding a meeting for signup and information this Thursday night at 7pm at Cedaredge High School. Spread the word! $40 for USA Wrestling card for insurance, a BringIt! t-shirt, and the "playbook", in addition to 2 months of practices. Good, good stuff.

Some of my favorite quotes

A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done. - Vince Lombardi

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it. - Alexander Graham Bell

The secret of our success is found in our daily agenda. - John C. Maxwell

Most men stop when they begin to tire. Good men go until they think they are going to collapse. But the very best know the mind tires before the body and push themselves further and further, beyond all limits. Only when these limits are shattered can the unattainable be reached. - Dr. Mark Mysnyk

Take a strong wrestler, get them tired, and they aren't as strong.
Take a quick wrestler, get them tired, and they aren't as quick.
Take a technical wrestler, get them tired, and they aren't as technical.
No matter what kind of wrestler, everyone is afraid of getting tired.
It's those who learn to perform when they're tired that find success.
- J. Robinson

I don't choose to be a common man. I want to be better tomorrow than today. And through a commitment to work and discipline, but mostly hard work, I'll be a little more content, and a little different from the average guy. - J. Robinson

Another workout

So, how does the best high school wrestler in the nation workout?

Wrestling Videos on Flowrestling

Wrestling every second

This match is amazing! This match shows why wrestling can be the greatest spectator sport when two confident athletes battle eachother wrestling every second.

Wrestling Videos on Flowrestling

Why wrestling?

Check this out!

Wrestling Videos on Flowrestling

A Legend in Delta County?

I just received a mass e-mail from Mark Schultz, yes, the Mark Schultz. For those of you that don't know, here is his wikipedia bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Schultz_(amateur_wrestler)
If you have a bio on wikipedia, you are kind of a big deal. Here is what his e-mail said:
Hi Everyone,
I hate to admit this but I'm looking for a job. I need to find one right now too! Our company (USA Masonry) is going under in about a month and I'll lose my health insurance. Here's 2 of my resume's. One for coaching and one for Athletic Director. I'd like to stay in Colorado if possible. If not I'll probably move to California. Call me or write to my email. I have no teaching certificate (California requires one) so I'm stuck with colleges and private schools in that state. I don't know about Colorado. I sent one of these emails to the California Clubs thinking someone must know something but I get asked "do you want to teach" a lot. I can't say I do under the present circumstances. It's not that I don't like it. It's that I'm 48 and can't build up a decent retirement even if I work till I'm 60. I have to do something else if I'm going to survive after retirement. I'd like to work for USAW. I've applied for several jobs (both national coaches, manager of developing style, grappling coach (not paid much there though). I'd also not mind living in North Denver and learn to fly helicopters with Jake Miller, Darryl's son. I don't know what to do so I'm reaching out.

--
Mark Schultz
(303) 809-5286
1969 Denver West Dr. #1035
Golden, CO 80401
msgrappling@gmail.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Obviously, with a resume' like his, ending up in Delta County may not be his number one choice. However, Delta County is a nice place with good people, and I feel I would not be doing my job if I at least didn't spread the word and see if this possibility, although a long shot, could become a reality.

A rising tide lifts all boats

Choosing to make the commitment and focus year round, creates a gap between you and the competition. The Steiners decided to do that after 8th grade. That improves everyone around you. You may have to make some sacrifices, but enjoy the process. Work is not the opposite of play. Again it comes back to what J Rob says, what experiences do you want to have. You need to choose.



There are three things I want to highlight about the next video:
Motivation is contagious
Competition is good as long as it stays healthy
Become comfortable with greatness



So, I've been in Cedaredge for a few days now. It is great to be here, and I want to give out a little recognition. Martin Alejandre has approached me, and although I am running The Slope club twice a week, he wants to wrestle every day. This is in addition to working full-time + doing hard manual labor. Marty Peterson has wrestled and worked out with me twice. Who else is going to rise up to the challenge? I will be making more phone calls and we have signup for the club on Thursday night at 7pm in my classroom at the highschool. Bring It!

Tribes

I think that the idea of tribes as a vehicle of change is really interesting. Change is happening all the time. There is a world of change going on right now at Cedaredge High School if you haven't noticed. Looking at our wrestling program really gets me thinking about change. Last year, as most readers of this blog know, the wrestling program was scheduled to be dropped until Roy Brown and Allen Abeyta stepped up as coaches and the community got riled up. So now it is my turn to keep the momentum going. We are definitely looking at change. Wrestling will not succeed with the number of wrestlers out and the number of people in attendance at home meets. Change must happen. So this first video discusses how that happens. How do you institute change?
-challenge the status quo
-build a culture
-be curious, ask questions
-connect people, people want to be missed
-commit, commit to the cause, the tribe, and the people involved




This second video goes into greater detail about how to get your ideas to spread. I want this wrestling program to be successful. Success comes about by getting ideas to spread. If we look at marketing an average wrestling program to average people, we will just be ignored. What I feel that I'm working diligently towards is building something remarkable, as in worth talking about. The wrestling program cannot just be very good, it must be remarkable. Then it needs to be sold to the people that are listening. We need to figure out who does care, not just blanket the masses because we will be ignored. If we aim at uncommon people who are obsessed, they will listen, and the idea will then spread to all the people, and success will come about.

What is success?

Cael Sanderson never lost a college match, he won gold in the Olympics, and now he is the highest paid wrestling coach in the country and has the #1 recruit, David Taylor, coming to wrestle for him at Penn State. Count how many times he says to surround yourself with the right people.



John Wooden had 38 straight victories in NCAA tournament play between 1964 and 1974. He has the most appearances in the Final Four and the most victories. His all-time 40 season winning percentage is .813.



"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable."

Forming Winning Habits and being Uncommon

I love J Rob! I posted him in the beginning of this whole blog, and I felt we were in the need for a little more.

Here is a quote that I hang on my refrigerator:
“I don’t choose to be a common man. I want to be better tomorrow than today. And through a commitment to work and discipline, but mostly hard work, I’ll be a little more content, and a little different from the average guy.
--J. Robinson

Being uncommon comes from developing habits. Make yourself better every day.

1 foot races

This match shows David Taylor. The number one highschool wrestler in the country. Understand that he is wrestling a multi-state champion, not just some joker off the street. He does a lot of cool tilts and half rolls which is what works against the best wrestlers--the top 5%. He has incredible precision in his wrestling. The execution is in the details. He always has a response. He isn't thinking, he's flowing instinctively. This is art! Wrestling is a sport of position. He has dominant technique. Then he implements that technique with aggression. He isn't just going out there to beat on people, he is scoring points. Just watch the way he ties up. He punches the ties with heavy hands. He just gets on a roll and things are over.



Wrestling really is a series of 1 foot races. It is not who can squeeze the tightest, not necessarily faster movements, but faster reactions. The best wrestlers have no delay, no thinking. When you are offensive and begin the sequence, you control the next step, and if you know the next step, you will beat the person to the punch. Then if you have the gas tank and push the pace, you will always be one step ahead. We will work on this a lot. Being decisive from the first contact, knowing the possible or typical reactions. Then just have the guts in scrambles to find a way to win, push the beserko button and fight. Have that relaxed intensity, step to step, following a plan, learning chain sequences, taking the time and knowing where you are going and where you want to end up from the moment contact is made. As we train we will take time to plan and learn sequences that most fit your abilities and will result in 5 points not just 2. This can be tedious but eventually it becomes reaction and instantaneous. Become the student of perfect slow motion, develop the brain-body connection with thinking repetition, then it will not be pulling the trigger during a match and thinking about the best time to hit the shot, eventually we will get to the flow, the second contact is made, we are flipping the switch of a sequence that is instantly reactionary. Put that technical superiority with physical and mental preparation and you become a dominant wrestler. The more chains you have, the more weapons you have, the more dangerous you are. Concentrating on mastering each chain is important. Be patient, we need to build up the blocks. We want to train to compete with and beat the top 5%. I'm purposely putting videos on here of the best wrestlers in the country because that is the level we are shooting for. It will take hard work-no doubt about it, but I have a map.

You don't need a lot. Believe in the system, master fundamentals, start at the bottom, wrestle with confidence. A lot can happen in 7 weeks.




Losing is hard, but smart hard work gets you through the frustration.

Turning 2 into 5

This is a really cool match. It shows many interesting things. Both of these highschool seniors definitely have smooth technique which has resulted in multiple state championships for each. Another thing I really like here is Biscaha turning 2 into 5. Directly off of takedowns he is working into tilts. I like it! Also, he is such a tough rider based off of basic principles of wrestling. Ride behind the arms, stay in good position, look for wrist control, and then turn it directly into a tilt. This also hits on some of the mental side of the competition. Some times, the match should be a lot closer than it is, but a near fall or extra points gets one wrestler on a roll and the best protection is building your lead. The final thing about this match that is so cool, is that it shows another reason why wrestling is so awesome. No matter how bad you are losing, you are never completely out of it. The Oklahoma kid is down by 11, but catches a neck wrench and almost gets the pin!

Dangerous, smart, and scoring points

The Darrion Caldwell / Brent Metcalf match in this years NCAA finals received a tremendous amount of press. Most of the press was due to the shove by Metcalf during Caldwell's celebration at the end of the match. However, this is a tremendous match! The video here shows the first two periods. I'd like to make a few comments regarding the match. A little background first... Caldwell caught Metcalf in a spladle during a previous match and pinned him. Metcalf also tech'ed Caldwell earlier in the year. Metcalf, being the returning Hodge winner, and by winning in such a dominant fashion earlier in the year, was definitely the top bet to be a national champ again this year. However, things did not turn out that way.

Typically, the "Hawkeye style" is extremely aggressive, moving forward, mentally and physically breaking your oppenent by pushing and shoving. That had to be Metcalf's plan entering the match. He is extremely physical, has a great left-handed hi-c, and has probably the biggest gas tank in college wrestling. This conditioning factor is a huge point in the success of the Iowa Hawkeyes (http://www.flowrestling.org/blogs/blogger/baskren/6441-gable-trained)

There were a few things here that I would like to point out that I think are interesting.

**Caldwell is dangerous. He is scary fast, and has weapons. The funk he brings in leg counters saves his goose, not only saves it, but scores with it. Whenever, you wrestle an opponent who at any point can end the match with some weapon in their arsenal makes one a little cautious. He is also winning the match within the first 12 seconds.

**The more weapons your opponent has the more important it is to maintain good position. Logic would tell you to dig inside and pummel for control as Metcalf was doing in the over/under. But you can just see the gears turning with Caldwell, waiting, waiting, then he lets him in and reckless abandon! Lefty head throw! No one hits head-and-arms in college, much less in the finals.

**I really like seeing Caldwell's continuation of throw-bys when Metcalf hangs on the head. I think that is really smart. He didn't score off of a single throw-by, but he didn't allow Metcalf to just hang and wear him down. So many people stay in a collar tie or try digging inside on stronger opponents. Caldwell shucked it off his head continually, and he did tire (back spasm) in the third period, but he definitely preserved his gas tank and kept Metcalf out of his position of favor.

**Caldwell also is an incredible scrambler. He has the technical plan of working his offense, but he does whatever it takes to score points. He doesn't give up the takedowns and really makes Metcalf work for every point and is able to actually score his own points off of positions that seem dire and over.

Anyways, it was a great match, exciting wrestling. Both guys are amazing and will be the future of international competition in the United States. Enjoy!

Fun, Hard Work

So, hopefully most of you wrestlers have begun some sort of off-season work. I decided to post some videos of "different" workouts. These can add some variety and are good for muscular endurance and combat sports. Try to keep some perspective and think of the suffering as a companion instead of an opponent. Relaxed intensity. There is no substitute for hard work. You've got to put in the time, but realize it is the miles not the years. Transformation does not take 10 years and these workouts are only 25 minutes in duration. Remember, everyone has their time and you've got to build brick by brick.

***As a side note, I firmly believe there is no substitute for hard work, but I find it hilarious that Sean Sherk says this when he was busted for steroid use and had his UFC title taken away. In addition, there is a good deal of controversy around Brock Lesner. He was arrested for being in possession of steroids, but the cops changed their stance to growth hormones, and his lawyer said it was a "vitamin type of thing". He was never convicted... Regardless of the controversy, these are intense interesting workouts. I like 'em***