Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion Kids Folkstyle Another Can-of-Worms!!!

I want to thank everyone for their posts on, “Is Coaching your Kid … a Right?”

I seem to have a habit for opening up “cans-of-worms!” Here is the next one. Can kids get too dependent on having “their coach” whether its Dad or not, in the corner?

I recently had a parent tell me that their son seems to wrestle better when a certain coach is matside. Some times wrestlers seem to respond better to certain coaches. i try to remind our kids that we are their to help them during a match and cannot win a match for them. with that said. i think that if a child seems to do better
with certain coach matside then by all means let that person coach (as long as he is coaching in a manner that suits the parents and club). another thing we try to do is to let the kids decided what position they want in the second and third periods. this seems to help with decision making skills and self confidence.

Randy,
That's a great question. I grew up wrestling in NY, where a coach is not needed at matside. When I began coaching here, I thought it was strange that it was "mandatory." I'm not against it, but I thought it was a weird rule.

I think kids rely on it. I think it becomes a habit. We coach our kids to make the right decisions on the mat. Our club tries to operate by the motto: "Coach during the week so you don't have to coach on the weekend." For the most part, we've done a good job of it...however, I won't lie to you--during a close match, you'll hear me on the mat.

Good topic...

Randy Streeter
Sunflower Kids

In coaching kids throughout the years, i often have seen coaches gravitate to the better more natural wrestlers. It is easy to coach one of the "Zach Roberson"-type kids. No offense to Zach, an awesome wrestler and student athlete.

I think it is important to have coaches pay attention to all the wrestlers of all skill and ability levels, i think for safety and liability Kansas is wise to make sure a coach is matside.

My first year of coaching high school as an assistant, my head coach; during a major tournament, sent me to coach a kid who had limited success but was always butting heads with head coach. He was facing a very good wrestler,
what we found out is that this "uncoachable" kid was more comfortable to my style, had some success and for the next 3 yrs was virtually unbeatable in high school.

Yes. (hope that is a short enough answer)

bumping this one too!

I believe the answer to be yes as well. I see kids all the time looking up in the stands for someone they use to have coach them because they feel comfortable with them.

Coming from Kids wrestling into High School can be a huge jump from some of these kids. They have been wrestling forthe same coach for years and know what they say works. Having a new coach in High School that might have a difference of opinion is very difficult for the young high schoolers to understand and often they look to their old coach for answers. That is why it is very important for the High School to be involved with the Kids program.

Just my 2 cents worth

Simple answer: yes. My son last year needed a coach telling him what to do during a match, this year i have noticed that he isn't relying AS much on the coaches instructions while in a match and gets more determined when he hears something encouraging coming from matside than actual yelling out moves to hit during the match. This of course is different with every kid and this maturation in the sport comes with the mat experience of wrestling in tournaments and everyday drilling in practice.
I implemented a tool with my son this year of using a digital camcorder to record each match, then we watch each match together after the tournament and he tells me where his weaknesses and strengths are, and I point out little things that could help him out here and there. I think that using this method he has matured more and not had to rely so much on the coach matside during a tournament.