I posted this a few days ago on the Kids page but it seems very appropriate for this discussion.
The key thought to remember ... is that all kids are different. A couple of questions to consider are: does your kid wrestle well and does he know how to prepare himself for a match?
A lot of guys in my clinics have heard my analogy before but if I may, I will share it.
There are two brothers; same mother, same father. One, was an absolute “train wreck” before he competed. 45 minutes before a match he would run 15 to 20 winds sprints in the halls. 30 minutes before a match his routine was, (for lack of a better analogy) “beat himself up.” 15 minutes before a match, he was “head banging” and started bouncing. When it was “go-time” he was ready. He was a 3-time State champ and only lost 2 matches, both to Doug Speer of Effingham. He also had 125 takedowns his senior year and had a 90% pin percentage.
His brother was different. 45 minutes before a match he would be doing his Calculus homework. 30 minutes before competition he was doing his Physics worksheets. 15 minutes before a match has routine was to get out his GameBoy and play Tetris (an early 90’s game). About 3 minutes before a match, he would saunter out of the bleachers; do a couple of ballerina stretches, bounce a bit, and go wrestle. As a senior, this brother was a State champ and scored 250+ takedowns in one season. (the Kansas record)
I would be hard pressed to say that either brother was wrong in his approach to a match. I would have a tough time watching the younger but that is placing MY ideas to HIS preparation.
Pre-match preparation is a matter of coaching. If a coach hasn’t talked to a wrestler about what he/she should do, then my feelings are that the coach is not doing his/her job! A wrestler needs to find a routine that works form him and one that works without direct input from a coach.
