Wrestling Talk Forums supported
USA Wrestling Kansas KWCA
Wrestling Talk Forums supported & maintained by USA Wrestling-Kansas
USAW USA Wrestling Kansas
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#175145 11/22/10 03:13 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
C
Member
Member
C Offline
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
Just had a parent ask for an evaluation for there kid. Need some help with this, any suggestions coaches?

coachbobby #175165 11/22/10 07:43 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 263
U
Member
Member
U Offline
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 263
from a parent...be honest and upfront. But give atleast a couple of positives to go along with the not so positive side of things. And then suggest what you are working on as a goal for their child..just be positive. Just my opinion!

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 734
Member
Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 734
I suggest the "Sandwich Method."

Good - Bad - Good

DAD: "Coach, How's my Johnny doing?"

COACH: "He comes in every day and works his tail off, but from a physical standpoint, he will need to dedicate himself to training pretty hard or he is going to get out-manned, especially at his weight class. I have really enjoyed his leadership during warm ups and there is great potential for him to compete in this sport if he works hard at it."

TRANSLATION: your kid needs to get a heckuva lot tougher, or he will wind up as our manager.


Bill DeWitt
Wrestling Fan
RedStorm #175175 11/22/10 09:09 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 229
Member
Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 229
You could break it down into Top, Bottom, and Neutral. Give some examples of what he/she does well and then some things to work on. Best position and worst position would be good as well. Give them some drills to improve weaknesses and possibly try to teach something to expand what they already do well. This is a great opportunity to help a kid get better. Give them the information and watch and see what they do with it!


Larry Woltje
firehawk88 #175179 11/22/10 11:22 PM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
C
Member
Member
C Offline
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2
Thanks for the suggesstions. I also believe that the parents want something writing out. This way the child could have something to look at and accomplish. Have any of you ever done something like this before?

coachbobby #175180 11/22/10 11:35 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,762
D
Member
Member
D Offline
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,762
Yikes . . . Evals are pretty much worthless and often counter-productive.

The important thing is does the 'kid' enjoy wrestling? If so, let us keep it that way! A kid that enjoys wrestling will seek out his peers and will get the best and most honest feedback from them. When I wrestled in HS, I learned the most from the older state placers that put me under their wing and spent extra time with me. They taught me more than my coach did. Nothing personal coach. It is just a general truism that kids except feedback/evals from their peers better than they do from an adult. To state the obvious, it has to be a quality kid that is giving the younger kid eval/feedback.

Its the kid's life and not the parents. If the kid asks for an eval, fine. I'd gently give one. Parents asking for one, sounds like a good way to discourage and burn out a kid.


D. Dean Welsh, Junction City
***Dean plays well with others!!! ;-)
Dean Welsh #175187 11/23/10 03:47 AM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 245
Member
Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 245
I wouldn't write out an evaluation for any wrestler. If they want something in writing- I would do something more like a goal setting activity and have it be wrestler initiated and directed. Most kids- especially if they are experienced at all- will be able to identify their weaknesses. The part I have found they need the most help is identifying strengths and also coming up with concrete steps for goal attainment.

It would be a good idea for all your kids to set short and long term goals along with concrete steps they can take to reach each goal. They can keep these goals in a prominent place to remind themselves of what they need to do (like their lockers).

This might be a better- nonconfrontational way to approach this. It is always better if it is the wrestler's idea- there is a better chance of buy in and follow through. I think the athlete should take the lead in this, and you as a coach should help guide them in a productive manner.

Hope it helps!!!


Head Coach- Blue Valley High School
Kale Mann #175188 11/23/10 04:08 AM
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 542
Member
Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 542
If you want a stock evaluation document for wrestling PM me and I can send you one that I thought about doing then realized it was too much for me.

It is pretty thick and time consuming in my opinion but gives you a good idea of what to look for. I suggest that if Johnny cannot do at least 6 of the 7 basics skills he needs work. But honestly if he cannot beat the man in front of him then that is that.

Best of luck!


Jason C. Brown
Head Coach Anderson County JR/SR High
jbrown@usd365.org
Coach Brown #175190 11/23/10 04:38 AM
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 77
Member
Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 77
I have to ask... Is it your impression that maybe these parents know nothing about the sport and are looking for information (in writing) that they can take to an interpreter?

RedStorm #175192 11/23/10 10:33 AM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,377
Member
Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,377
Originally Posted By: RedStorm
COACH: "He comes in every day and works his tail off, but from a physical standpoint, he will need to dedicate himself to training pretty hard or he is going to get out-manned, especially at his weight class. I have really enjoyed his leadership during warm ups and there is great potential for him to compete in this sport if he works hard at it."

TRANSLATION: your kid needs to get a heckuva lot tougher, or he will wind up as our manager.

Thanks for the early morning chuckle.


Lee Girard
Kale Mann #175257 11/24/10 03:36 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,762
D
Member
Member
D Offline
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 1,762
Originally Posted By: Kale Mann
I wouldn't write out an evaluation for any wrestler. If they want something in writing- I would do something more like a goal setting activity and have it be wrestler initiated and directed. Most kids- especially if they are experienced at all- will be able to identify their weaknesses. The part I have found they need the most help is identifying strengths and also coming up with concrete steps for goal attainment.

It would be a good idea for all your kids to set short and long term goals along with concrete steps they can take to reach each goal. They can keep these goals in a prominent place to remind themselves of what they need to do (like their lockers).

This might be a better- nonconfrontational way to approach this. It is always better if it is the wrestler's idea- there is a better chance of buy in and follow through. I think the athlete should take the lead in this, and you as a coach should help guide them in a productive manner.

Hope it helps!!!


BINGO! I agree. Good stuff. A voice of reason rather than over-parenting and putting non-productive stress/anxiety on kids.


D. Dean Welsh, Junction City
***Dean plays well with others!!! ;-)
RedStorm #175391 11/29/10 01:11 PM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 543
Member
Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 543
Originally Posted By: RedStorm
I suggest the "Sandwich Method."

Good - Bad - Good

DAD: "Coach, How's my Johnny doing?"

COACH: "He comes in every day and works his tail off, but from a physical standpoint, he will need to dedicate himself to training pretty hard or he is going to get out-manned, especially at his weight class. I have really enjoyed his leadership during warm ups and there is great potential for him to compete in this sport if he works hard at it."

TRANSLATION: your kid needs to get a heckuva lot tougher, or he will wind up as our manager.



I don't remember if this site does it or not, but if there is an end of the year award for Best Post-Funny Category, this takes it!


Enlighten Me!

Moderated by  Nate Naasz, RedStorm 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 4 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Super Admin, bvswwrestling, CoachFitzOS, Dluce, Shawn Russell
12,303 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums11
Topics36,091
Posts250,722
Members12,303
Most Online1,305
Mar 13th, 2025
Top Posters
usawks1 8,595
smokeycabin 6,248
Aaron Sweazy 5,262
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 8.0.0
(Release build 20240826)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 8.3.23 Page Time: 0.029s Queries: 38 (0.020s) Memory: 3.0602 MB (Peak: 3.5912 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2025-08-01 12:12:59 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS