TrainingOlympian Wrestling Online |
| Memories | Get in Shape | Training For the Future | |
| Visualize | Drilling | Shadow Wrestling | Coaching Youth Wrestling |
Wrestling is one of the most difficult and challenging activities anyone will do during the course of their lives. As I am sure most AWN readers will agree, wrestling is extremely demanding both physically and mentally, especially if you set ambitious goals and work diligently for many years to achieve them. The sport of wrestling truly prepares you for the rest of your life, because our sport teaches you the “lessons of life”.
So what are these lessons of life that our great sport teaches you? I suppose they are infinite, but allow me to pinpoint a few: Intensity, Focus, Discipline, Goal Setting, Determination and Perseverance. To be successful on the mats, in school or in the work place you must have these characteristics, and wrestling teaches you these characteristics better than any other sport.
I conduct camps for kids throughout the year, and at every camp I make t-shirts with different slogans reinforcing some of these valuable lessons that wrestling teaches you. Over the years I have used an array of slogans, incorporating some of the attributes mentioned above, as well as many others. The slogan for my recently completed Winter Break Training Camp was “Wrestling - Training for the Rest of Your Life”.
I chose this slogan a few months ago when I was talking to a friend of mine, Jeff Levitetz. Jeff is founder and coach of Boca Raton Wrestling Club Inc. He told me he had painted this slogan on his wrestling room wall, and I thought it would be a perfect slogan for camp. Jeff is a great example of someone who used wrestling as the “training for the rest of his life”. He wrestled in high school and college and then started his own business, Purity Wholesale Grocers. Jeff has developed Purity into an ultra successful business, and is trying to pass his message on to his young wrestlers.
This slogan “WRESTLING - TRAINING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE” is one of my favorite camp slogans to date, because it covers all the lessons of life and it is what I am trying to accomplish as a coach. I am striving not only to develop champions on the mats, but to also help my students understand what it will take to excel in life when their wrestling career is behind them.
At my Olympian Camps I ask my clinicians to talk about much more than doubles and high crotches. I ask them to share their insight into what it takes to be successful in all aspects of life. Two great examples of this, Bruce Baumgartner and John Fritz, were both guests at my Winter BreakTraining Camp. As most of you may know, Bruce and John are retired from coaching and are now athletic directors. They apply the skills wrestling has taught them to their current jobs on a daily basis. These great men and my other Olympian Camp Instructors offered some valuable information to my campers.
Bruce talked about his constantly changing goals as he has gone through different stages of life. One of his critical messages was that it is important to change and adjust both your wrestling and career goals over time. The key thing is that you always have concrete, meaningful goals and stay focused on them over time. Bruce also showed some great combinations from the underhook series, a few crippling turns and a sweet cross wrist roll that my team is already using very effectively.
John Fritz spoke on an array of topics and entertained the kids with some anecdotal stories about my obsessive work habits as a college athlete. John was my college mentor and spent many early morning and late night hours with me in the gym helping me perfect my skills. John shared with the kids how much improvement I made during my college years because of my intense work ethic and determination to be successful. John has been an instructor at my camps many times over the years and his duck unders and set-up drills are always very well received.
There were numerous other guests at Winter Camp who had unique and valuable messages. Penn State Head Coach, Troy Sunderland, spoke to the campers about the importance of doing being a good person and conducting yourself in a positive fashion both on and off the mats. Harvard graduate and Olympic alternate, Paul Widerman, spoke to the kids about the importance of doing well in school and having a creative, open mind. Paul owns his own fitness company and recently invented and patented “smart bells”, a new and unique piece of strength training equipment that I believe has great value. Two clinicians you may not know by name, Donn Ernst and Dale Bonsall, are two of the annual favorites at my Olympian Camp. Donn and Dale are both teachers and coaches who share their messages with such unique presentations that they mesmerize the young wrestlers. Their enthusiasm and passion for our sport and helping kids rubs off on everyone, and there is no substitute for these important characteristics if you wish to excel on or off the mats.
In closing, my father had a huge impact on my life and he never taught me a single wrestling hold. Dad is a dedicated research scientist and physician who is devoted to his life’s work. Through my father I came to understand the intense work ethic necessary to be successful in life. Other than my dad, the men who have had the most influence on my life are the wrestling coaches who helped me over the years. I encourage my fellow coaches and fathers to teach more than just winning technique. Also take the time to share with the kids what is required to excel in all aspects of life and how the characteristics they are developing through our sport will help them forever. I place a great value on developing champion wrestlers, however, in the process I am also striving to help my athletes develop the character and work ethic necessary to excel in life.
I have been working with young wrestlers throughout my competitive and
coaching career. During high school I would stay after practice to work
with our kids program. I encourage youth coaches to invite the varsity
wrestlers to work with your local kids program. When training young
wrestlers, the more feedback they receive the better off they will be.
The varsity wrestlers can serve as role models for the younger wrestlers
and will also benefit from helping the kids. Also, encourage the youth
wrestlers to attend varsity matches and vice-versa. Perhaps evendevelop
a big brother program.
Every summer during college I ran my own day camps, worked at PennState
Camps and took a team to Junior Nationals. I worked with kids in all
different age groups, and these summers proved to be very beneficial and
rewarding experiences for me. I enjoyed my work with the kids
tremendously and saw how much the wrestlers benefited from their time on
the mats. Summer is an excellent time for skill development. The kids
are not busy with school and preparing for competition. The emphasis is
on skill development, learning new technique and having fun.
I encourage you to organize open mats and day camps in your community
during the summer. Send your serious wrestlers to away summer camps.
Summer training camps were instrumental to my development and have
played an integral role in the development of my top students.
Upon graduation from Penn State, I expanded my local day camp into
overnight camps. I spent my entire summer organizing workouts for kids.
This was much different than being a counselor. As a counselor you only
have to supervise the kids and do some instruction. There is no planning
involved. As the coach/camp director, you have to plan the workouts and
technique curriculum so that it is both well organized and interesting.
This is a very important facet of coaching young people. I realized
there is much more to coaching than just teaching moves. You must
organize your instruction in a progressive fashion, not only during the
course of a workout, but throughout the season. If you do not have a
systematic game plan, kids will get lost. Incorporating periods of
review into your practices and repetitively drilling what you have
taught is of paramount importance.
During my 5 years coaching collegiate wrestlers at Ohio State and Penn
State, I also conducted USA Wrestling Kids Clubs. I would work with my
college age wrestlers throughout the day and my youth wrestlers in the
evenings. Working with both age groups on a daily basis helped me learn
the differences in the ways you should train and motivate wrestlers of
varying ages. To run a successful “Kids” (14 and under) program, you
must treat the wrestlers differently than you would when running a
college program or even a high school program. High school wrestlers
fall somewhere in between depending on the program and the individuals.
The following are some basic suggestions for how to get the most out of
your kids program.
1. Emphasize skill development. Do not rush to teach them more techniques than they need or can remember. Drill the “Basic Skills” as outlined by USA Wrestling on a daily basis. Not only the stance, motion, etc., but also the Greco skills as outlined by Mike Houck in USA Wrestling’s Greco Coaches Syllabus and some folkstyle bottom drills like hip heists and building your base. Often use games to incorporate the basic skills into your practice.
2. Shadow drill frequently. Kids need to learn to control their own bodies before they can control someone else. Plus, everyone in the room is drilling intensely, simultaneously, rather than half of the guys being partners. Shadow drilling is fun for kids and good conditioning. Kids use their imagination well. This can help you lead into teaching visualization skills. Kids are never to young to dream about becoming a champion.
3. Be enthusiastic and give positive feedback frequently. Kids need your leadership and guidance and thrive on positive feedback when they do something well. Also, give parents positive feedback if their child is doing well. They need to stay motivated as well and hearing their child is doing well gives them a big boost.
4. Encourage parents to get involved. I welcome and encourage parents to watch my practices. I also welcome them to get on the mats and help. The more personal attention your students receive, the quicker they will improve. At tournaments I invite the parents to sit in the corner with me. This is a positive experience and sometimes I have many kids competing at one time, so the parents need to be prepared to be an asset in the corner rather than a detriment.
5. Run a tight ship, but let the kids have fun. Take your instructional phase of practice seriously but not too serious. Good teachers and coaches make their instruction interesting for the kids,so they pay attention and have fun. Incorporate stories and interesting analogies into your instruction. Carefully structure the practice so the kids benefit as much as possible, and also make time for a couple of “games” every practice. I have made up a variety of fun games that incorporate wrestling skills and conditioning into them. If the kids get through a segment of practice and do really well, we often play a game for a couple minutes as a reward before moving on to next segment.
6. Incorporate live wrestling throughout your practice. In a traditional practice most the live wrestling is done at the end of practice, and some kids programs I am familiar with do not let the kids do much live wrestling at all. Kids like to scrap and can only absorb so much instruction at once, so break up your practice with segments of live wrestling. I often let my students wrestle a live match after warming up and doing some basic skill drills. It seems to settle them down and tire them out a little, and the result is that they pay better attention when I teach. Give it a try. Live situations are also an essential training tool. They allow you to teach important technique points between starts and the kids enjoy them because they get to wrestle.
7. Utilize videotape for instruction and motivation. Beginners need to see what it looks like when a move is executed correctly in competition, and edited highlight tapes can prove to be very motivational.
8. Teach more than just technique. Emphasize to your wrestlers the
value of sportsmanship, poise, goal setting, discipline, work ethic and
the other important “lessons of life”. My wrestling coaches had a
greater impact on my character and life than my school teachers.
Instill the lessons of life in your students because they will
undoubtedly help them in everything they do throughout their lives.
Kids look up to you more than you will ever realize.
I left full time college coaching in 1994 to devote more of my time to
working with young wrestlers. I expanded my Olympian Summer Camps and
local Olympian School so I could coach kids full time. I still work with
wrestlers of all ages regularly, but I probably enjoy working with young
wrestlers the most. I believe a big reason that I have been successful
working with the little guys is that I truly enjoy being around them.
I enjoy the challenge of getting kids to learn the game and develop a
passion for our sport. Undoubtedly, the kids who excel when they grow
up are the ones who love doing it. All work and no play at a young age,
is not always a good formula for success later on. Don’t get me wrong,
my students and I value winning. However, skill development and fun
take on equal importance. The trick is to plan and conduct structured,
reasonably intense practices, so that your students get good while still
enjoying the training. Then they start to win and really enjoy the
sport. Let’s face it, no matter what the activity or age group, winning
is more fun than losing. Our Olympian School Youth Program motto is “
Work Hard and Have Fun on your way to #1!" Good Luck on you quest for success!!
If you would like to learn more about Coach Chertow’s Olympian Camps,
instructional videos or motivational book, “Wrestling: A Commitment to
Excellence”, contact Ken at (814) 466-3466 or chertow@themat.com
Shadow Drilling is a great way to develop your skills, speed and
conditioning. I was a boxing fan during elementary school, watching
legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali on television. I learned
that
shadow boxing plays an integral role in the training regimen of every
boxer. When I started wrestling in middle school, I quickly
incorporated shadow drilling into my training program. I was slow and
chubby so my shadow drilling was not very fluent, but I steadily
improved every day. I would stay after practice and rehearse the moves
that I knew until I felt like I could do them reasonably well. I had a
mat in my house so I would also shadow drill my moves in the evenings
after doing my homework and strength training. Shadow Drilling teaches
you to control your body. Let's face it, until you have self control,
how can you execute a move on a partner, especially if he is fighting
back.
Shadow drilling is not just for beginners. It remained a significant
part of my training regimen throughout my high school, college and
international career. It can play an important role in the success of
wrestlers of any skill level. If my memory serves me correctly, I
remember reading an article in AWN a few years ago by John Smith and
more recently an article by Dan Gable in USA Wrestler on the benefits
of
shadow drilling. However, I cannot recollect ever seeing an article
outlining specific methods of shadow drilling. These aforementioned
articles discuss the importance of shadow drilling but not actually
how
to go about it. Thus I will tackle this topic in the following
paragraphs. Forgive me if this is elementary to some of my coaching
peers. However, if you pick up a couple little things it will be worth
the five minutes it takes to read.
Shadow drilling is an integral part of my Olympian Wrestling School
Training Program. In a two hour practice, shadow drilling will
typically
encompass 5 - 12 minutes of the structured workout. Early in the
season
we do it at the beginning of practice for skill development and later
in
the year we do it at the end of practice to develop speed and
conditioning. At my summer camps, I make my students shadow drill
before and after sessions to review the techniques that have been
taught. Shadow drilling not only helps your physical skills and
conditioning, but it also enhances your retention of technique and
gives
you more confidence in your techniques. You can shadow drill just
about
any move, but the following is a list of the Top 10 Team Shadow Drills
that I believe are the most practical and effective. Five of these
drills are for takedowns and five are for bottom work. It is difficult
to shadow drill pinning combinations, but you can use visualization
and
imagery skills to rehearse top techniques. It is amazing how much
riding
time you can accumulate if you put your "mind" to it.
1) Inside Step Attack Drill - Instruct your students to all face one
direction and do body fakes and level changes from a low staggered
stance. When you yell attack and/or reach your arms up, they should
quickly shoot a double or high crotch to a double and drive across
such
that they rotate 180 degrees and are facing the opposite wall in a low
stance after each shot. If their right leg is in front of them they
should rotate to the right (as if driving "away from their head") and
vice versa. This will teach kids to change dircections quickly and to
get an angle on their shots.
2) Knee Spin Sweep Attack Drill - Tell students to stay low and move
laterally as if trying to make opponent step forward so they can hit a
head inside sweep single. When they attack they must spin on their
lead
knee and swing their back foot around to get an angle. Make them
finish
quickly on their imaginary opponent, ideally by quickly picking up
the
leg or reaching behind and catching far leg while still on their
knees.
Wrestlers should immediately get back in low stance and resume lateral
motion after every shot.
3) Back Arch/Back Step/Sag Drill - Once students understand the skills
call this "Throw Drill". Have wrestlers pretend they are in an upper
body over - under or other tie up situtions and call off moves such as
lateral drops, hip toss, headlock and other techniques that require
the
back arch, back step or sag throw skills. Make sure they are all
facing
the same direction before each throw, particularly on the back arches.
4) Sprawl Drill, Sprawl and Spin (on hands) Drill and Sprawl Re-shot
Drill - Insist that students immediately return to good stance and
create motion between each repetition. Combine these sprawl with
attack
drills listed above.
5) Random Attack Drill - Combine the four drills detailed above with
an
array of other techniques. You yell out what attack you want wrestlers
to do and they quickly react. Start off with simple techniques but
once
they get a hang of it over time be creative. After each shot make them
all circle in a good stance, so they are all facing the same direction
before you call off the next attack. This drill teaches kids to chain
wrestle on their feet going from one move to another and is a great
conditioner.
6) Stand Up Drill - Use a whistle and give kids time to get set
between
repetitions. Make them explode backwards, cut away and face opposite
wall in their stance after each repetition, analogous to Inside Step
Attack Drill.
7) 1 & 2 Drill - Stand up and cut off for 1 point escape and then
immediately attack legs for 2 point takedown. If done correctly
student
will rotate approximately 180 degrees on stand up and again on leg
attack such that they will be facing the same wall before every
repetition.
8) Hip Heist Drill - This great drill not only helps student improve
their switch, sit out and wrist roll, but also enhances their ability
to
scramble (agility) and is an intense anaerobic conditioning exercise
when done quickly for 5 -15 repetitions or seconds. Make a race out of
it if you really want to see some hips and feet flying. Tell kids it
is
break dance training and they may actually think they are having fun.
9) Granbys - Develop an array of Granby skills on your own by
executing
shoulder rolls, flips, reverse granbys, shrugs, head spins and
standing
granbys. Make sure kids have plenty of space and all go simultaneosly
in
same direction.
10) Combination Bottom Drilling - One of keys to getting off bottom is
putting your moves together and combination shadow drilling is a great
way to learn how to "Chain Wrestle" off bottom. Have your students
execute whatever techniques you tell them to do immediately when you
yell the move. Start with simple combinations of two moves and then
build up to doing 3,4 and more moves in a row. They should not go back
to referrees position between each individual move. Wrestlers should
keep moving quickly until you yell "escape"and they finish their
chain
of techniques with a score.
Remember, these are just examples. You can create your own sequences
based on you or your teams favorite techniques. For example, if you
like
carries, ducks and drags incorporate them into your shadow drilling
routines. If you work the head often, incorporate snap downs, slide
bys,
shrugs, ankle picks and headlocks. The sky is the limit. However, keep
it simple at first until your students get a hang of it and then make
it
interesting. Variety is important if you wish to keep your students
intense and motivated.
I know I am getting long winded, but I will see if John and Ron (AWN
publisher and editor) have some more space for me to tell one more
story. I shadow drilled often in 7th and 8th grades but got away from
it a little my first two years of high school. I suppose I was so
crumby
in middle school the only person I could whip was my shadow. Anyway,
my
junior year I finally learned to bang across on my high crotches which
was good and bad. Good because I was scoring a lot of high crotch
takedowns, but bad because I got a huge cauliflower ear that would
refill every time it was drained. After a couple months of frustration
and increasing pain, I finally listened to the doctor and agreed to
take
2 weeks off the mat and so the cast on my ear would work. This turned
out to be a blessing in disguise. The first day that I had my cast on
it
practice, I did all the running and exercises with the team and then
watched while they drilled and wrestled. I was bored to death sitting
out. It was at this time that I rediscovered shadow drilling. During
the
ensuing 2 weeks I shadow drilled endlessly while my teammates drilled
and wrestled. Not only did it help me stay sharp and in shape, but it
also helped me develop my mental skills. Shadow drilling enhanced my
confidence. In addition to thinking about the moves I was hitting, I
was
also imagining myself beating the tar out of every opponent that stood
between me and a State Championship.
At the end of this 2 week "layoff" our team had a major 32 team
tournament that I had to enter without any contact practice. I was not
sure how I would perform being "off the mats" so long, but things went
great! I had one of the most focused performances of my career,
dominating everyone and winning my first ever outstanding wrestler
award. In the finals I beat the #4 ranked wrestler in the state by
technical fall scoring seven takedowns. It was like he was not even
there. It was just like wrestling my shadow at practice. Everything I
hit worked perfectly. I had beaten this same opponent by a 7-4 score
only 5 weeks earlier. Although I am sure there were many factors
involved in this unique performance, from that time on I have been
totally sold on the benefits of shadow drilling. It was instrumental
to
my success as an athlete and it has played an integral role in the
development of the many students I have coached. I encourage you to
make
shadow drilling a regular and intense part of your training schedule
as
you strive to have a peak performance in your most important
competitions.
For information on Ken Chertow's summer camps, instructional videos or
motivational book, call 814-466-3466.
Top
Drilling - an essential building block of Champions
If you wish to perfect your techniques so that they work at the highest
levels of competition, you must stay focused when you are drilling. Too
many wrestlers go through the motions when they drill just putting in
time. If you do this, you will not reach your fullest potential. Intense
drilling is essential if you are going to develop your skills to their
fullest.
It is essential that you understand the importance of drilling and use
all the drill time your coach gives you efficiently. Never stand around.
Make the most of every second. Find a reliable drill partner who is
willing to work with you intensely throughout the course of practice. If
your coach tells you to drill a move five times each and you do it twice
as fast as your teammates, make sure you keep drilling until your coach
tells you to drill a different move. Never do a certain number and then
stop and wait for everyone else to finish. Then you will only be as good
as them. Execute as many quality repetitions as you can in the allotted
time.
There was a huge bulletin board in my high school wrestling room that
said "Through repetition you can learn a move so well that no one can
stop it. If you want it bad enough, it is only a matter of time." Read
this quotation again and think about it. It truly sums up what it takes
to learn and perfect a technique, so that you have the confidence to hit
it instinctively in the heat of battle. I took this quote to heart
throughout my competitive career and make the youngsters I coach today
drill endlessly. If you are going to truly believe that no one can stop
you, you must have drilled your techniques quickly and crisply thousands
of times. Repetition Drilling is essential if you wish to make your
techniques instinctive. I will now share some stories with you to
illustrate how much value I place on drilling and how essential drilling
was to the development of my skills.
When I was in high school, many of my teammates did not drill with the
intensity necessary to excel. I did not waste my time with the kids who
were just going through the motions. I had a few favorite drill partners
that I spent most of my time working with. One teammate in particular,
Bobby Taylor, was able to drill with the same intensity that I did. We
spent at least 80% of our drill time working together during high school
practices. We became very comfortable drilling together and were able to
help each other excel. Not only would we drill intensely during practice
but also prior to matches. Our drills prior to big matches were short(10
minutes) and crisp, but our drills before dual meets and between rounds
of tournaments were quite extensive. We figured that if we sat around
between sessions we would be wasting valuable training time. During
tournaments we would drill for 20-30 minutes between every session and
then warm up together again immediately before our matches. By our
senior year there would often be crowds of kids just sitting around the
mats between sessions of tournaments watching us drill. Our peers
thought we were crazy but we were simply focused on achieving our
highest goals. We did not do it for show. We figured that in the long
run the more repetitions we did the better we would get. We were right.
Bobby and I both won State Championships our Junior and Senior year.
Bobby earned a scholarship to and graduated from Clemson. He is now
coaching in Chapin, South Carolina where his team has won three State
Championships. Coach Taylor has undoubtedly taught his students the
importance of intense drilling.
My Olympian Summer Camp students and parents often complain to me about
their lack of good coaching or off season workout partners and
facilities. My feeling is that if there is a will (to create a good
training situation), there is a way. When I was a kid growing up in West
Virginia, there were no spring freestyle clubs. Once the regular season
ended, it was hard to get mat time and a workout partner let alone find
a club. Few wrestlers or coaches even thought about wrestling once the
season ended. Even my best friend and training partner, Bobby Taylor,
had other interests in the spring. Fortunately, I was able to get Tony
Dickens, a wrestler from a school 30 miles away, to workout with me
regularly. He proved to an intense and reliable drill partner. I learned
freestyle and Greco-Roman by watching videotapes and attending camps,
and we did all the drilling on our own with no coaching. Our school
principals would not let us on the mats without supervision and the
State Athletic Association would not let our coaches work with us in the
off season. We had to beg the custodians to let us into our high schools
at night or meet at my house where I had a 12x12 in my basement. My home
mat was great for drilling but the furniture, pillars and concrete floor
made intense live wrestling a dangerous war. Thus, 80% of our workout in
my basement consisted of hard drilling. Despite our far from ideal
training situation, I was able to win Junior Nationals in both Greco
and freestyle. Tony was All-State three times and wrestled for the Naval
Academy. Upon graduation he joined the Navy and became an All American
in Greco Roman. We both credit much of our success to the many, many
hours we spent drilling together.
While in college at Penn State, my training situation obviously
improved. I had many partners for live wrestling, but there were three
special people who I spent most my time drilling with, Jim Martin, Tim
Flynn and Coach John Fritz. They understood the importance of intense
drilling and these were the men who I drilled with most frequently. Jim
Martin became a 4x All American while Tim Flynn and I earned All
American Honors 3 times. Our many years of hard work and intense
drilling paid off.
Coach Fritz gave me endless hours of his time and energy training me and
drilling with me throughout my collegiate career. He was the most
influential coach on my wrestling career. I lost 14 matches during my
freshman year of college, more than I had lost throughout my high
school career. It was a huge step from West Virginia high school
wrestling to big time collegiate wrestling. Fortunately, John Fritz was
there every step of the way. He taught me a lot of great techniques and
pushed me through many hard times. I was very fortunate that he took me
under his wing and helped me reach my fullest potential. He would meet
me regularly between classes to watch me drill, polish my technique and
more often than not, drill intensely right along with me. I know that
the extra time we spent in the wrestling room drilling is what allowed
me to excel during college and make the Olympic Team.
I owe much of my success as an athlete to my training partners who I
have mentioned throughout this article. Thank You! You do not need many
workout partners to be successful, but you must have at least one who
understands the importance of intense repetition drilling. If you do not
have one, find one or develop one today. There are few exceptions to the
phrase "Champions come in pairs"
In a future issue of A.W.N. I will outline a variety of different ways
to drill, so that your time is used most effectively and that your
training does not get monotonous. Remember, drilling is only effective
if you are focused and concentrating on the task at hand. Do not be
guilty of "going through the motions" if you wish to excel and reach you
highest goals.
I was a regular on the summer camp circuit growing up. I would shovel
driveways all winter and cut lawns all spring to save up for as many
camps as possible. My parents would match whatever amount I saved up,
and I would spend my summer on the camp circuit. Camps were essential to
my development as an athlete and coach. I learned many of my techniques
and philosophies from some of the legends of our sport. The following
are just a few of the many examples.
Webmaster's Note: If you would like Ken to cover a specific topic in a
future article or would like information about his summer camps,
instructional videos or motivational book, call (814) 466-3466 or send an e-mail to me.
Do not wait until the season to start training regularly. If you are not already on a pre-season training plan, design one now and get after it. It does not need to be complex. Your pre-season program should consist of at least 3 days/week in the weight room and 3 days/week of cardiovascular exercise(conditioning). You may spread this over six days of the week or you may combine strength training and conditioning into one workout. For example, a 2 mile run followed by lifting weights would kill two birds with one stone.
Do not just put in the weight room. Have a plan when you walk in the door and get busy! Your cardiovascular training may consist of any combination of running, biking, swimming and wrestling. It should combine both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. For example, some days go for a 2-4 mile run or wrestle for 10-20 minutes straight (aerobic training), other days do an interval/sprint workout or wrestle short matches (anaerobic training). I encourage you to get on the mats whenever possible. Find a way to get some mat time. If there is a will there is a way. If your are going to participate in a physically demanding sport like wrestling, you must be fully prepared for battle. Do not let another day slip by with out getting ready.
Top
VisualizeSeeing Your Way To The Top
To have peak preformance in your most important matches, you should focus on what you want to do to win. You should "see" or visualize yourself successfully scoring, "belive" you will win and do everything possible to prevail.
Visualization is the ability to imagine yourself preforming in certain situations. If done constantly and properly, it will enhance your confidence and mental toughness. This will in turn enhance your most important goal and then "See it, believe it, do it".
With the season quickly approaching, it should be easy to identify and focus on your most challenging goals. No matter how high your goals are, you must "see" yourself acheive them daily.
When I was in 8th grade, I went to watch the high school state finals. The arena was packed and there was a spotlight shining down on the finalists as they paraded around the mat. I still remember that evening vividly, because the adrenaline rushed through me like nothing I had ever felt to date.
I went home that night and went for a run. While running, I imagined that I was in the state finals competing against that night's champion...and winning.
After running, I began to shadow drillmy favorite takedowns. I pictured myself hitting them successfully in the same finals and I could hear the crowd roaring in the stands. When I was finished training, I saw myself atop of the awards stand. I had acieved my goal; I had become a State Champion...in my head at least.
In order to fully prepare for any anxiety and pressure that may exist before and during intense matches, you should rehearse the possible scenarios over and over in your mind beforehand. If possible, actually picture yourself in a specific arena scoring against a paticular opponent. Imagine yourself warming up in front of the crowd and then stepping on the mat to do battle. Visualize yourself successfully attacking and counterattacking from every position. Always picture yourself coming out on top after every flurry or scramble. Never think negatively. Always think positively.
If you will picture yourself prevailing in your biggest competions, it will help reduce any competitive stress that may exist when you have to actually compete. Visualization can also be used to reveiw new techniques in your mind.
When I became a state champion my junior year, I had already rehearsed the match in my head hundreds of times. When I won, it was the most intensely satisfying experience I have ever felt.
Rember to "think big, work hard, and have a dream" as you pursue your loftiest goals in wrestling, and the rest of your life.
Past Camp MemoriesMemorable Moments from Past Camps
I just wrapped up my Winter Break Gold Medal Training Camp at the Days
Inn Penn State and everything went great! The kids worked extremely hard
and I know they returned home improved and highly motivated.
I have been conducting wrestling camps for over a decade and teach a
group almost every session. On the rare occasions that I am not
teaching, I watch my coaching staff closely, so I can learn as much as
possible and give the campers quality feedback while they are drilling.
I have never missed a session of my camps until this recent camp. My
excuse... I am proud to announce the birth of my 2nd child and 1st son,
Alexander Chertow. My wife, Laurie, could not hold off until the end of
camp. Or maybe it was Alex who wanted to "escape" so he could attend his
first camp. His timing was good, as our guest clinician on his birthday
was Kurt Angle. Kurt tells me that his first weigh-in was the same as my
son's, 8 pounds and 9 ounces. Perhaps I will have a heavyweight on my
hands.
All went well with my wife's delivery and I was there for the entire
labor and birth. It was awesome. My boy came out with all parts intact
looking like a stud. A couple hours after Alex's arrival my wife
encouraged me go back to camp, so I could help the kids and pick Kurt's
brain. After all, she wants Alex to have perfect duck under and low
single technique like Kurt. All sarcasm aside, my wife and son are home,
healthy and doing great and I am a proud daddy. This camp will certainly
be a memorable one. Now on to the other topic of this article...
memorable moves that I learned over the years at camps.
I was coached by Olympic Gold Medalists, Doug Blubaugh and Shelby
Wilson, at the first camp I ever attended. Coach Blubaugh taught me his
Front Headlock Series and Coach Wilson taught me his Whizzer Series. As
I developed into a successful wrestler I called on these techniques time
and time again to defend myself. I saw these fundamental techniques
taught repeatedly over the years by other coaches, but never with the
precise attention to detail like Doug and Shelby.
Former Oklahoma State great and coaching legend, Myron Roderick, taught
me his Firemans Carry Series when I was 14 years old. I drilled this
series frequently throughout high school but only used it occasionally.
Nevertheless, in the State Finals my junior year of high school, I
pinned my opponent with an Outside Firemans Carry to win my 1st State
Championship. Often you must drill a move thousands of time before you
can hit it instinctively in the heat of battle. This was a perfect
example.
When I was in 10th grade I learned the Inside Step Opposite Leg Single
from Barry Davis. I used it often throughout high school including in
the State Finals my senior year. Barry Davis became one of my role
models during both high school and college. In 1984 when I was a high
school senior and Barry was a college senior, I won a State
Championship at 126 pounds and Barry won the Olympic Silver Medal at
125.5 pounds. My goal became to make the 1988 Olympic Team while I was
still in college. Barry did it... I knew Barry from camp...he was an
ordinary person...so why couldn't I do it? My logic paid off as four
years later I made the 1988 Olympic Team. Ironically, I used the Inside
Step Opposite Leg Single often throughout the Olympic Trials, and so did
Barry as he made the team at the weight above me.
Summer Camps are not only a great way to learn moves, but they are also
a great way to develop and meet role models. "Great thing are not
achieved by extraordinary people, they are achieved by ordinary people
(like you, me and Barry) who are willing to work extraordinarily hard
to achieve their goals". Sometimes we do not realize our role models are
ordinary people because we only read about them or watch them on
television. Barry was one of the many, many great wrestlers and coaches
who I got to meet personally at summer camps over the years. Not only
did I learn an array of effective techniques at camps, but I also met
the men who helped me better understand the intensity and commitment
that are required to excel in our sport and life.
I am grateful to the many men who have had an impact on my life by
helping me at camps over the years. As a director of my own camp system
today, I strive to have a similar impact on the many young people I work
with. I surround myself with great people, hiring men who are not only
expert coaches, but who are also enthusiastic and motivated instructors
who are committed to helping my students excel.
I have made a commitment to coordinating the most outstanding camp
system in the nation. In developing my camp over the past decade, I have
often found myself calling on my past experiences as a youngster at
camps. Fortunately, my past camp experiences not only helped me during
my competitive career, but they continue to help me as a coach and camp
director to this day.
The last article I wrote for AWN discussed the importance of drilling.
If you are going to perfect any moves you learn at a camp or elsewhere,
you must spend endless hours drilling to develop and perfect your
technique. In my next AWN article I will discuss a variety of different
methods of drilling that will help you perfect your moves so you can hit
them instinctively in the heat of battle.
Top
