Stop Trying to Win
How many wrestlers do you know who do not "want" to win? If there exists a wrestler who does not at least say he wants to win, I have yet to find him. As far as I can tell, there is no epidemic of wrestlers who do not care about winning. I believe just the opposite is true. There are far too many wrestlers who care far too much about winning. This is the mindset that is hurting the sport as well as the performances of wrestlers at every level.
Yes, I am suggesting that not caring about winning can, and likely will increase the number of wins we get and the excitement of the sport.
Allow me to explain... Winning is just an outcome of scoring more points than your opponent (or pinning them). An "outcome" focused approach leads to increased anxiety about whether or not we will win. This mentality leads to things like one wrestler scoring one takedown in a match and then stalling for 6 minutes straight out of fear of losing. Sometimes the wrestler who stalls will hold on to win, but often times they end up losing, because they did not continue to keep the pressure on their opponent. This also leads to BORING wrestling! I have seen it at every level of wrestling, from little kids to Olympic champions. The "must win" mindset is one of the biggest downfalls of our sport. (Don't get me started on other sports...)
In order to combat this destructive mindset we must focus on the process, not the outcome. Focus on dominating, scoring, and getting after it! If you focus on these things it will free you up to just wrestle. And some of those 1 point losses (and victories) will start becoming major decisions and tech falls.
Coaches need to emphasize dominating, scoring, and effort, not the outcome. We need to instill in our wrestlers that it's not about winning or losing. There is something far greater that we wrestle for.
Yes, I am suggesting that not caring about winning can, and likely will increase the number of wins we get and the excitement of the sport.
Allow me to explain... Winning is just an outcome of scoring more points than your opponent (or pinning them). An "outcome" focused approach leads to increased anxiety about whether or not we will win. This mentality leads to things like one wrestler scoring one takedown in a match and then stalling for 6 minutes straight out of fear of losing. Sometimes the wrestler who stalls will hold on to win, but often times they end up losing, because they did not continue to keep the pressure on their opponent. This also leads to BORING wrestling! I have seen it at every level of wrestling, from little kids to Olympic champions. The "must win" mindset is one of the biggest downfalls of our sport. (Don't get me started on other sports...)
In order to combat this destructive mindset we must focus on the process, not the outcome. Focus on dominating, scoring, and getting after it! If you focus on these things it will free you up to just wrestle. And some of those 1 point losses (and victories) will start becoming major decisions and tech falls.
Coaches need to emphasize dominating, scoring, and effort, not the outcome. We need to instill in our wrestlers that it's not about winning or losing. There is something far greater that we wrestle for.
Well said Coach Cross. Never stop scoring!
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