Building Wrestling Champions is About Coaching From the Heart

Great practice last night. I ran the practice. It was awesome. I was in rare form. I was focused and fired up. My practice was intense. I had my athletes training as champions. These guys we're focused and motivated. I bought out their champion nature.

Lets talk about the upcoming youth wrestling tournament called the best of the best which will take place on sunday february 21st 2010 at the maple-shade high school. We got eight of our wrestlers going to this tournament. We represent burlington city. This is the tournament were as you have figured out the best verses the best. These are the big boys. I'll love to see gold being bought home. Put it this way, lot of our guys going to be crowned champions this sunday. Some of our wrestlers are not going to make it through the first round. Even if it may not happen, I'll love to see ALL eight of our wrestlers get crowned champions.It's a possibility. That'll be awesome.

One of our wrestlers has a state champion in his bracket. What he has to do is to focus on winning the tournament. If he focuses on the state champion he has in his bracket, he will not win the tournament. Therefore, my wrestler has to focus on winning the tournament.

I believe we're going to shine. I hope we bring home predominantly gold. We had the ability to win the best of the best. We should dominate this tournament.

Lets go back to how the practice went last night. I had my athletes warm-up by jogging around the gym. I had them skip forward, then skip backwards, then I had them jog backwards, they jogged again. Then I had them stop were they at, and had my wrestlers do the burpees with a jump. We did twenty reps. Then jogged again.

Afterwards, I had my wrestlers line up at the edge of the wrestling mat. I formed seven lines. I had my athletes do double leg shots all the way down the other end of the mat. I had them do three sets. Then I had them do three double leg shots turn around sprawl, and run backwards. We did three sets. Then I had them do three sets of backwards crab walks.

Then I had my wrestlers partner up. After the athletes partnered up, the first drill I had them do was the snap and spin behind drill. One partner snaps and spins behind, then the other partner snaps down and spins behind and so on... for about two minutes.I was on fire. I was awesome because I chose to be awesome. I chose to coach awesome and to draw out that champion nature in these athletes. Then I had them do hand fighting for about two minutes. Then I had them do single-leg takedowns and up then the other guy does a single leg take down and up. I just had them keep going until I said stop. While that was going on, all eight of our best of the best wrestlers had to go to the burlington township high school to get weighed. I was pushing these guys too. I was bringing the best out of them. I knew I was coaching awesome and these kids knew that they were being coached by the best. They knew the were getting it in, and I loved it. I enjoyed every minute of it. I saw the best in these kids and brought it out. I know they're champions at heart.

Then I had them do tree sets of double leg shots. I had them alternate these shots with fierce intensity and with domination. These kids haven't been trained like that before. They got a first hand of training at the highest level.

Then I sat them down where they were because I knew they needed to take a breather. I gave them an inspiring real life talk. The one thing that I said to these kids is that "The worst thing to focus on while you're training is the fact that you're tired." "The more you focus on being tired while you're trainig, the worst the training is going to get." I broke down what it takes to be a champion. I broke down what wrestling is all about. Wrestling is not just a sport, it's a discipline. It's a part of your everyday life. It just don't build character, it reveals it. It determines what kind of an individual you'll become. That passion,that emotion was brewing in me while I was breaking down what it takes to be a champion. These kids knew I meant business. Theres a time to goof off, and theres a time to be serious. I was not angry. I was raw.

I'm ready to coach this sunday.I know the rest of the burlington city youth coaching staff are ready also. We're ready to bring home the gold.I believe we're going to dominate this tournament. We're going to shine! We're going to go to the best of the best awesome and going to come out of the best of the best awesome! This is it!
This is my type of tournament!

The second half of practice, I had my wrestlers review cradles, and pinning combinations for a half an hour. Then we live wrestled. The kids love live wrestling. They kept asking me can we live wrestle. I was picturing in my mind my wrestlers bringing home predominantly gold metals while I was coaching them. The other wrestlers that got weighed for the best of the best tournament came back from the weigh-ins and finished practice with the team. We are ready.

Well. That is all I have for today. Thank you for reading these powerful words. You have a much better wealthier day.

Think Bigger
Don Lee