WrestlingGear.com Newsletter - Gable's Thoughts on Wrestling May 24, 2003
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This newsletter covers some of Dan Gables thoughts on Wrestling covered in Coaching Wrestling Successfully. Dan Gable is the winningest coach in College Wrestling, a two time National Champ, Olympic Gold Medalist, and an Olympic Head Coach.
We will be featuring information from his book throughout the next several newsletters. Along with highlights from this book, we will feature excerpts from WinningState.
We are excited to be able to bring this book to you. Make sure you check the link out below. If you are interested in winning state, this is a must read.
If you have a website, let's exchange links. Linking to our site increase traffic to our web site and we return the favor by linking back to your web site. Our sites get a lot of traffic due to our link exchange program.
We are thinking of creating an affiliate program. Would you be interested in an affiliate program? Currently we give you a free WrestlingGear.Com T-shirt. Would you rather have a $10 Gift Certificate? We'd like to get more banner ads on web sites.
As always, keep in touch with us. If you see any products we need to add to the site.
Keep in touch,
Jeff
US Nationals On Television
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Depending on when you are reading this, you may have time to go to Fox Sports to watch the US Nationals.
Look in your TV Guide to see other times it is airing. Their web site shows other local times the show is airing. It's pretty easy site to find your television listings.
It sounds like it is a 90 minute segment. I can't wait to watch it. Its important these shows get high ratings so others will make it on the air.
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"WinningSTATE" Available On WrestlingGear.com
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WinningSTATE is about competing, not wrestling. It's about wrestlers transforming into competitors.
WinningSTATE will instantly improve tournament performance. It gives wrestlers the tools they need to eliminate distractions and conquer intimidation, so they can wrestle like they're capable of wrestling.
Click Here to Order "WinningSTATE":
http://www.wrestlinggear.com/flypage.php?productid=224
"Coaching Wrestling Sucessfully" by Dan Gable
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From Chapter 1: Developing A Wrestling Coaching Philosophy Coaching Wrestling Successfully, by Dan Gable
In the introduction to this book, I said that the only way a coach or wrestler will improve is by setting increasingly high standards and then working hard to achieve them. That's something I believe in strongly. It's a big part of my coaching philosophy. Another big part of my philosophy is that champions are often, but not always, the ones who win the most matches. In coaching or competing on the mat, true champions are the guys who get the most out of themselves and others; they strive to be great, and they often achieve greatness. At the least, they command respect.
What's your philosophy? Have you taken time to define it? If you haven't thought much about it, now's the time to start. A philosophy is like a mental steering mechanism. It guides you in the decisions you make. If you don't have one or if yours is faulty, you'll go nowhere or get lost trying to get somewhere. If you have an effective one, not only can you achieve a desired destination, but you can help others reach it too.
THE SEEDS OF A PHILOSOPHY
We all began developing our philosophies early in life. My emphasis on hard work began taking shape at an early age. My parents, Mack and Katie, were always passing along words of wisdom, often in the form of catchy motivational phrases--the kind of slogans coaches put on gym and locker room walls. Even today I spend a lot of time reading and studying the motivational phrases my parents used to inspire me as a kid.
I was fortunate in how I was brought up. My childhood memories are good ones. My parents gave me the opportunity to be very successful by guiding and supporting me as well as giving me little pushes when needed. For example, on my 10th birthday I received a set of weights for a present. After a few days, my mom pointed out that I still hadn't touched them. She said "Those new weights you'd been asking for, they seem to be staying pretty new. You know, they might get a little rusty just sitting there." The weights were put to use soon after that not-so-subtle reminder from Mom.
THE SHAPING OF A PHILOSOPHY
After those early childhood days in which parents or significant others give much of the meaning you have about the world, you enter another phase of philosophical development. At this stage, classmates and teammates, teachers and coaches, books, and competitive experiences do much to shape your outlook.
The Influence of Coaches
Anyone who has played sports knows what an impact a coach can have, good or bad. If you're a wrestling coach, you probably had a special coach who made you think that coaching was a special profession. On the other hand, we've all had or seen coaches who are just the opposite; they turn kids off to the sport and hurt our profession. The philosophies of my former coaches and now coaching colleagues had a great impression on me. They have been the foundation for my success as a coach.
In college at Iowa State, I drew upon the philosophy of my coach, Harold Nichols. Coach Nichols provided an environment for success, one that bred wrestling champions. He believed that great wrestlers made other wrestlers great. My experiences in his practice room taught me many lessons about the value of competition. To this day, I believe that wrestling greatness is achieved only through training that makes you push yourself to survive.
I must mention Bill Farrell, my 1972 Olympic coach. Part businessman, part wrestling coach, Bill found a way to fulfill the needs of each member of the team. He taught me how to make full use of the resources available and how to acquire additional resources as they are needed. He got things accomplished whenever and wherever needed.
The Influence of Wrestlers
Being involved in wrestling, we have all seen competitors that we especially admired. They provide models for coaches to point out to our own athletes, and they provide inspiration and direction to other wrestlers. I had the honor and benefit of learning from some great wrestlers who were just a bit older than I. They taught me a lot about wrestling, but they also had a profound impact on my coaching philosophy.
Bob Buzzard, a former East Waterloo and Iowa State wrestling star, had a quick and explosive style. He was great at changing speeds during a match, knowing how to keep the opponent off-guard. Tom Peckham, who starred at Cresco High School and Iowa State University, was what I call a grinder. He wasn't flashy, but he got the job done. Tom used his physical style and leverage to wear down his opponents.
Buzzard and Peckham had two contrasting styles that I respected. By watching them, I learned that no single style is best for every wrestler. I keep this fact in mind when I coach. My approach is to allow the athletes to use the style that works best for them. That doesn't mean that I'll permit them to use poor fundamentals or use a lot of high-risk moves that rarely work. But it does mean that I don't try to make them change to some ideal wrestling style.
I'm also a firm believer in a physical style of wrestling. This style requires wrestlers to be highly disciplined in their training. Perhaps the hardest aspect of the physical style is that it contradicts human nature, which is to use the easiest method possible. Being a physical type wrestler has hard work written all over it, and it takes a special athlete to master it, but it's not impossible. Even less physical wrestlers can benefit from using a physical wrestling style in certain situations.
The Always-Developing Philosophy
Getting set in your ways is okay for some things, but as a coach, you should always be examining and, if necessary, improving your philosophy. Making the transition from athlete to coach was easier for me than most because my personality allowed others to be themselves. Like Bob Siddens, I understood the individual differences in my athletes and never thought it was appropriate to change them without taking many things into account. But in the past, being too flexible has backfired. A few years ago, I made the mistake of giving my athletes too much freedom, when I should have instead stepped in and taken control.
FROM PHILOSOPHY TO REALITY
A wrestling program is people. That's who it starts with; that's who it ends with. The most important people are your coaching staff and your wrestlers. Also important are the parents, relatives, fans, administrators, people of the community, and in my case, as part of a public institution, all the citizens of Iowa. I'll talk more in the next chapter about what to keep in mind when communicating with all of these different groups. Given that people are the backbone of a program, the philosophy you adopt should be people-centered. By that I mean that the approach you take should be in the best interest of your athletes and others associated with the program.
If your philosophy is sound, the challenge is to see that you and your wrestlers embody that philosophy. Meeting that challenge involves setting specific expectations about behaviors for individuals and the team. Realize that all eyes are focused upon you, the head coach. A successful coach cannot get by with "Practice what I preach, not what I do." You set the tone for the program. If your philosophy is the mental steering mechanism, then your behavior is the tangible element, the nuts and bolts, that determines whether you are on course. Live by the standards you set. Be a good example.
Academics
You have to know where your athletes are heading in their academic pursuits. Being successful in academics comes first; wrestling comes second. High school coaches need to keep up on college entrance requirements and advise athletes accordingly. Core courses, college entrance exams, and GPAs should be important concerns for you and your wrestlers. Also, encourage your athletes to seek advice from guidance and academic counselors at your school. In short, do all you can to emphasize academics so that your athletes succeed academically.
Excellence
When an athlete enters my program, we discuss his ideal objective: receiving straight A's and going undefeated in wrestling. Then we discuss the opposite extreme, flunking out and never winning. I expect the athletes in my program to be at the top of the graph, to be dominant. Because I am straight with them up front, the athletes have no doubts about my expectations. They make an informed choice about continuing or quitting the program.
Teamwork
Your team will be only as successful as the sum of its individual parts. The great wrestling programs don't maintain their level by relying on just one or two wrestlers. In order to get to the top, you have to get a group of student-athletes to work together for a common purpose. On the other hand, one great wrestler can give your program a great deal of visibility and credibility. Then the coach must take the next step and increase the overall level of performance of every spot on the team. When the level of team success is high, you can concentrate more on the development of individuals. But if the program begins to slip, then it's important to begin stressing team objectives again.
From Coaching Wrestling Successfully by Dan Gable. Copyright 1999 by Dan Gable. Excerpted by permission of Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
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IN CLOSING
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