Question: Why were you so successful as a coach?

I started recruiting kids when they were in grade school. The number one reason for my success was the type of wrestlers I recruited and the drilling system I used. The technical component came from Oklahoma State; the mat technique came from George Kovalick, my high school coach, and Harold Nichols. The key component was the drill routine. I was taught to drill against pressure in order to get the real feel for the holds and to drill the hold until you could execute full speed with resistance. This meant repetitions and your coach has to make you correct mistakes as they happen. This type of drilling is tedious and requires many many reps. I used the edge of the mat to increase the pressure and to help develop scrambling ability. One main problem was to make the wrestler keep a good stance and good head position. I see a lot of basic technical mistakes at the collegiate and high school level because coaches allow their wrestlers to make mistakes while they are drilling and don’t correct them on the spot... Most wrestlers do half. i.e. drilling a leg attack and not finishing the drill with a pin hold. Another mistake is the hand position. Most wrestlers start their takedown drill by reaching for their partners head or shoulders. Wrestlers remember, in order to finish right you have to start right. Coaches don’t force their wrestlers to follow the basic rules on the tie up.

1) Head position before hand position
2)
3)
4)

(If you drill it wrong you’ll do it wrong and it won’t work against a good wrestler.)

Answers for 2, 3, and 4, will be in the next lesson.

The drilling will develop the process known as flow or muscle memory. This is the action that is developed by repetition. What happens is you automatically react or attack without thought because you have rehearsed the step so many times that you don’t have to think, your body moves instinctively.