Teaching Young Wrestlers the Basics of Confidence
One of the things I’ve learned being around youth wrestling over the last 7 years is that confidence comes in many forms. There is confidence in body language. There is confidence in words, and there is confidence in deeds.
Above all, the one thing I know for sure is that confidence is not innate. Young wrestlers do not just naturally develop confidence. Confidence is something a wrestler earns by developing skills in specific areas. Furthermore, the first area a young wrestler must gain confidence with is in how they approach competition.
Having the right approach to competition is a basic skill that young wrestlers must develop before they can mature in the sport. The correct approach to competition is predicated on a belief that challenging yourself is more important than winning. To put it another way, you aren’t afraid to lose.
Once a young wrestler learns how not to be afraid to lose, the sky is the limit. Their confidence in all other areas can now be unlocked. Therefore, in order to teach a young wrestler how to be confident, you must help them set goals based on testing their skills against the best at their age and weight. This means they are going to take some losses along the way. However, it will be the losses that enable them to gain confidence through winning.