5 Behaviors Young Wrestlers Learn Going from Average to Good to Great
A wrestler is only as good as their behavioral habits. However, wrestlers aren’t born knowing what behaviors will put them in the best position to constantly improve.
Some young wrestlers are lucky enough to live in an area with an amazing wrestling culture that nurtures the proper behavioral habits. Others have parents or coaches who are able to guide them in the right direction. With this in mind, based on my experience with both scenarios, below are the 5 most common behavioral habits that help young wrestlers develop from average to good to great.
1. Treat Conditioning Like It’s Food and Water
People don’t need a reminder to eat and drink everyday. They also don’t need a carrot or stick to motivate them. Wrestlers who learn to treat conditioning like this have the potential to develop an unstoppable pace that’s nearly impossible to beat. In addition, wrestlers who don’t treat conditioning as something they do only when their coach tells them to, and instead does it daily with their own self-motivation have a significant advantage over those who don’t.
2. Seek Out Tough Competition
Successful wrestlers know that adversity and failure early on in their journey is a major part of what helps them with success later on in life. Simply stated, setbacks set up comebacks, comebacks build resilience, and resilience generates growth. What’s more, seeking out tough competition and constantly finding challenges is bar none the best way to do this.
3. Focus on the Controllable Factors
A wrestler who focuses on what’s under their control doesn’t make excuses. They don’t blame the referee, size or age differences, and other non-controllable factors. When a coach provides feedback or criticism, they identify what’s under their control and make immediate adjustments.
4. Avoid Negative Self-Talk
A mature young wrestler who is ready to take the steps to go to the next level never worries whether or not they are good enough. It’s not that they are overconfident or delusional with positive self-talk either. They remain neutral and present in the reality of the moment. This means they know perfect is not the goal, instead the goal is to have faith in the process. This process includes falling short sometimes and making mistakes. However, they know beating themselves up with negativity when things go wrong is counterproductive.
5. Obsessive About Watching Wrestling
Not only are the biggest fans of wrestling the best wrestlers, but those who are their own biggest fans are even better wrestlers. Don’t get this wrong, I’m not talking about fan as in someone who only talks about themselves or who is conceited. I’m talking about someone who loves to watch and review their own wrestling matches right down to the tiniest details. They watch and identify what they’re good at and they can see their opportunities to improve.
Focusing on watching the competition is never the goal either. The goal is to watch every position, every counter, and every setup from their own matches and the matches of those who wrestle at the highest levels.