Profound Quotes Illustrate Why Wrestling is NOT an Individual Sport
Regardless of the level of wrestling (youth, high school, or college wrestling) individual achievements always outweigh team achievements in the eyes of athletes and fans. However, coaches never take for granted how important team success is for propelling individual success.
Coaches understand that a lone star will prevent that star from becoming a superstar. Wrestlers can be good individually, but they can’t be great without a team. Those team members may not share in achieving the same individual results, but they do share in the same goals, work ethic, and commitment to greatness. Without these shared beliefs amongst a team, there are limits on individual potential.
Positive psychology researcher Shawn Achor, one of the world’s leading experts on success and potential, states this fact rather plainly in his book Big Potential:
The conclusion of a decade of my work is clear. You can be a superstar; you just can’t be one alone. What you need is a star system: a constellation of positive, authentic influencers who support each other, reinforce each other, and make each other better.
Achor also writes that his research shows that:
helping those around us achieve more raises the limit on what we can achieve as well.
Yes, it’s normal for an athlete in an individual sport like wrestling to think it’s all about their potential. Subsequently, raising the potential of teammates may not be a priority. Yet, as counterintuitive as this may be, making this a priority is the path to maximize individual potential.
This is the point, and ultimately the mindset shift wrestlers must make. The team “me” mindset may help you become good, but it won’t help you become great. So, if great is the goal, help your teammates be great as well.