Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

Although I am writing this mental skills tip specifically for wrestling coaches, this insight applies equally for all coaches who teach skills at some level. Wrestling coaches in particular are known for how they teach moves, thus explaining this mental skill concept using the process of teaching wrestling moves as the exemplar is ideal.

Typically, the basic process of teaching a wrestling move requires a coach to execute three steps:

1. The coach starts by physically demonstrating the move step by step.
2. Then the coach will direct the wrestlers to drill the movement pattern with a partner repetitively.
3. Finally, the coach provides feedback to the wrestlers so they can correct their mistakes and prefect the movement patterns within the steps of the move.

This general three-step process for teaching basic wrestling moves works just fine for most coaches. However, once you get beyond the basic wrestling moves this process tends to break down. Teaching double and single legs is not rocket science. However, teaching the counters and the counters to those counters starts to become too complex.

So complex that most coaches avoid teaching 3 and 4 moves deep into a movement pattern. Why? Because wrestling coaches tend to make a common but huge mistake once they get beyond teaching basic moves.

This common yet huge mistake, is not physical but mental. It’s the product of what renowned psychologist Albert Bandura explains in his preeminent book Self-Efficacy while writing about Athletic Functioning and the Development of Athletic Skills. 

Bandura writes:

People will not learn or remember much from exposure to models unless they transform the essential features of the modeled skill into easily remembered symbolic codes in the medium of imagery or words. Observers who convert a modeled activity into codes that symbolize it form a more accurate cognitive representation than they would if they just passively observed the demonstrations. The benefits of symbolic coding are reflected in performance as well. The better the symbolic coding of physical activities into memorable words and images, the better the activities are learned and retained. (Carroll & Bandura, 1990, Gerst, 1971)

Coaches Can’t forget about the Importance of Symbolism in Teaching

Yes, there is much scientific jargon in Bandura’s explanation above, but the takeaway for coaches is simple. Simply stated, for an athlete to learn a move effectively, the move must have a name. Therefore, a coach must tell the athletes the name of every move they teach, and that name must be both memorable and symbolic enough to conjure up an image of the move when they hear that name.

While this may be obvious, it’s often an afterthought for many coaches. Specifically, it’s an afterthought in the case of counters and counters to those counters that are 3 and 4 moves deep into a movement pattern. Of course, all basic wrestling moves have a name. Nonetheless, there are far too many important movement patterns that coaches teach that have no name or symbolic representation. This is a huge mistake.

A coach must avoid teaching movement patterns without naming those patterns. Even if the name is not a universal standard, it’s important to create a standard name even if it’s just among your team. The research of Bandura and others proves that athletes learn best when this is the case.

Moreover, in wrestling as with most sports, the more steps it takes to execute a movement pattern the harder it is to learn. So, it’s in these complex 3 and 4 deep moves and counter moves where coaches must be most diligent, creative, and consistent in using naming conventions.