Averill Park Wrestling Club: JV Wrestlers

Averill Park 2010-2011

Jr. Varsity Wrestling Team

Bottom Row:

Jake Winters, Shawn Roberts, Brandon Rodwell, Bailey Gadius, Jenna Meissner, Derrick Gardner and Zack Winters

Top Row:

Coach Polsinello, Coach Bondi, Jack Ainsley, Nick Horton, Sam Winkley,  Jarred Fink, Ricky Mosell, Jeremy Flint and Coach Malenfant.

Motivation and Commitment: Pre-Season Training

I always encourage my athletes to rise to the occasion so they will have a peak performance in their biggest contests. Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno wrote the foreword to my book, Commitment to Excellence, and his career, lifestyle, and mentality epitomizes what a commitment to excellence entails.

Many outstanding coaches join us throughout the year for the camps we host at our Home Training Center in, State College, PA. We have well-established camps on Thanksgiving weekend and during the year. In addition we have our Winter Break Training Camp which will be conducted at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Philadelphia, PA. Dedicated wrestlers and coaches travel from throughout the nation to attend these camps. You do not have to be from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, or other wrestling hot beds to succeed in our sport. It simply requires a commitment to excellence and sustained motivation for many years, perhaps a decade or more to reach the top of the mountain.

I put much thought into the overall design of my camp complex and have inscribed "Commitment to Excellence" on the wall padding. Although I considered having “Intensity - Discipline – Perseverance” — all parts of what a commitment to excellence entails, I instead decided to paint the words "Commitment to Excellence" because they encapsulate what it takes to be successful in school, wrestling, and life.

On a general note, wrestling is an extremely demanding sport that does not always seem to offer many rewards. Our sport is a grueling battle during both training and competition. You often leave a wrestling practice exhausted, both physically and mentally. This is how you are supposed to feel if you are going to be fully prepared for the heat of battle. So you may ask yourself — why go through all this?

Not only is wrestling physically demanding, but you must also spend many hours learning and drilling a wide array of techniques. Whether you are a beginner or an elite high school or college athlete, you must continuously work hard to develop and perfect a repertoire of techniques that will make you a champion.

In addition to the daily grind of training and the endless hours of drilling that are required to master the sport, you must also eat healthy foods throughout the year and typically follow a strict diet during the season. Many athletes "cut" additional water weight prior to competition to make weight. Wrestling is an intense sport that does not always seem to offer many rewards, yet so many athletes are driven to excel. Why this paradox?

I will examine the motivating forces that drive us to excel, while providing you with suggestions and training tips that will help you stay motivated as you pursue your highest goals in our incredibly demanding and challenging sport. Let me start you with some pre-season training tips.

·          The season will be here soon, so it is time to get focused on your goals for the upcoming season and get busy preparing to reach them. Decide what you want to achieve and make a commitment to doing everything necessary to reach your goals.

·          Do not wait until November to start training regularly. Design a pre-season training plan and stick with it. It does not need to be complex. Your pre-season program should consist of at least 3 days per week in the weight room and 3 days per week of cardiovascular conditioning. You may spread this over six days of the week or you may combine strength training and conditioning into one workout. For example a 2-mile run followed by a strength training workout would kill two birds with one stone.

·          Do not just put in time in the weight room. Have a plan when you walk in the door and get busy! Your cardiovascular training may consist of any combination of running, biking, swimming, and wrestling. It should combine both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. For example, some days go for a 2-4 mile run or wrestle for 10-20 minutes straight (aerobic training), and other days do an interval/sprint workout or wrestle short matches (anaerobic training). I encourage you to get on the mats whenever possible. Find a way to get some mat time this fall. If there is a will there is a way. If you are going to participate in a physically demanding sport like wrestling, you must be fully prepared for battle. Do not let another day slip by without getting ready.

EAT TO PIN

Kim Gorman, MS, RD, LD
Registered Dietitian/Exercise Physiologist

Athletes strive for victory. In the absence of genetic heritage, peak performance is the alignment of proper training regimens with optimal nutrition yielding the athlete’s best chance at victory. But what is proper nutrition and hydration? This is a double-edged question for a competitive wrestler. It is the position of the American College of Sports Medicine to educate coaches and wrestlers toward safe weight control behaviors and to curtail “weight cutting”. Simply put, weight class changes should be made during the off-season. This article discloses a healthy approach to proper nutrition and hydration with sensitivity to the wrestler’s customary weight-making practice.

It is well documented that in a state of energy balance (stable weight), an athlete needs 0.5-0.8 grams of protein per pound of weight (15% of total daily calories) and 1-2 cups of water per pound of weight lost through sweat to prevent compromising strength. The carbohydrate recommendation is 2-2.5 grams per pound of body weight (60-65% of total daily calories).

Table 1 is a closer look at your protein needs.

Each day, the above meat allowances should be accompanied by a minimum of:
· 1 1/2 cups cooked or 3 cups raw vegetables,
· 3 cups (8 oz each) skim or 1% milk, and
· 4 cups of grain or starch foods (bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potato, peas/corn).

The recommended minimums outlined will provide you with an additional 60 grams of protein. Combining the minimums with the ounces of meat recommended you’ll reach the “max proteins” listed in Table 1.

Last but certainly not least, carbohydrate and water are crucially important following workouts or long practices for restoring energy banks. Although the recommendations can appear confusing, in terms of food, it’s quite the opposite. My best advice is to remember proportion at each meal. When going back for seconds, take 1/2 portions of each item offered!

A typical day’s menu for a wrestler in season might look like this:

The dietary guidelines disclosed above get even easier. The “blueprint” for proportional eating is tangible by reviewing the site www.perfectportions.net. The Perfect Portions Diet Dish provides a single deck-of-cards sized protein, 1/2 cup cooked vegetable, 1/2 cup fruit, a little over 1 cup of grain or starch food and an 8 ounce glass of skim or 1% milk.

The Perfect Portions Diet Dish is the blueprint for proportional eating:

·          60% carbohydrate for quick energy and speedy recovery times

·          15-20% protein for strength and power

·          20-25% fat for satiety and duration between meals

Now look back at the sample one-day menu. Each food item goes into a compartment so you don’t have to weigh or measure anything. All you need to know is how many plates of food to eat per day. If you need 3 decks-of-cards sized proteins, then you should be eating 3 full plates per day; if you need 5 decks-of-cards then you should be eating 5 full plates and so on.

The best trick of the dish is for off-season weight class changing. By adding an extra plate full over your usual intake, expect a 1-2 pound gain per week. Likewise, by omitting one plate full per day, expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. The secret to maintaining strength with saturated energy stores is proportional eating whether it be before practices, after practices or any meal of the day. Learn what 60% carbohydrate, 15% protein and 25% fat looks like and then you can EAT TO PIN!

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) believes a wide variety of foods rich in essential nutrients are necessary for healthy, growing bodies. Many of these foods can be seen in the "Food Guide Pyramid". The IFIC went on to say such foods include carbohydrate-rich grains and fruits and vegetables necessary to supply vitamins, minerals, fiber and energy vital to good health. Adequate amounts of dairy products, lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dry beans and nuts also provide nutrients that contribute to proper growth and development. Following this prescription and exercising increases your health while adding life to your years.

On a serious note, I credit my friend Tony Dickens for sharing this card game idea with me. Tony and I were from different school districts, but we trained together throughout the spring and summer. Where we grew up, few people wrestled during the off-season. Tony and I would pair up for marathon workouts. Tony had incredible muscular endurance, so I figured I would give his game a try. I took a liking to it. I figured if I could do over 300 push-ups in a short period of time, no one was going to push me around or hold me down. The game worked for both of us. Tony went on to have a successful career at the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating, he became an All-American in Greco-Roman. Tony is now an ultra-successful businessman and he epitomizes one of my favorite camp slogans, "Wrestling: Training for the rest of your life". Our sport and the unique training regimen it requires to excel, truly does prepare wrestlers to excel in all their future endeavors.

The Mindset and Tactics of a Champion

This is one of the most exciting times of the year because the season ending tournaments are upon us. Every high school athlete is striving to have a peak performance at the regional and state tournaments, while the college guys are looking to turn it up a notch for the Conference and NCAA Championships. I have been attending the NCAA Championships annually since 1982 and the competition is intense.

State tournaments are also very exciting! I will be following the success of my summer camp students by attending six different state high school tournaments between February 16 and March 10. The High School Nationals, National Open, World Cup and World Team Trials will be held in consecutive months. I will attend weekend tournaments with my youth club between these events making for a very busy spring. I will share some of my observations from these national tournaments with you in my upcoming AWN columns.

My most vivid memories from my wrestling career are undoubtedly state, national and Olympic competition. Of course, in order to excel in those events I was wrestling in hundreds of tournaments over two decades. Over 90% of what I remember is from the season-ending events. Winning my first State Championship is one of the most intensely satisfying experiences I have ever had on the mats. I was 15 years old and it was the culmination of a boyhood dream. When I made the Olympic Team I was already an adult. It was definitely very fulfilling, but different from winning my first state championship. I have boxes of memorabilia in my basement, but all I display in my office are the few with the most significant meaning from the season-ending tournaments.

Towards the end of the season I tell the high school athletes that I work with "What you achieve at the state tournament will become memories of a lifetime". Over time, no one will remember exactly what your regular season record was. Throughout your life people will ask, did you get to state? Did you place? Did you get to NCAA’s? Did you place? These season’s ending tournaments are your chance to shine. Make the most of your opportunities! Do not walk off the mat feeling you held anything back. If you give it your all, you will have no regrets regardless of the outcome. Seize the moment! RISE TO THE OCCASION!

So how do you "Rise to the Occasion" in your biggest matches? Few athletes perform at the same level in major competition as they do during the season. Unfortunately, many athletes tighten up and hold back. Great champions are able to get the most out of themselves when it counts! Champions perform at their "optimal level of emotional arousal" and do the little things necessary to win the close matches. Below are some simple suggestions, in no particular order, which will help you win your big matches when it counts the most.

Intense drilling will help you perform instinctively in the heat of battle.
Fight for every point in the practice room. This scrambling instinct will help you in matches.
Always think positively, particularly during the weeks and days leading up to major competition.

Visualize yourself executing your game plan, winning against your toughest competition, and having your hand raised in the championship venue as your cheering section cheers.

Study videotape of some of your best matches. This will help you visualize and think positively. Study video of your toughest potential opponents and picture yourself implementing the game plan you need to defeat these adversaries will also help you.

Get proper rest and nutrition. Control your weight so that you can focus on your performance.

Warm up properly before matches. This helps prepare your body for battle, while helping reduce anxiety.  

Be intense, yet relaxed, when you step on the mat to do battle! Allow me to elaborate on this key point. Over time, champions learn to develop a routine that allows them to consistently get to their optimal level of mental arousal level prior to matches. This mindset is different for everyone and can change over time. Each athlete is different. Coaches must help athletes identify when they were performing their best and what their mindset was going into the match. Personally, I performed at my best early in high school when I was totally psyched up and attacked my opponent relentlessly. As I matured and faced better competition on national level, I found that I could perform better when I was a little more relaxed. Don’t get me wrong; to be at my best I still had to be intense and focused, but not wound so tight that I did not react quickly or made mistakes.

Control the tempo and ties. The late, great Dave Schultz passed on this little pearl of wisdom to me. I specifically asked Dave when visiting his home in 1986, "Dave, you look so poised out there in competition. What are you thinking?" His response was simply, "I am looking to control tempo of match and control the ties".

Dave was a master of the 2 on 1 and front headlock (along with about every other hold for that matter). When Dave controlled a tie, he could score quickly in a variety of fashions depending on how his opponent reacted.

Use motion and body fakes to control the tempo and/or close the gap. Never stand around. Use body fakes to put your opponent on the defense so you can get a hold of him to control ties. If you like to shoot from the open, use body fakes to set-up low ankle single or double. Too many athletes stand around and then dive in. No one has executed the low ankle single as well as John Smith. This is because few athletes have trained and conditioned themselves to create the motion that he had. Precise technique, quick level change, and unorthodox flexibility were undoubtedly some of the keys to John’s success too. One thing many athletes are lacking is the motion he created. I trained with John at every Olympic & World Team Training Camp from 1984-1992. I speak from personal experience. When he was not moving well, I could stop him with a front headlock. When he was moving intensely, he was practically unstoppable. If you want to get more effective with low single, create more motion and body fakes.

Keep wrestling through the end of every period. It disgusts me to see wrestlers rest at end of periods. This is a great time to score, or at very least, work your opponent’s head and wear him down. Never get caught on your heels and scored upon at the end of a period. My athletes often score with the blast double, low single, or snap down during final 15 seconds of period.

Strive to finish every period on top and definitely not on bottom! I wonder how many wrestlers who get ridden out to the end of a period come back to win? Usually it is far less than 50 percent.

Never relax on the edge. Too many athletes get knocked on their butt on the edge and give up quick points. This is a critical error. I encourage my athletes to wrestle in the center and to know where the edge is. You are much better off if you can see the edge as opposed to having your back to it and being vulnerable. Wrestlers should circle in immediately when pushed near the edge.

Stay focused no matter what happens. Too many athletes get visibly frustrated if they make a mistake or get a bad call. Do not do this! Get right back in there and keep plugging away to score and win.

Believe in yourself no matter what happens. You must believe you can win when you step on the mat as well as when you fall behind. Never doubt yourself. Remember McIlravy’s comeback victory in NCAA Finals his freshman year.

Be tough when you are tired! I tell my athletes this often. We can talk technique and tactics, but when it comes down to it, you must execute your technique and tactics during the final moments and seconds of close matches if you are going to reach your highest goals. Learning and understanding the game will only benefit you if you have pushed yourself to higher mental and physical thresholds daily throughout the season.