Play sports and games often, lots of them

In today’s  competitive world of youth sports many athletes and their parents are looking to get an edge, and maybe a college scholarship, by specializing early. Kids are becoming one-sport athletes at earlier ages , passing on pick-up games at the park and new organized sports in favor of extra skills work and travel teams. Unfortunately, this approach to youth sports can mean many young athletes don’t reach their full potential.

Here’s my prescription for kids to develop character, become a well rounded athlete and shine on the wrestling mat: play sports and games often, lots of them. It sounds simple and may be counterintuitive to the specialization crowd but sports and games offer so many benefits to kids, limiting variety cannot be a good thing. Here are some of the areas I think a diverse approach can benefit youth athletes.

Socialization: Kids that follow this prescription work with a lot of different friends and teammates. They also work with a different coaches and learn to adjust to different coaching styles.  They have an opportunity to play team and individual sports and learn lessons about winning and losing in each.

Athletic foundation: Look at the best players in any sport and they are all amazing “athletes.” That’s to say they have an incredible baseline of athletic ability and they have layered sport-specific skills and techniques over that. Kids can best develop the body awareness, coordination, strength, speed and flexibility associated with great athleticism by playing a wide variety of sports and games.

Joy of competition: How many kids excel early at a sport only get get burnt out and lose their desire? Keeping sports fun is essential if young athletes are going to keep competing. By playing many different games and sports, kids can keep their joy of competition alive. These athletes always have another chance to compete, different teammates and opponents to play with or against, and a fresh challenge if they get bored.

New Technique Content Coming

Our plan over the summer is to provide more technique resources for our wrestlers, parents and other readers.

Keep an eye out for our new email newsletter, “Youth Wrestling Fundamentals” coming in early June. Every issue will cover the hows and whys of wrestling for athletes in elementary, middle and high school. Sign up on our home page.

Early this summer we will start releasing illustrated descriptions of our favorite techniques and drills with step by step instructions and photographs.

Later in the year we will release a series of technique videos featuring coaches and wrestlers providing instruction and demonstrating important positions, tactics and techniques

Physical benefits of wrestling for kids

This may seem obvious to those who are familiar with the sport but wrestling is great for a child’s physical development. The following excerpt from The Parents Guide to Youth Wrestling, written by Bill Campbell explores some of the specific benefits.

Sports offer opportunities for children to improve their strength, flexibility and coordination, while having fun. Most sports activities rely more on some muscle groups and less on others. For example, most sports focus primarily on pushing motions (leg/arm extension) such as throwing, hitting, kicking, jumping and running.

Experts believe that unilateral (equal emphasis on all muscle groups) physical development is especially important in young athletes. Isolated development at an early age, over a long period, increases the risk of injury and limits long-term foundational growth. Swimming, gymnastics and wrestling are among the few sports that engage both pulling and pushing muscle groups.

Of all the sports choices a parent and child can make, wrestling is perhaps the best sport for overall physical development because it involves all muscle groups, and requires the greatest balance of athletic skill. Not only does wrestling improve balance, speed, agility and intensity, but it strengthens virtually all muscle groups from hips, legs, torso and upper body, but also neck and grip strength.

Wrestling is the sport that can dramatically improve one’s ability to perform in other sports. A ten-year old, for example, who was considered by coaches to be a slow base runner, later won a large and very competitive multi-county base running contest after only one season of wrestling. Many soccer and football coaches are known to recruit wrestlers because of their superior athletic capabilities, and parents often notice improvements in athletic ability after a season of wrestling.

Great example of a “sucker drag”

Thanks to James Porter for showing me this video of Ty Wilps hitting a great sucker drag (one of our favorite front headlock counters) at FloNationals.

http://tiny.cc/1aqgh

High C takedown from hand fighting

Here’s a great video of Mike Krause (our favorite “sucker drag” instructor) demonstrating a high crotch takedown from hand fighting to finish. Our wrestlers should focus on a couple key points:

• Watch his control and set up from inside position
• Note his good position with head up as he attacks
• See how fast his knees come off the mat as the transitions to the finish

http://tiny.cc/ackld

Summer wrestling camp

Registration is underway for our Youth All-Stars Wrestling camp this summer. There have been some problems downloading the registration form from the camp page so I’m including it here as well.  The camp runs from June 28-July2, 9 am-Noon and is open to all wrestlers in grades K-5.  Remember, there is a discount for those who register before June 1.

Youth Camp flyer 2010

The case for Greco

When it comes down to it, there are two reasons I think all young wrestlers should learn and compete in Greco-Roman wrestling: It’s fun! And it will make them better folkstyle wrestlers.

I didn’t learn about Greco-Roman wrestling until college. Many of my teammates wrestled Greco in regional and national tournaments growing up and I thought there may be something to it as I took my lumps in practice. I wrestled in my first Greco tournament as a member of our spring wrestling club and remember the exhilaration I felt when I hit a 5-point throw. That was FUN!

I developed a true passion for this style of wrestling and saw first-hand how it improved both my folkstyle and freestyle when I spent a year on one of the best Greco-Roman teams in the country – All Army Wrestling.  Here are some of the things I learned and how they apply to our young wrestlers.

1. Greco is tons of fun to wrestle. Sure, there’s often less pressure in off-season tournaments and it’s always cool to learn new techniques. But more than that, throwing and lifting guys is fun stuff for wrestlers of all ages.

2. Greco teaches great position and control. Folkstyle wrestlers often use upper body control positions to set-up and score takedowns. Greco teaches young wrestlers to establish and feel more comfortable in those positions making them better on their feet.

3. Greco builds their wrestling foundation. This style demands certain skills and fundamentals that will help young wrestlers get better in all aspects of the sport. Lifts, backsteps, and back arches are some of the skills that develop body control and explosiveness that translates to all styles of wrestling.

Gene Mills is the Man

I’m a huge Gene Mills fan. I had the pleasure of spending a week at his Vision Quest wrestling camp back in 1995 and we teach his half nelson series to our high school wrestlers. I’ve always appreciated his aggressive style – the way he is always looking for the pin. This technique video is another great example of that.

As a wrestler, an inside stand-up was my favorite move from bottom. I was strong on my feet so my first move was always up and out. I never even considered pinning a guy from there. But, here’s Gene Mills making it look like an obvious transition.  I’m definitely adding this to our bag of tricks.  ENJOY.

http://www.flowrestling.org/videos/speaker/1698-gene-mills/75281-inside-stand-up-to-his-back

Open Mat Practice at West Point

UPDATE – Sorry, I messed up the video link when I first posted this. It should work now.

I found this video of an open mat practice from my old team and couldn’t resist posting it for you to see. It’s not just an ego trip for me, however. You can learn a lot about proper drilling and fundamental technique by watching these guys practice.

Notice the head action with inside position and motion as they set up their shots. Notice the kind of shots they are taking and the way they finish. Also watch their shot defense as they stuff the attackers head and spin behind. I especially like to watch them re-shooting once they have stopped their opponent.

Finally, watch the temp of their drilling. They aren’t going all out but they aren’t going in slow motion either. Instead they work at pace that allows them to hit their moves smoothly and with proper form.

http://www.flowrestling.org/videos/play/74157-army-open-mats