Fundamentals

We start preseason training in mid-September, which gives us about two months to prepare for the upcoming season. During that time, I sit down and structure our training. I look at the techniques that have worked and the techniques that have failed. I also look internally. Maybe it’s the way I teach or instruct. Maybe it’s the technique itself. Maybe it’s the level of the wrestler I’m teaching. It takes true intentionality to avoid simply going through the same habitual system year after year without critiquing it along the way. The goal is simple: develop the best wrestlers I can.

What I do know is that the basics and fundamentals are king. But what actually constitutes a fundamental? If you look up the definition, fundamentals are the basic principles that form the foundation of a system or subject. To me, the fundamentals of wrestling are the most recurring positions in the sport—the positions wrestlers are most likely to find themselves in during a match. Fundamentals are shaped by the rules and highest scoring techniques.

I want to focus the majority of our time on the positions wrestlers will encounter 80% of the time while still touching on the situations that make up the other 20%.

Take the front headlock, for example.

Offensively, you can get there by snapping or pulling your opponent down. Defensively, you may end up there after a down block or by sliding off during shot defense. Different techniques and different sequences can all lead to the same position. That makes the front headlock a position that needs to be mastered both offensively and defensively. From there, I break down two things: How do we get to the position, and how do we score from the position?

There will always be small nuances in how different wrestlers execute techniques. One coach may put a hand in one place while another reaches with the opposite hand. Their individual style may change how the technique looks, but the position remains the same.

Mastering position is what wins matches.

Mastering position gives a wrestler the ability to find a score regardless of how they arrived there—offensively or defensively. Instead of simply memorizing moves, they begin to understand wrestling.

I imagine the same principle applies to most sports. Competition gives us information. It shows us what needs to be emphasized, what needs to be changed, and what needs to be eliminated. Throughout the season, we should constantly critique and adjust our system so our athletes can peak when it matters most.

So, as coaches, we should ask ourselves:

How are you building your system? Why are you teaching the techniques you teach?

And as athletes:

Are you spending your time practicing techniques that rarely produce scores? Are you watching collegiate and international championships and keeping track of what actually works at the highest levels?

Don't teach something simply because you've always taught it.

Don't drill something simply because you've always drilled it.

Study the sport. Study the positions. Study what scores. Then build your system intentionally.

Season can’t get here soon enough.