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The making of a good program involves a lot more than just a good head coach. All the head coaches of Wisconsin’s best high school teams will be the first to tell you that they couldn’t have
done it by their selves. Even though you won’t see the youth coaches’ names in the Sunday morning paper, they are the ones that deserve a lot of the credit. They are the ones that build wrestlers. The state’s best programs have great youth coaches who preach fundamentals and the basics of wrestling. Even before this they go out of their way to get wrestlers out for wrestling, because what’s a great program with out the large number of wrestlers. Every team will lose a few wrestlers here and there throughout the years and that’s why it is important to get a lot of wrestlers out at the youth level.
Some high school coaches do double duty. Though it may not be common it does happen where one or more of the high school coaches are also involved with coaching the youth. The great thing about this is that the wrestlers won’t have to change styles anytime in their career. If a youth coach is teaching their kids the basics, then when they get to high school and their high school coach doesn’t stick to what the youth wrestlers have been taught their whole life, then they aren’t going to get any better at what they have been doing their whole career. Yeah it’s good to learn new things. I am all for that, but don’t change a kid’s style of wrestling, especially if it’s a great style. It is key in a good program to have the youth coaches and high school coaches to be on the same page. Well, when the youth coaches are the youth coaches you can bet they will be on the same page. Nothing bothers me more when the season is over in March and you don’t see the head coach again until November. I know there are strict rules on off-season coaching, but a coach can still open up the room for their wrestlers or supervise in the weight room.
One thing that all the good programs in the state have is volunteer coaches. Some of their good wrestlers know how much that program means to them and they give back to show how much that program means to them. They don’t just forget about the team when they graduate, they go back and help coach when they get time off. Not only do they help by coaching, but they also help by having more of a variety for practice partners. They have been there before and know what it takes to be successful and chances are they serve as role models for the wrestlers they are now helping out.
Not only does a good program have good youth coaches but also they are fortunate enough to have a great community. Without the backers of a wrestling club it would be tough to raise funds for wrestling mats, singlets, headgear,
etc. Yeah the funds are important but their support for their team is big and it means a lot to everyone involved in the program. Sometimes it takes a winning team in order to get that kind of support. Support is greatly needed from the administration. Some schools get better cooperation from the athletic director than others. One example is some athletic directors won’t let their wrestling team travel a far distance to meet good competition.
Not all successful programs were built over night, actually none of them were. They had to start some where. It can’t be don’t with one person doing everything. The program itself is like the team; one person can’t win a dual by himself, he needs teammates. Just like the team, the program needs to have multiple people involved to be successful. Coaches, wrestlers, parents, community, and the administration are all keys to a successful program. |
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John Elmer
For
Wiwrestling.com
Yes Reprint It!!!
I have received some emails about permission to reprint my articles and post them
in wrestling rooms. I have even had one person ask for permission to submit some of my
articles in to local newspapers. Feel free to copy or reprint any of my articles as long
as you include my signature of John Elmer, wiwrestling.com. Also I am asking for feedback
on my latest article "A Weight Issue," especially from coaches and the wrestlers who cut
weight. I would also like to hear your opinions on mat side weigh-ins.
Written for WIwrestling.com by Freelance
Columnist John Elmer
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