Motivation

I want my kids to wrestle. But you know what causes me to pause in terms of when I will introduce  them to the sport? It’s me. It’s my tendency as a parent to protect them, comfort them, and alleviate elements of pain and suffering. You see, wrestling is unlike any other sport relative to […] More

For quite some time, I have tried to understand the issue regarding why the sport of wrestling struggles in terms of growth – both in participation as well as fandom. Recent years have shown that perhaps the tides are changing; but generally, wrestling has struggled in this area. There were a couple common routes I took in trying […] More

I remember walking in the middle of the night through a neighborhood in San Diego because I couldn’t sleep. I was visiting my older brother who was a marine stationed there. The day before, I had made the difficult phone call to the assistant wrestling coach at Cal State Bakersfield that I wouldn’t be returning. […] More

In the last several years, we have seen an upsurge in a focus on “mindset training;” the recognition that the competitive mindset – this mental muscle – is something that wrestlers should place significant focus and value upon in the course of their growth in the sport. Obviously, I am one who has aligned with […] More

As some of my readers know, I do some traveling and speaking throughout the country, particularly in the summer and fall months. Some of these speaking engagements involve large venues and audiences, while others are smaller and include presentations to high school and college wrestling programs. Back in October, one of my stops was at […] More

In reality, there are several different facets of the wrestling community. There are family, friends, and fans of the sport. There are wrestlers from the past, those who paved the way for the sport – some still living, some who made their exit from this world long ago. And of course, I find it important […] More

Wrestling can save the world. Picture what this means within the contour of your own mind, and follow me as I work through this… Community in wrestling has long been an area of intrigue for me. Wrestling is easily recognized as an individual sport. However, the closeness apparent in the wrestling community is beyond anything […] More

I read an article recently about a current wrestler (who will remain nameless). The article discussed this wrestler’s mindset and approach toward the finish line of his collegiate career. Now, from the outset, I admit that I have grown to dislike this particular wrestler; and primarily because of his loud and obnoxious mouth. While he […] More

In my book, The Wrestler, I devote a chapter to “gratefulness”. That is, being grateful for the opportunity to train, to compete, to be a part of state, national, or even world level tournaments, to put everything on the line in order to achieve all you can in the sport. Not everyone experiences the life […] More

One could argue that the occurrence of the “upset” is what keeps a sport alive. And I would have to agree with them. If the giant always walked away victorious over the challenger then people would probably lose interest in watching the game. I believe there is a tendency within our human nature to desire […] More