Apologies are in order. Please forgive me for not posting week 3. With Thanksgiving and all of the preparation involved, I just didn't have time. Luckily, I haven't forgot.
Week 3 was a blast. The guys seem more focused and ready to learn so whatever you parents are doing, keep it up. We discussed how points are scored and what some of the penalties are. I do not expect the guys to get this on the first go around but now they have a basic understanding. We practiced the Double Leg Takedown with a partner and the Stand-up with a partner. We finished up with some live wrestling. Again, ask them what they did and let them show you what they learned.
I don't know if all of you know but I have been giving out "prizes" at the end of practice on Mondays to the hardest worker. These could be posters from last years High School State Champion Buccaneers or it could be a t-shirt. I don't give one out on Tuesdays. Why?
The majority of Monday's wrestlers have never been to a tournament or competed at the State Tournament. They don't see the "prize" at the end. They don't understand the value of placing in a tournament and getting a medal. They do like prizes, they just don't know what the real"prize" in wrestling is, yet. Tuesday's wrestlers do (or should). They know by now that the hard work at practice all year long pays off at the state tournament when you stand up on the podium to recieve your award, your "prize".
Tuesday was pretty tough. We reviewed the Low-Outside-Single-Leg takedown with and without a partner. From there we learned how to get into the "Leg-in" position from top. This is definitly an advanced move so we will review this several times this year. Many of our opponents used this position on us last year with a lot of success. We MUST be prepared to stop this positon as well as use it if we plan to be competitive with the best in the state. A second year wrestler will have a hard time using this position but 3 years and up should be familiar with it and will find it very useful. All of our guys need to learn to defend it. We finished up with live wrestling.
With that being said, I want to remind parents that there is a huge difference between Monday and Tuesday nights. Monday is for inexperienced wrestlers, Tuesday is for advanced. Some wrestlers who have one year under their belts may find Tuesday over their heads. Maybe Second year wrestlers need Monday nights for a review of the basics. Most wrestlers don't get the basics down on the first year, or they forget over the break. It is MORE important to perfect the basics than to learn the advanced stuff. Advanced stuff will just confuse and overwhelm a wrestler who doesn't know the basics.
Please take an honest accout of your sons abilities before deciding what night they should attend.
You would not teach someone how to clutch and shift if they didn't understand how to start the car and stop the car.
