My rule of thumb has always been about 5 minutes for every year old on actual instruction, wrestling drills, situation wrestling and live go's. So figure if your child is 8 that would be forty minutes of wrestling stuff. Count in stretching, and warm-up another 10-15 minutes. At the end Always have something FUN to close out the session, a game of tag, sharks and minnows or a mini take down tourney. You really need to be organized to pull off a structured practice in little over an hour but this is enough time. A couple times of week should be plenty for a young kid. They will get all the practice they want in high school… Top shelf high school programs usally only go two hours tops with conditioning.

Your Dad is 90% right! There is on special occasions that you will find a kid that will listen to a Coach on the side of the mat in regards of what’s going on in the match. Mostly they are looking for encouragement and praise. I think you should be more of a cheerleader than a Coach. Actually watch the match keep tabs for rule and score mishaps, and enjoy your work from the week. Go back to the wrestling room for the details on instruction. Kids are no different than adults when comes to things, they are very task orientated. So they are going to focus in on their match and not their surroundings.

Now I'm sure you will hear all kinds of things and opinions but this is just that! An opinion of many years of experiences of mine!

Mark Miller
Manhattan Wrestling