My coaching philosophy regarding the little ones is to teach techniques that are relatively simple to master, yet are widely used at the high school level.

From our feet we teach singles, doubles, and snap-downs. I know there are a few exceptions to the rule, but I refuse to teach a headlock or a snake because it is a crutch that becomes useless around 14 years old.

On bottom we teach a standup and a sit out with a crawfish (or stop sign, nearside block, whatever you choose to call it).

I only teach three breakdowns for the novice wrestlers. I teach the ankle/tight waist, ankle/far knee, and the near-arm chop. No leg rides, no head levers, spirals, etc.

For pinning combinations we teach halves, chicken wings, and that's about it.

It's my belief that our younger and/or less experienced wrestlers don't need a ton of moves thrown their way. Instead, they need a few tools to work with and a lot of live wrestling time in the mat room to get a feel for their body weight and positioning, their opponents' reactions to their movements, and the flow of the sport. Once these are learned, technique is easy.