I'm relatively new to the coaching game. I'm 32 and just finished my 7th year as a head coach. I certainly don't know everything, but I've picked up a few things over the years that have helped increase our numbers and participation at OSHS.

1) Create the right Culture:
Put first things first. The most important part of my job as a coach is to help shape young men & women of character. You have to make time to emphasize building character traits. It's not always easy to do, but it doesn't take much. We have a theme for each week throughout the season. Each practice we try to do something that puts our focus on that theme and WHY it's so important. Maybe one day we discuss a quote tied to the theme. Some days we put the kids in groups after conditioning and give them talking points to discuss while they stretch. We write letters of gratitude to staff members in the building. We do a program community service project each year to give back without receiving anything in return. None of these ideas are new - and I've stolen most of them from great coaches I've known or studied. The point is, the primary focus of our program is becoming stronger, better human beings. Better people become better wrestlers - and winning takes care of itself. This shift in focus has changed our culture. Preaching controllables and performance over winning and losing has allowed our kids to change how they view competition. Give full effort, have fun, and let the results handle themselves.

2) Build Relationships & Have Fun:
Growing up I had every type of coach out there. Some coaches made me fall in love with their sport, and some made it easy to walk away. When I first started coaching I thought it was my job to be the hard ass. I kept the kids at arms length. I shared little about myself as a person. Practice was a 2.5 hour GRIND, every single day. Looking back, I was missing out on the best aspect of the job. The kids were miserable, and so was I. Had I maintained that approach I'd have burned out of the profession in a few years. Something had to change. I let my guard down. I stopped compartmentalizing my work and personal life. I started telling the kids I love them and showing them that I care. We work our tails off in the practice room, but we make time to laugh and have fun. Practice is no longer something the kids dread, but something they look forward to. There's certainly times when they need the hard ass - but the message is better received because they rarely see that side of me. Wrestling, and coaching wrestling, are tough enough on their own. If every minute of practice is miserable, and you don't connect with the people around you, it should't be a surprise when people walk away. Again, this doesn't take much. We started each practice the last month of the season with 10-15 minutes of handball. They're sweating harder after that than their traditional warmup. We give the kids time to get to know their teammates on a deeper level. One of my favorite exercises is 3H: Hero, Highlight, Hardship. The kids are grouped with teammates they don't know very well, if at all. They take turns discussing their personal hero, the highlight of their life so far, and the hardest thing they've been through. You can't force kids to become best friends, but this exercise allows them to relate to each other on a deeper level. Every year we've done this exercise our team has grown more connected to their teammates and the program. They begin to respect and appreciate each other. They actually bond over something other than girls, video games, or wrestling. The more they love each other the more they fight for each other. This is the foundation of our program. We break out of every practice on FAMILY!

3) Stop Cutting Weight:
Cutting weight sucks. Most kids lack the discipline required to cut weight without sacrificing their health, academics, and performance in competition. Their diet becomes a wreck - starve for a few days, binge for a few, and start all over again. Their practice focus shifts towards weight loss as opposed to getting better. Their grades tend to suffer due to the roller coaster their life has become. Most kids cut because they see a competitive advantage at their desired weight. Yet when they finally make weight they're incapable of performing their best. Stretch this out for an entire season and you've wasted a year killing yourself, under-performing, and have squandered your opportunity to grow as a wrestler. I'll say it again, cutting weight sucks. It runs kids out of the sport and stunts the growth of the ones who stay. Like most programs, we stress the importance of strength training and a clean diet. Get big, get strong, eat clean, and focus every minute of practice on becoming a better WRESTLER. Any kid who pulls weight on our team does so because they choose to (THEY want to). There’s times when I understand their reasons, be it to make the lineup, have a shot at a state title or to help strengthen the team. Whatever the reason, they were the decision maker. We keep a close eye on these kids and pull the plug if they can’t do it right or it begins to impact them negatively. The number of kids on our team that pull weight has dropped significantly over the years. The kids are happier, the parents are happier, and I don't lose sleep worrying a kid may miss weight or go AWOL and quit. In my opinion, cutting weight should wait until college. Very few high school wrestlers, and ZERO youth wrestlers, should cut weight. It's an old school practice that does nothing but lower participation and create a negative perception of wrestling to those outside the sport.

I don't know how to solve all of wrestling's problems. I'm still learning and growing as a wrestling coach all the time. There are coaches all over the state that could offer much more than I have here. I just know that this topic hits home for me. Early in my career I believe I was contributing to the problem as I saw numbers drop in our program. I changed my mindset, adjusted my approach, and have seen things turn around as a result. The things listed above played a significant role in bringing our program back to life. Maybe some of these things could help others - maybe not - I just know they've made a big difference around here.