It’s safe to say that wrestling coaches have impacted hundreds of thousands of wrestlers. In an earlier post, I wrote about how Wrestling builds confidence. I’ve been thinking about another aspect of wrestling that pertains to real life.

I remember my wrestling coaches – I can remember every one of my wrestling coaches to this day.

I started thinking about some of my wrestling coaches like Ernie Jones for example. I realized how much of an honor it was to be coached by Ernie. He is a coach that is a legend in Oklahoma wrestling. It is safe to say that Ernie has coached and had a direct positive impact on hundreds of men as well as an indirect impact. That is because all three of his boys (Shawn, Biff, and Rodney) are all three wrestling coaches.

A Wrestling Coach Impacts a kid’s life… forever

Wrestling Coaches will Influence a Kid for a Lifetime

Wrestling coaches who use positive coaching, do more than build athletes. A wrestling coach is almost like a dad. While a coach’s job is to teach kids how to be a good wrestler, he teaches a kid so much more than the sport of wrestling. After a kid has become an adult, he or she will forever remember life lessons they have learned from a coach. What are the qualities a wrestling coach will instill in his kids?

Perseverance – A coach will teach perseverance. Wrestling is a tough sport and a coach will teach a kid to keep trying… especially when it’s not easy. As an adult, a wrestler will learn to persevere through life’s struggles.

Work Ethic – A wrestling coach will instill work ethic. What is work ethic? In my opinion a person with a good work ethic is the person who is reliable, has initiative, and believes that hard work is rewarded in life.

Discipline – In order to become a good wrestler, you must learn to watch what you eat, get your rest, stay away from bad influences, etc… This means you avoid things in your life that can keep you from reaching your goals. A wrestling coach constantly harps on their wrestlers about self-discipline. This is a skill that serves a person well in the job force.

Respect – A wrestling coach teaches respect. What do I mean by respect? This means listening to your elders and people in a position of authority. It means not back talking people in a position of authority. It means treating people the way you want to be treated.

We owe a big THANK YOU to wrestling coaches

I have been out of sports for over 20 years. To this day when I see one my wrestling coaches, I address them a “Coach”.

If you were a wrestler, make sure and tell your coach thanks for everything they did to help you become the adult you are today.

Your coach would love to hear from you.

Additional Reading for Wrestling Coaches

If your a wrestling coach, I have put together some reading material I came across while writing this article. I hope it helps you in your coaching career. If you come across a resource you would like me to add, post a comment or go to my contact page.

Coach’s Educational Resource Guide – USA Wrestling has put together a great page that I think will help any wrestling coach. They cover warm ups, planning practices, coaching tips and more. It should be a page that you bookmark.

12 keys to becoming a great coach at any level – Ken Chertow wrote an article for Win Magazine. In the article he give 12 tips that can help any wrestling coach. He covers everything from recruiting to how you should embrace fundraising. I like how he talks about youth wrestling coaches needing to go to the football and soccer fields to find youth wrestlers. Ken Chertow has contributed so much to the sport. It’s really interesting to get his perspective.

InterMat Job Board – If you happen to be looking for a coaching position, you can check out the Intermat job board. It looks like it regularly updated. When I looked at the page, I found over 30 current openings for wrestling coaches.

Resource Manual – NWCA – This website has a ton of great information for wrestling coaches. I found a information on coaching development, growing wrestling. Their mission statement states that they work towards bridging the wrestling community together. They are also the organization that provides the Optimal Performance Calculator (OPC) that is powered by Trackwrestling.

Stay Updated

I hope you enjoyed the article on the coaches who make this sport great.

Do you have a story about a wrestling coach you would like to share? We would love to hear from you. Post a comment your coach and let us know what you think.

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