Wrestling Coach's Survival Guide

Book excerpt: This practical resource provides both new and experienced wrestling coaches with proven techniques, strategies, and time-saving materials to build a successful program and a winning team. Each section is packed with fresh advice, innovative methods, and practical strategies that can create competitive teams of motivated wrestlers. Here are just a few examples of the help you'll find: guidelines and forms of organizing your time, talent, and team including preseason, regular, and postseason activities; the five W's of successful practices - the who, what, when, where and why; 101 ways to motivate wrestlers and techniques for getting them to commit themselves to the program; drills and skills for success including warm up, flexibility, and agility drills, plus drills for all positions - top, bottom, and neutral, offense and defense; tips for teaching sportsmanship, reducing stress - yours and theirs - and emphasizing academics to athletes; coaches in the courtroom: what makes you liable or negligent; suggestions for dealing with critics and criticism as well as important others - the athletic director for budgets, the school and community for publicity, and parents; and an appendix for a youth/recreation wrestling program, grades 2-6. Illustrated with nearly 90 photographs, Wrestling Coach's Guide contains more than 45 reproducible sample forms, letters, schedules, and reports that can be photocopied for immediate use to help even the most veteran coach save time!