09/08/2026
You cannot expect big-time results with part-time effort. That is not being harsh on kids. That is teaching them how life works. Wrestling is one of the purest examples of getting out what you put in. If you want to be good, you have to work. If you want to be great, you have to work more. If you want to reach the highest level, eventually you have to be willing to do things most people are not willing to do. Extra practices. Extra drilling. Extra lifts. Film. Recovery. Sacrificing things other kids are doing. Showing up on the days you do not feel like it. There is nothing wrong with a kid who just wants to wrestle a few days a week, have fun, and be part of the team. But then you also have to be realistic about the results that come with that commitment. You cannot train half the time, skip the extra work, and then be shocked when the kid who has been all-in beats you for a state title. I remember car rides home with my dad when I was really young where I would be upset, crying, pouting, and mad that I lost. He never gave me an excuse. He would basically tell me, "For the amount of extra work you put in, you actually did pretty good." It pi**ed me off, but he was right. My goals were huge. I wanted to be an Olympic champion. He made me understand that having Olympic-sized goals with average effort made no sense. If I wanted to reach those goals, I was eventually going to have to outwork the people around me.
I see the same thing all the time now as a coach. A lot of the kids who are in the room the most, doing the extra work, and making the biggest commitment are also the first ones after a loss to say, "I need to work harder." They take ownership. They ask what they need to fix. Then you will have kids who show up half the time and immediately blame the ref, the coach, the bracket, a bad call, or anything else they can find. That is the lesson parents and coaches cannot be afraid to teach. Your goals do not determine your results. Your habits do. Saying you want to be a state champion means nothing if your actions do not match it. Saying you want to wrestle in college means nothing if you are not willing to prepare like someone who deserves that opportunity. Kids need to learn early that there is a price attached to big goals. They do not have to pay it. But if they choose not to, they cannot be mad at the kid who did. At some point you have to stop asking why you did not get the result you wanted and start asking whether you actually put in the work that result required.
