10/23/2026
Here's a question I think more youth wrestling coaches need to ask themselves. Are our kids really struggling to focus and be disciplined, or are we just running boring practices?
I think we're way too quick to blame kids for not paying attention instead of looking at how we're coaching them. Some of the most important things we teach in wrestling are also some of the most boring and repetitive. Stance and motion, hand fighting, go behinds, clearing ties, finishing shots, getting off bottom, etc. These are things kids need thousands and thousands of quality repetitions at if they want to become great wrestlers. But I think sometimes we forget that even our most focused, disciplined, hardworking 9-year-old is still a 9-year-old. Just because a kid loves wrestling and wants to be great doesn't mean he's going to stay locked in doing the exact same drill for 30 minutes.
I'll give an example from my own life, and I'll be completely honest about it. My faith is EXTREMELY important to me, but sometimes church can be boring. I've sat through sermons where a pastor reads straight from the Bible with very little explanation, and it can be tough to stay completely focused. Then you have pastors who ask thought-provoking questions, get the congregation involved, connect Scripture to things we're actually dealing with in our lives today, and suddenly it's so much easier to stay engaged. It's the exact same Word of God, and the importance of it hasn't changed one bit. The difference is how it's being taught. And I also understand that even when a sermon isn't the most engaging, it's still MY responsibility to focus, learn, and dive into Scripture because of how important it is to me.
I think about coaching youth wrestling in a very similar way. Let's say we're working on go-behinds. We can have kids drill the same motion over and over against a partner giving no resistance, or we can turn it into a game where one kid is trying to get behind while the other is trying to square up. Working on snap-downs? Turn it into a competition to see who can get their opponent's hands to touch the mat. Finishing shots? Start one kid in on a single leg and let them wrestle through the position while the other tries to defend. Even something as simple as seeing who can keep their balance the longest when their partner has their leg can turn into a game. I absolutely love incorporating play wrestling, short situational sparring, and little competitions into practice. You can take almost any position in wrestling and find a way to make it competitive and fun. The kids are still learning the same skills, getting a ton of repetitions, and working through real wrestling situations. But now they're excited to do it, and half the time they don't even realize how much work they're getting in.
And I don't think every second of practice needs to be fun. Far from it. I think learning to do things you don't enjoy, staying disciplined, and being able to focus when something gets repetitive are incredibly important lessons wrestling teaches. But I also think there's a big difference between teaching discipline and just running a boring practice. Making something boring doesn't make it tougher or more beneficial.
Especially with our youngest wrestlers, I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to make them better RIGHT NOW that we forget how important it is to make them fall in love with the sport. I'd much rather have a 7-year-old get 50 great reps, have an absolute blast, and beg to come back tomorrow than get 100 reps while he's mentally checked out and counting down the minutes until practice is over.
If we can get a kid to genuinely LOVE coming to wrestling practice, we've got years and years to teach him how to become a great wrestler. And I think the more creative we can be as coaches, the better opportunity we give these kids to both enjoy the sport and reach their potential.
I'd love to hear from other coaches what's your favorite way to keep kids engaged while still getting quality work in?
