Riverton High School Wrestling

10/06/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Don't Be Afraid to Fail

If you never risk failing, you'll never have a great triumphant story.
I think this is one of the biggest things athletes have trouble with. People hate losing so bad that sometimes they aren't even willing to try. They avoid certain games or competitions because they don't want to lose.

I hate losing, too. But you can't let the fear of losing stop you from learning and growing and potentially having a really awesome story to tell.

I have a daughter now and another one on the way, and one of the biggest things I will want to teach them is how to be brave. How to go out and compete and give it their best even if they are nervous or afraid. And to believe that they can win.

So instead of thinking "what if I fail" think "what if I don't… what if I go out and win and dominate".

And always remember, wrestling is just a game. It's just something we do for fun. Everyone loses matches. How we respond shapes who we become.

Have a great week.

Jason

09/29/2026

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09/29/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

I Can Do It

Whenever you think of something you like to do and you are fearful, just say "I can do it."

As you say I can do it, your courage and confidence go up and your fears go down in inverse proportion. Then at a certain point, after you keep saying "I can do it. I can do it. I can do it" your body will just take action and your fears will go down.

When you are getting ready to compete, you need to have little things that you can say to yourself to refocus and lock in and be confident. This is one of the best ways to prepare.

Have a great week!

Jason

09/21/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Always Looking to Score

I just got back from RAF in Miami from this past weekend. I had a tough match against Julian Ramirez and ended up winning 7-6. I took a couple lessons from the match that I thought would be good to share.

First, when the whistle blows, we should be looking to get on the board right away. I always like to set the pace and start attacking right away and get to their legs and score. Most of the time, the guy that gets the first takedown wins. So be aggressive and look to score.

Next, we have to always keep our cool in matches and expect to be given calls that go against us. My dad always told me that I should never let a ref decide my match. You want to be good enough and score enough points that one or two or three calls don't decide it.

In my match I was up 7-2 and he took me down on the edge. They scored it 2 and the other team challenged and it was reversed to a 4 pointer, which in my head was the right call. Of course I wanted it to be a failed challenge but I had already prepared in my head for it to be given 4. I'm always expecting calls to go against me so that when they do, it doesn't bother me.

Third, and this is an important one, is to keep looking to score and be active even in a tight match. After giving up 4, the score was 7-6 with a minute left. I didn't want to try to run around the mat for a minute and give up something last second so I started attacking and looking to score to ice the match so that if I get a takedown, it puts it almost out of reach.

And if I got scored on while trying to score early, then I'd still have time to go get one. I like this much better than just trying to run around for a minute. Always try to put matches out of reach. Of course if there is 10 seconds left on the clock there is no need to be crazy if you're up by 1 but make sure to keep your head and hands low and keep moving. But if there is 40 seconds to a minute I am still looking to score.

Just a couple thoughts I thought I'd share from my match. Hopefully you guys watched and enjoyed it! Thanks again for being with us.

Jason

09/14/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Separate Yourself

The best athletes separate themselves.

In wrestling, there are a ton of ways to do this: to put yourself at the top of the pack even in a group of really good, tough guys.

- Show up early

- Stay after practice and get more reps in a position you are struggling with or just want to work

- If coach says to do 10 reps of something, do 11. If 20 pushups, do 30

- Stay after practice and do conditioning. Extra sprints, pullups, rope climbs, etc.

- Get extra matches in at tournaments. Find some tough guys that maybe are in a different weight or that you didn't get to wrestle in your bracket and go get some exhibitions

- Do the right things off the mat: no alcohol, drugs, zyns, vapes or whatever else everyone is doing

- Get better sleep at night

- Wake up early and workout

- Study instructionals and matches of your favorite wrestlers

There are a million things you can do. You just gotta want it.

Jason

09/09/2026

09/07/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Stop Complaining

When I was at Penn State, they did a presentation one day before practice about complaining and why we should not complain. Before I get started, yes there is a real difference between having a legitimate complaint and just complaining.

The more you complain, the less room you have for gratitude. Mentally weak athletes love to complain. I hear these things all the time: it's too hot in here, that guy is too strong, the drive to practice is too far, the ref screwed me, etc. The list goes on and on. These complaining athletes let the conditions become the reason they can't perform their best.

What do you think the best athletes do? They adapt and figure out a way to get it done.

They say "when it's too hard for them, it's just right for me." They use tough moments to give them a chance to really show their strength. If you can compete hard even when things get tough or things aren't going your way or you have a slight injury or are sick, that's when you know you are tough.

Again, obviously there are times if your injury is too severe that you might not go to practice, but there are always things you can do from home as well.

Control what you can control: attitude and effort. Always do your best and find a way. And stop complaining. Practice gratitude.

Jason

08/31/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Stop Protecting Your Ego

I read this post from Steve Magness and I thought it was great:

"We often give ourselves an out before we even start: "I didn't study much.", "I haven't started speed work.", "I didn't really care about it."

Underpreparation is a way to protect your ego. Our brain is protective. It wants to keep us safe. So giving yourself an out is a clever trick it plays. It allows you to numb some of the sting that potentially falling short brings. If you don't try, then you can always say, "If I would have tried, I would have won…"

But in trying to protect ourselves, we miss the chance to actually grow.

"I didn't study much…" → If I fail, it's because I didn't prepare, not because I'm not smart.

"I haven't started speed work yet…" → If I lose, it's not my fitness. It's my training schedule.

"I've barely been sleeping…" → Creates a buffer: I could've done better if I was well-rested.

"This isn't my main event…" → Distancing from identity, making the result "not count."

But performing is about taking a risk. In fact, it demands it. Putting forth real effort means risking real disappointment. It means confronting the possibility that even your best might not be good enough…yet.

Researchers have a name for this phenomenon: self-handicapping. It's when we deliberately create obstacles to success so they're an excuse if we fail. In the short-term it works. It limits the hit on our self-esteem. But over the long haul, it prevents us from both learning and developing resilience. We make avoidance our default way to cope with anything hard.

Self-handicapping is often framed as "not caring." But many of the people who self-sabotage actually care a ton, and put in the work. But they can't escape their ego and confronting themselves if they don't get the result. Ironically, the care (in the wrong direction) is what prevents them from showing up fully. It's what occurs when you tie your self-worth to the result.

True toughness is the willingness to show up fully. To prepare as best you can and leave it all out there, even if it doesn't meet your expectations. Real confidence is about being secure enough to risk losing. It's knowing you can put in the effort, give it your all and still be okay with the result.

Don't hide behind "not trying." Dare to show up fully."

Jason

08/24/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Gratitude

I competed at RAF in Cleveland this weekend. I have a cool walkout where I get to walkout through the crowd and come up on stage differently than everyone else. I love it.

Before I go out they have to take me up to the spot where I'm sitting before I go down and they try to keep me hidden so no one knows where I am coming from. So I have a hoodie on and I keep my head down.

As I was sitting before my match waiting to do my walkout, right before the match promo, a song called Remember the Name came on. It's a pretty cliche pump-up song for athletes but it reminded me of when I was young and I used to listen to it as a kid and how it motivated me.

It got me thinking back to when I was a kid and if I knew where I was today when I was a little kid I would be so pumped and grateful to be where I am. I had the opportunity to be out there running through the crowd to a mat to compete for the RAF championship belt in front of a massive crowd. And I was thinking that yes I obviously want to win, but just to be where I am at and have this opportunity that I am so grateful. So when I run out to compete, I am already winning and I can compete with freedom.

Anytime you have gratitude in your heart before competing is the best. No matter the level we are at, we all have something to be grateful for. To be able to compete is truly a blessing. Don't let pride or doubt or fear get in the way of loving to compete.

When you are starting to fear or worry, start thinking about everything you are grateful for. And if you take it a step further and practice gratitude every single day, you are going to be much happier and much more peaceful and have more freedom in your life.

God bless.

Jason

08/10/2026

Hey Coach Thoman!

Here's this week's Mindset Monday Concept from Jason:

Chop Wood, Carry Water

There's a book called Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf. If you haven't read it, get it — it's short and it's one of the best books out there for athletes.

It's about a young guy named John who moves to Japan to train under a master archer. He goes there to become a samurai archer. He's excited, ready to shoot arrows every day and get great fast. But when he gets there, the master has him chopping wood and carrying water every day. And he gets frustrated because none of it feels like it's making him better.

A big point of the book is to fall in love with the process. And there's a chapter in the book on being faithful in the small things.

We need to focus on the small things. The things we can control. Effort, conditioning. Knowing your system. Moving your hands, moving your feet. Pressure forward.

The problem is that the small things are often very boring. But being faithful in the small things is where your strength is and where your confidence will come from in the biggest moments.

"Everyone thinks greatness is sexy. Greatness is far from sexy. It's dirty, hard work usually required to be done in the dark when no one is watching while your dreams are so far off they feel like fairy tails." "Everyone wants to be great until it's time to do what greatness takes."

A lot of wrestlers are very outcome focused. They want the big tournaments and they want highlights. Which is all good! But most of the season is just chopping wood and carrying water. Driving an hour to club, tough practices, early morning runs, staying after when no one else is watching. Showing up even when you don't want to or don't have the motivation to.

And even after the season, even if you accomplished all of your goals for the year, it's just back to chopping wood and carrying water. Back to the boring work. A lot of the best wrestlers I know would win their state title or NCAA title and be back in the room the next day. Whether you win or you lose you just go back to work and that way you don't get too low on your losses or too high on your wins. You have to just keep working either way.

- Fall in love with the boring stuff. The drilling, the sprints, the extra reps.
- Stop measuring your day by results. Measure it by effort.
- Don't let a win make you coast. Celebrate it, then get back in the room.
- Don't let a loss make you too down. Feel it, learn from it, then get back in the room.

Chop wood, carry water.

Jason