It's just after 10:00pm, but feels like it's well after midnight. Today started very early and without time to rest or eat, I feel pretty exhausted. The wrestling tournament went fairly well. The NYAC girls were 4-for-4. Four competitors and four champions...not bad for a day's work. My other two girls, Emily and Gabby, didn't place.
Generally speaking, what more can one ask from the four NYAC athletes? They all dominated their respective weight classes and Helen Maroulis was named Outstanding Wrestler. Between the four of them, they didn't lose a single period and surrendered a total of three match points the entire tournament. By most standards, all signs are pointing in the right direction. The typical wrestling fan would see four Junior world team members. Others may find interest in writing an article about the quad of females who have competed all over the US this year, but I'm not the typical wrestling fan.
As most people see the outcome as desirable, I saw something different today. Within every wrestling match, there are many smaller matches taking place. As a wrestling coach, these are the matches that I tune into. Not only was I watching the match differently; I was watching an entirely different match. I was looking at the process for which they reaching their outcome.
Too many people make decisions based on outcome in wrestling. We decide that one person is on their way to greatness because they're winning matches. However, what's most important in understanding their development is if they're doing the little things right to earn their victory in the first place. There are a lot of circumstances that are taken out of the equation when we judge a performance based solely on the outcome.
In my opinion, one of the most significant matches within the match comes down to a few basic positions and the ability to control them. For instance, hand fighting, head position, and lateral motion are the most important elements to winning at an elite level. And those basic positions can be broken down much further (I don't have time to go into it tonight!).
Additionally, the way one prepares for competition says a lot about the individual's capacity to continually improve in the less-than-glamorous pieces of the overall wrestling puzzle (most centered on positioning). As I've stated in previous blogs, we compete in a sports culture that rewards the early bloomer and the athletically gifted and talented individuals. Talent can take athletes to great heights. Unfortunately, talent can also be a mask for what's really taking place "behind the scenes." With talented athletes, things go so well so often that we forget to pay attention to their behavior and mind set, resulting in a lack of accountability. This is precisely why the "process" needs to be valued over the "outcome" in most cases.
I'm not trying to lead you on a wild goose chase with these thoughts. I'm attempting to be transparent in how I see our sport. I do my best to be rational and objective and while doing this I often see something different than most. The results will show the NYAC going 4-for-4 while I saw room for vast improvement on many levels and not all of them are inside that 30-foot circle.
At this point, I'm on the fence as to believe all four of them will make the necessary adjustments to continue this success at the senior-level. I'm very confident that one of them will and have a lot of hope for one other. Wrestling is a very simple sport when it's broken down, but we make it complex because we fail to see the "writing on the wall" with certain athletes. It takes something special to do what's necessary to be successful at the highest levels. Some athletes never take that step. I hope these 4 do.
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