Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there.  I’m grateful for my dad (and grandfathers who have passed).  I was fortunate to go out to dinner and ice cream with my 3 sons and wife. 

The 212 Speech

This morning we did a workout on the "Dam Stairs."  It's a staple workout at our camps.  It's less than a mile to the stairs made of railroad ties at the Lower Dam of the Kinnikinnick River.  There are 88 stairs in the woods leading down to the lower end of the river.  The stairs are unevenly spaced and it's long enough to the top that your legs are sure to burn a bit on each repetition. 

At the end of the run, we always give a version of the 212 speech - water boils at 212 degrees.  We talk about putting energy into making a change.  However, often times we’re close to that breakthrough or changing of states and stop (or quit) before.  We don’t know how close we are because 185 degrees and 210 degrees feel the same: hot.  Unfortunately, sometimes we’re right next to the breakthrough and stop not realizing how close we are.

So we have to remind ourselves to push until the change happens.  Believe the new state is a reality.  If we put enough into it.

Exclusive Camp - Girls Day 1

We have about 15 female athletes at our first girls Exclusive Camp.  We target our most committed athletes and take a weekend to focus on going deep in mindset and goal setting.  It’s similar to a retreat with intense workouts.

Our two off the mat sessions included creating a plan that reflects your goals and consistency matters.

As we continue to challenge our most committed wrestlers, we have to maintain consistency and focus on the plan.

How will you watch Final X?

Final X is tomorrow and we're set to watch it at a girl's wrestling camp at Victory School of Wrestling.  Our Girls Exclusive Camp is Friday through Sunday.  Athletes "camp" at Victory on the mats.

Obviously, we had hoped to be in the event with a few athletes, but that's not how it worked out for us this season.  Now we'll watch both rounds between sessions at camp.

We've had the opportunity to watch high level wrestling at camps in the past and it has always been a great experience for the campers.  We've watched the Olympic Games the past two cycles on the projector at Victory and have gathered to watch the World Championships, too.  Obviously, it's always best when we have an athlete (or more) competing in these big events.  We have several connections to many of those competing tomorrow.

Watching these events with others, especially people who have competed in and/or coached in them, gives so many unique perspectives in one area. 

The first round is tomorrow at 2:00 PM and the second round is at 5:00 PM.  What are your plans for Final X?

Guest Post: JD's Reflection from Camp

An important note from JD from the Ben Kjar Standout camp on June 15, 2006:

Ben Kjar shared a lot of wrestling techniques and mental skills.  His formula for setting goals is called, "Calling Your Shot."

1. Call Your Shot: write down your goal

2. Shot Callers: name 2-3 people who will hold you accountable - coaches, teammates, parents, etc.

3. Shot Clock: set an expiration date for your goal or a date to achieve your goal

Pleasure and Pain: name rewards for achieving the goal and consequences for not achieving the goal.

Additional quote: don't be a Karen not calling your shots and not taking shots.

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JD is a recent graduate and will wrestle in college next season.

Guest Post: Ayda's Reflection from Camp

Ayda's review from the Ben Kjar Standout Camp at Victory School of Wrestling on June 15, 2006:

It was super cool!  Ben's story was so much more than just a wrestler or someone with Crouzon Syndrome.  He had so much adversity in life but has overcome all of it.  And it all made him a better person.

Through all of his struggles, he also kept a great relationship with his faith, which was super inspiring.

Overall, there were so many great takeaways from the camp, but two things he said during the wrestling practice stuck out to me the most.  One was to maximize every single day, which means get the most out of it, go the extra round, never give up, and control your attitude and effort.

The other is the person who gives up second in wrestling is the one who gets the score.

This camp opened my eyes to understanding how to truly set goals, also known as "call your shot" and it doesn't matter who your opponent is, it matters when and how you're going to maximize every scoring opportunity during the match and wrestle 100% the entire match.

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Ayda is 16 years old and will be a junior in high school.

Ben Kjar Camp

We finished the Ben Kjar Standout camp today.  It was great!  

We had a large number of participants and everyone "called their shot" (set goals, named accountability partners, and timed the goal.  There were so many take aways and we're confident that kids made decisions to level up.

I'll make a few more entries with some of the takeaways camp.  We need a day or two to be able to process things.

 

Championship Events

I challenged our high school wrestlers to be engaged with the sports scene this past week and weekend.  A lot is going on.  Just tonight was the Stanley Cup Finals and the UFC fights at the White House.  Recently, the NBA Finals, RAF, World Cup, and other events have taken place.

The best athletes will always be able to glean something from these big events.  And it's extremely important to recognize the opportunity for a new source of championship information.  

Last night after the Knicks won the NBA Finals, I heard the series MVP speak to his time alone in the gym visualizing a championship.  This week I heard both hockey teams talk about systems and buy in.  These were the best athletes or the best teams in the world competing on the highest stage and we hear basic principles.  Nothing fancy.  A goal, a plan, commitment, hard work, etc.  The same stuff we preach everyday.

Championship events will never get old for me.  I love soaking in the atmospheres and looking for the stories behind the story.

Working together as a family

When I was a kid, my brother and I got hired to mow Dave and Donna Smith's lawn.  They provided the lawn mower and gas and, most times, Dave helped us pull the cord to start the mower because we were so little (and weak).  My dad also helped out on occasion because we needed a ride to their house.  One fall season, we were asked to rake the fallen leaves. So, we rallied our parents and sisters and raked a billion leaves.

We got our payment in an envelope accompanied by a refrigerator magnet that said, "the family that rakes together, aches together."  We had it on our fridge for many years.  It was actually pretty reflective of our family overall.  We did a lot of work together.  

Starting things out on a dairy farm, everyone had something to do.  Then it became sports with parents on youth boards - soccer, baseball, wrestling, etc.  We striped fields, mowed lines, set-up mats, hauled mats, and we did most of it together as a family.

Now, with kids of my own, I try to replicate some of those formative times that I had.  Times that I believe forged a strong work ethic.  Kind of like developing a grinder mentality.  So we do as much work together as we can.  We mow lawns, clean up around Victory, build things and tear them down, etc.  

Today, we went to our rental property and cleaned, mowed and painted.  All together.  And it was pretty dang fun.  We talked about life, learned basic life skills, cleaned up messes, fixed things, and just hung out together.  I actually felt like a pretty decent parent today.

World Cup - USA’s First Game

The U.S. Soccer Team put on a terrific performance tonight in the their opening game of the World Cup.  They were a lot of fun to watch.  After this game, there will be a lot of expectation on this team.  Rightfully so.  I’m excited to cheer them on.

I aim to watch as much of the World Cup as I can.  I have many reasons.  The biggest is I just enjoy watching the best people in the world doing their thing on the biggest stage.  I watch all of the big championships in as many sports as I can.  Fancy that the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals are happening simultaneously to the World Cup. 

I watch for habits and routines to shine through.  What’s revealed when the pressure is on is usually pretty easy to see.  I watch body language and anticipate when someone seeks out a pressure situation and answers the call.  As a fan, I sit on the edge of my seat hoping to see something like that.  Something great.  As a coach, I try to help athletes thrive in big moments.  As an athlete, I felt like I performed best when the pressure was the greatest.  I could watch top performers all day, everyday.

What are you planning on watching in the sports world over the next few weeks?

Another great camp underway

We started another great camp today.  It’s sure been a full week.  In addition to the camps at Victory, my boys are in camp mode, too.  The youngest is at church camp this week and the older two are at a team camp here in town.

We’re full of camps this month.  Our biggest one at Victory will be on Monday.  We have around 70 kids signed up for our Ben Kjar camp.  It’s going to be incredible.

Every summer, our goal is to provide “transformational” experiences for our athletes.  Camps that help change them from the inside - out.  Our Exclusive camps are our chance to dig deep and find out a lot about ourselves.  The girl’s exclusive is next weekend and the boys is the following.  Middle school kids is the week following the boys.

This week is starting out well and I can tell we’re going to gain some nice momentum and see some changed lives.  Exciting times are ahead!

It's okay if it's hard

I love wrestling.  A lot.  I love coaching and seeing things progress through a training plan.  I'm an extrovert and love being around people.  Especially people that I like and are interested in the same things that I am.  I also love a good challenge and working hard (although, that looks different at this age).  I enjoy creating things and building programs for athletes that work out in the end.  I love the process over the outcome, but I still really love winning.

But, sometimes it's hard to go to practice, even though I love it.  Sometimes, I need a break or some space, and that's okay.

If you've been following us this month, you're aware that we've started a challenge for our athletes to "Journal the Journey" and write in their notebook/journal every day.  I told them I'd lead by example and post my journal online daily.  I really love writing and sharing my options, but sometimes that's hard, too.  Or I just don't have the time for it.

Take a peak at Precious Wieser's online journal as she shares a few of the ideas above in an eloquent way.  She's writing a short series this week as part of her "Journal the Journey" experience.

It's okay if it's hard because often times, it's supposed to be.  Practice should be hard.  Breaking out of our shell should be hard.  Pursuing excellence is hard.  Wrestling, by nature should be hard.  It's great fun and brings me a lot of joy, but sometimes precisely because it's hard.

The reason I'm writing this is because tonight at practice one of our athletes shared that it's actually okay to grit your teeth and plow through the hard times, or the times you don't want to be at practice, or the times you're not having fun because that's just how it goes.  We love what we're doing, but sometimes we have a bad day or bad practice or practice is harder than we anticipated.  It was nice to hear from an athlete.

Following a plan and routine is worthwhile even if we have to embrace some suck along the way.  Showing up and pushing (or dragging) through is as important as showing up with excitement and vigor and dominating.

I had an athlete on the cusp of doing something no one had ever done in our sport at the highest level possible.  She committed to the program and dedicated her entire being to the process.  It was hard and pushed her to a breaking point.  She wanted to flat out quit and she asked me if I'd still accept her (the answer was yes).  She needed to disappear for a moment and collect her thoughts.  Then she spoke to another athlete who had done things that had never been done in her sport and she said if you never get to the point that you want out, want to quit, aren't enjoying things, then you're not giving everything you can to the goal.

That has stuck with me and shifted my perspective on everything, especially elite sports.  There's no judgement when you give everything you have to a single endeavor and get overwhelmed and want out.  If you don't get to that point, you're not giving everything you can.  It would mean there's more to give and a deeper commitment out there.  It's okay if it's hard.

We need people around us who recognize the difference between giving up/quitting when there's much more in the tank and the person who wants out because they've given everything.  Those are significantly different things.  Great coaches and teammates, friends and spouses, and others can step in and help us keep things in perspective.

It's okay if it's hard.

Book Recommendations for Summer Leaders

We built individual training plans this summer for a handful of athletes that included everything from nutrition, strength training, mental skills work, daily habits, etc. to wrestling.  Some of them are pretty in depth while others are fairly surface level.  Most of them include reading a book over the summer.

Schedules are jam packed, especially for most high achievers, so carving out time for important routines and staying committed and consistent over time is how you develop new habits.  Reading doesn't seem to be on the minds of many of the athletes we work with.

I've been able to have a few good conversations with kids about choosing the right kind of book.  Some of the heavy hitters that seem like good options are just too much for most high school kids.  For example, there are a lot of former Navy SEALS with books that are complete game changers, but a young high school wrestler might not be ready for them.  There are some very basic daily routine books out there that are essential to building a base, but some kids might need something that is higher stakes.  

So, considering this, I put together a small list of recommendations with these wrestlers in mind.  I left some obvious ones off the list while including some that are on the list every summer and most of our athletes have read in the past.

If you have any recommendations, please let us know.

Little Warriors Camp - Day 1

 Our first youth wrestling opportunity of the year was today.  We had a decent turnout and drank a lot of water throughout the day.  I like a hot and humid wrestling room, even for our little kids.

We spent some quality time on double leg attack variations plus different set-ups and finishes.  We did some live wrestling, fun combat games, and took a nice walk outside in the sprinkling rain.

I'm sure we'll have some sore and tired kids tomorrow for day 2.  We'll follow-up the Little Warriors Camp tomorrow with our first Summer School class on Wednesday then straight into an our Girl's Basic Skills Camp.  It'll be a full week.

Count Your Blessings

I've had a few topics in my mind that are ready to post on this blog, but I'm taking the moment to "count my blessings."

I was on my way to practice today after dropping my youngest off at church as he heads to camp for a week when one of our athletes called.  It was only 35 minutes from the start of practice, so I answered right away expecting it to be about practice attendance.  On the other end, he let me know he wasn't going to make it to practice because he was in an accident.  I asked if he was okay and he said he was in the ambulance on his way to the hospital.  Long story short, his car is done, but he went home soon after the accident and is sore with a minor injury and some bumps and bruises.

We texted a bit later tonight and he's beat up, but overall healthy.  We agreed it was a bit worse than a 60-minutes live go with me.  I told him to count his blessings!  Scary moments like that give us immediate pause to take inventory of things we're grateful for.

So, that's what I'm doing the rest of the evening.  Obviously, a lot of gratitude for his health (and simply being alive).  The pictures of the wreck look awful.

Take a few moments right now to account some things you're grateful for.

State Track 2026

Wow, it was a great weekend as a family as we were able to spend a night camping in LaCrosse and attending the WIAA State Track & Field Championships.  There were some incredible individual and team performances, especially some incredible female runners from Northwest Wisconsin.  

I sent a congratulation message to the father of my vote for the top performance of the meet.  He replied and said that we "saw a lot of hard work and dedication cross that finish line."  That's spot on coming from someone who saw the behind-the-scenes footage that led to a blazing fast highlight reel.  It's the same recipe across all of sports.

What struck me in that Division 2 Girls 100 Meter Hurdles race is, to me, it looked like it was a nearly perfect race.  It was her fourth consecutive title in the event and she set a state record.  Those are incredible feats, however, what I saw was competing at the highest levels like is more about mastery of a craft, flawless execution, hard work, and dedication than it is about the medal or record.  It's process over outcome.

I've only been to a handful of state track meets and I'm stats junky and history buff, so I saw quite a few athletes in the stands who are now in their 20's, 30's, and 40's who had won multiple state titles and set state records.  Truth be told, I sat right next to my wife and she collected 16 titles in track and cross country, including team golds, several years ago.  All of the medals are exciting, but the ones who get the most of them are concerned about them the least.

The pursuit of excellence is more about owning a performance than it is about winning a race.  And fortunately, when you have the recipe and put together all of the pieces to own the performance, you end up winning, too.

Summer Camp Season

 We finished our first camp of the summer this morning.  Our Women’s Senior Mini Camp had nearly 20 females from the area in an intense setting.  We combined top high school wrestlers, college girls and women’s national team members over 5 days.  They started our “Journal the Journey” summer challenge.

Next week we have a few more exciting camps covering all ages.  On Monday and Tuesday, we host our first Little Warriors Camp for wrestlers ages 9-13.  Wednesday is our first Summer School day and on Thursday and Friday we’ll have our annual Girls Basic Skills Camp.

These camps coincide with the beginning of our summer training programs.  We have two options for middle school and high school boys (combined practices).  They’ll go on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  The first practice is Folkstyle and the second is a detailed freestyle practice for our elite/Fargo going wrestlers.  We also start the girls summer training program.  They will practice on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Needless to say, we hit the ground running this week and we’re excited and optimistic about this summer.  We had a great group of parents help prepare the room for the summer swell.  We replaced ceiling tiles, fixed the floor under the mats and tidied up the place.

Thank you to those who gave several hours of their free time to help make this summer memorable.  We appreciate everyone’s support and pursuit of excellence. 

Podcasts for Summer 2026

Going into the summer, one thing I'm trying to challenge some of our athletes to do is listen to some podcasts.  There are so many "easy" ways to level up.  Working hard matters, but so does working easy.  Listening to experts in their field, those with inspiring and motivational stories, and just learning how to ask good questions and be curious can have a positive impact on the wrestling journey.  Learning how to learn and thinking how to think are skills that seem to be shrinking within each age group.

So, here is a list of podcasts that I've incorporated into my down time, sauna sessions, lawn mowing, long drives, etc.:

• The Morning Mindset: Christian Daily Devotional (by Carey Green)
• 5 Good News Stories (Caloroga Shark Media)
• History Daily (by Lindsay Graham with Noiser)
• The Shawn Ryan Show
• The Curiosity Shop with Brene Brown and Adam Grant
• Passion City Church Podcast (sermons)
• History That Doesn't Suck (with Professor Greg Jackson)
• Climbing Gold with Alex Honnold
• 99% Invisible (host Roman Mars)
• The Running Effect (with Dominic Schlueter)

These are the 10 most recent podcasts that I've listened to.  There are so many more that weren't listed that are regulars for me, including Motivation Daily by Motiversity and all of the wrestling podcasts out there.  I also subscribe to a handful of churches and stay current with their sermon releases.  I'm a history fan so have a few of those, too.  Oddly, I don't listen to regular sports programs, even though I was an avid listener to some sports talk radio shows when I was in college.  I still get plenty of sports information.  I like the crime series podcasts, but I've found the entertainment shows aren't the best use of my listening time.

Among my demographic (I'm 46 years old), there has been a rise in interest in long form podcasts because they provide time and space for meaningful conversations, however, I worry that a 3-hour conversation might be difficult for teenagers to jump into, so some short ones like TED Talks Daily or Motivation Daily are a good places to start.

Do you have any go-to podcasts you'd like to recommend to our athletes this summer?  What platform do you find it best to listen on?  When do you find time to listen?

30 Days In A Row

This is a slow week at Victory as we prepare the room and ready minds for the summer programs that are set to begin next week.  We took a week off to do some repairs in the wrestling room and let athletes focus on finishing their school year well.

We do, however, have wrestling happening each day, just not large group practices.  We have around 15 female athletes participating in a Mini Camp during the daytime hours and after school, there are still some one-on-one sessions, and a handful of wrestlers in the middle of important off-season challenges.

As each season or large training cycle comes to a close, we like to encourage our athletes to reflect and make plans for what is next.  Sometimes it's a scheduled break or another training cycle.  We do our very best to make sure kids aren't just shooting from the hip or playing the "flavor of the month" game or just going through the motions.  And we desire to see breaks planned in advance rather than reactions to feelings produced from negative results or over training.  In fact, it's something we place a high value on.  It's a simple formula in our room: plan + process + progress = confidence (more on that in a future entry).

A fun challenge that a few of our wrestlers are doing right now is wrestling at least 30 minutes of live for 30 days in a row.  We've had athletes do versions of streaks like this and the results are always exciting and sometimes unpredictable.  There will be progress, for sure, but we don't always know what it'll be.  Sometimes it just has to play itself out and see what comes from it.

In this current 30-day challenge, one of our wrestlers has really improved hand fighting skills, which is encouraging because it has been much needed.  Another is just becoming an overall better wrestler and learning how to turn off the perfectionist brain and quiet expectations and just wrestle through positions.  The wrestling is about the wrestling, nothing else.  A third wrestler is figuring out a brand new style of wrestling (for him) and it's helping him think of ways to incorporate new approaches to his Folkstyle skillset.

I love helping athletes discover ways to be successful by utilizing creative challenges and streaks to improve.  By focusing on the day in and day out routine, however long, it allows athletes to figure out new ways to improve.

I'm flying.

One of my favorite movies right now is F1: The Movie on Apple TV.  I've watched it several times with my boys and a few times on my own.  It's easily one of the top 10 sports movies of all time.

The main character, Sonny, is played by Brad Pitt.  He's a great race car driver with a checkered past who gets a strange opportunity to race on a Formula 1 team.  Throughout the movie, we're left wondering why Sonny is still racing this late in his career.  His responses to critiques are rather cliche until he has a vulnerable moment with Kate, the team's technical director, when he shares his purpose.

She asks why he's here [racing] and he says, "It's rare, but sometimes there's this moment in the car where everything goes quiet.  My heartbeat slows.  It's peaceful, and I can see everything.  And no one, no one can touch me.  I am chasing that moment every time I get in the car.  I don't know when I'll find it again, but man...I want to.  I want to.  'Cuz in that moment, I'm flying."

He's explaining to her what it's like to access the "zone," or ideal competitive state, and compete with freedom.  We call it the flow state.  He's free from expectations, outcomes, and pressure.  

As athletes (and coaches), we're chasing the moments when our mind gets out of the way and our body responds in a positive manner to whatever is front of us.  It's a union of the body, mind, and soul with passion, power, and purpose.  Heart fully alive, mind completely focused, and body ready and responsive.

Once you've been there and experienced it, or have been up close and personal to someone in the flow state, your perspective on sports changes.  Sometimes Hollywood gets it right and a movie inspires us to demand more out of our sports experience than awards and medals, just like F1: The Movie does.

Start with why (Simon Sinek).  Guide your passions with a clear purpose.  Seek a transcendent cause and create transcendent moments.

Spoiler alert: At the end of the movie, Sonny finds it and he flys.  You can watch the scene HERE.

Suffer Training Program

In my old age I've come to love the months of June and July for many reasons.  Of course, I like training athletes who can immerse themselves in their training without the demands of the school year, and I love spending quality time with my family, especially sleeping in the pop-up tent camper.  However, what I look forward to the most over these next two months is the hot sunshine in the wrestling room and the moisture and sweat in the air associated with a type of suffering that only the most dedicated wrestlers can understand.  It ignites a peculiar desire to do some crazy things.

As an athlete, and now as a coach, I look at everything for its potential for a hot, sweaty workout.  How fast can you mow your lawn and keep the lines perfectly straight?  That hill outside of town or those stairs that you've been thinking about...can you run them in the blazing heat?  What about a grind match then jumping in the river to cool off?  Then following that up with a sauna workout.  These things can be done in December, no doubt, but the Midwestern heat and humidity adds an element to the wrestler's regimen that is necessary for growth.

I've been listening to a variety of podcasts and recently have heard two resounding themes in the lives of high achievers and elite athletes.  1. Consistency - daily routines and habits.  2. Suffer - comfortable being uncomfortable.  After hearing an inspirational conversation on the "The Kreatures of Habit Podcast," I was struck by a play on words that I immediately implemented into our summer training plans.

It's simple, replace MM with FF.  Summer Training Program becomes Suffer Training Program.  Summer --> Suffer.  There are a lot of layers to this and I'm excited to watch it all play out.  

It makes us all a little nervous when we talk about it out loud and begin chaining those m's with f's.  But that's what it's all about.  That's when we need to lean in and let the creative juices flow and chose courage.  We're going to do some things crazy things this summer.