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.