... on Motivating Your Wrestlers
All coaches must constantly come up with ways to motivate their young charges. And it's no different in wrestling.
Even more than most athletes, a loss is very difficult for a wrestler to accept. Even if the team wins, this competitor knows (as well as everybody else) that his efforts fell short of an individual victory. It is important during such occasions that the coach must get across to his athletes the importance of working harder and not giving up on themselves.
A few years ago, I wrote the following poem to create a winning attitude in some of my wrestlers who were experiencing periods of personal frustration:
THE WRESTLER'S CREED
IT TAKES A MAN TO STICK IT OUT,
HE WANTS TO CRY BUT ONLY SHOUTS.
HE PONDERS QUITTING YET THEN LOOKS UP,
HIS PRIME OBJECTIVE--THE CHAMPION'S CUP!
SOMETIMES HE THINKS AND WONDERS WHY,
BUT THEN, THANKS THE LORD FOR HIS CHANCE TO TRY.
HE'S SWEATING, TIRED, AND CONSIDERS REST,
BUT KEEPS ON MOVING--HIS GOAL BE THE BEST.
IT TAKES DEDICATION, SIMPLE AND PURE,
TO BE ON TOP, HE'S GOT TO ENDURE.
HE MUST PREVAIL, BE SECOND TO NONE,
HIS ULTIMATE DRIVE--BE NUMBER ONE!
Updated July 11, 1997