Humphrey's Champion School of Wrestling 

Some of Coach Humphrey’s thoughts on wrestling

I have always thought that as a country we compete too much and don’t spend enough time learning to wrestle. We need to spend more time mastering the techniques and positions necessary to be successful in the long run. Kid’s wrestling is great with our young wrestlers getting more than enough opportunities to wrestle. But are they developing the skills and understanding the key positions which will lead to success at the higher levels? I’ve seen hundreds of kids have early success and fail to make the grade at the next level. Sometimes in the beginning they are stronger or just a little more experienced and many of these young athletes are later surpassed by late maturing peers or late bloomers. I have always been convinced that as coaches we should emphasize proper technique and the understanding of tactical situations so our young wrestlers will be prepared for the strenuous challenges they will face in the future. At Team Champion we spend a significant portion of each practice drilling and pointing out the details to our athletes as they drill to ensure they are developing good habits and not just going to practice and “scrapping”! Just as I’m sure you will get better by scrapping each day and, I’m equally as sure you will get better faster if you pay attention to the details of each position you are trying to master.

Incremental Growth

Your goals should be to get a little better each day. No matter what you’re doing you should make a little progress daily. So often in the US we expect giant gains, very seldom do you see this in wrestling. Just think about it, if you get a little better each day, by the end of the month you will be considerably better. You should make a concerted effort to progress each day even if you don’t go to practice that day. You can shadow drill or do some kind of exercise between television shows. At Team Champion we give our young wrestlers situations and movements that can be practiced at home! This will enable them to get better even when they are not at practice. This will surely put you ahead of most of your competition in the future.

Pay attention to detail

I know you’ve heard that “practice makes perfect” and you may have heard one better that “perfect practice makes perfect”. It should be your intent that each day when you are drilling you do it the best you possibly can. You should start each technique slowly and check all the “fine points” as you complete the first few reps. When you are confident you are doing everything exactly right, then you increase the speed a little. If you drill your technique wrong each day, then you will be come very good at “bad” technique! What a waste of time! Make every effort to drill with perfect technique slowly and then progress to drilling a little faster. Once you’ve done several thousand high crotches perfectly, I guarantee they’ll be fast!

Set daily goals and complete them

 I believe that it’s important to set daily goals and not leave the practice room before you’ve completed and achieved those goals. A goal may be as simple as doing 25 single legs today. If you only drill 15 singles during practice, then you need to stay after practice and complete the final 10 singles before you leave. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and you’ll be amazed at how quickly the numbers will add up and how quickly you will get better!

Help those around you get better! Be a good partner and a good teammate!

Even though wrestling is an individual sport you have to understand you can’t do it alone. Would you be very good if you never wrestled live or never drilled? No! It’s imperative as you progress to help your partner progress so he can continue to provide the proper reactions and maintain the correct positions that will enable your skills to progress to the next level. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that in many cases great wrestlers on the same team are very close in weight! Their workout partners have made them better and vice-versa!

Understand the basic rules of wrestling

At Team Champion we use some basic rules that apply in almost all wrestling situations. I’ve tried to break wrestling down to its basic elements and I have devised these 10 rules that will apply to most of the situations. If you understand the rules you will be able to apply them to new situations that you have never encountered. This will allow you to adapt to new styles and different body types. The rules are as follows:

1. Head up
2. Back straight
3. Hips in
4. Pressure into your opponent
5. Elbows in
6. Eextensions are a loss of power
7. Weight the point of attack
8. Take your opponent away from his hips
9. Create angles
10. Stay off your knees

If you understand these simple rules and can apply them in the heat of an intense match they will lead you to victory.

Position, position, position!

I can’t say enough how important keeping good position is in wrestling. With good position you can overcome many daunting obstacles. You can negate an opponent's strength advantage or possible a possible quickness advantage. We spend tons of time at Team Champion working on learning great position, and then drilling how to maintain that good position when under attack or when you get tired at the end of a match. Almost all of the great wrestlers I have coached and known over the past 40 years were masters of keeping good position! Make sure you understand how important it can be to your success!

Develop a competitive schedule and  a training plan.

Today I see kids wrestling way too many matches and not spending the appropriate amount of time developing their skills and strategies. They compete every weekend and they focus on competing everyday in practice. Its imperative you and your coaches develop a comprehensive plan that will best prepare you for important tournaments or competitions and at the same time develop you technically and tactically. By just focusing on competing you will never realize your full potential.

Understand the importance of proper nutrition

“You are what you eat”! The extremely competitive nature of wrestling makes it a must that you do everything to ensure your preparation focuses on all the important areas that will allow you to perform at peak levels. Nothing could be more important than understanding proper nutrition and how it affects your performance. I’ve seen many championships lost due to excessive weight cutting or kids cutting weight the wrong way. Make sure you are eating the right foods at the right times and eating the optimal amount.            

Know your strengths and weaknesses

I see it over and over; young wrestlers continue to focus on their strong areas and fail to address areas where they need improvement. You should spend a finite amount of time each week (even daily) on techniques and positions where you need to get better. Communication with your coach will facilitate your efforts as he will understand what you are trying to accomplish and will surely be of assistance. It’s essential that you get into these positions first in drilling situations, then in live wrestling in the wrestling room, then in actual competition (start with easier opponents) and then finally against the best. By following this simple progression you will gain confidence in your new skills and eventually master these positions.