They lost a heartbreaker.   Then they lost to their rival.  AGAIN.

Finished 4th in their conference, but worse…

Their entire fanbase turned against him.

“Fire HIM!”  They screamed.

“Can’t win the Big One!"  They muttered.

What did he do?

First, he did what wrestlers across the country should do right now:

Shut.
Out.
The.
Static.


He met with his downtrodden team.  No other coaches, no managers, No PRESS.

Just him and his team.  And he fully embraced the “Us against the world" scenario.

What Ryan Day said to his team – when it was only him and them –  started them on the path to sweep to the national championship.

He told them (and I paraphrase since I wasn’t in that locker room either)…

to shut out everything except the guys in that room right now.

“Focus just on us.”

We can let this beat us, or we can pull together, shut out all the nonsense and get back to work.

There’s more football to be played!

That Ohio State team, the one we saw in the playoffs, barely resembled the team that lost on their home field to their rivals.

“The Static” in wrestling is real as well, and emanates from various sources.

It comes from rankings.  (“Ooo, I’m 25th and there are 4 guys ranked ahead of me in my district.  Maybe I should switch weight classes!”)

Sometimes it comes from teammates.  (“This guy is really good – watch out for his single leg!”)

Sometimes it even comes from coaches (My all-team least favorite coaching point:  “Just don’t get pinned.”)

Sometimes it even comes from…

a piece of paper…

in the form of a bracket (IF you’ve ever heard two wrestlers discuss their bracket and determine who they will face when they lose – you know of what I speak).

All of the above qualifies as static.

Static is anything that gets in the way of you wrestling your best when you hit the mat.

Once you step in the circle and shake hands, none of that static matters.

The only thing that matters is:  Am I ready to wrestle my best?


When the Buckeyes took the field, they Shut Out ALL the noise – so they could play their best football when it counted the most.

Now’s it your turn.  Starting with your very next match.


-Randy

For the un-football fans out there, that’s the short yardage play the Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love) Eagles run where big people line up behind the quarterback, he snaps the ball, runs forward and they PUUUUSH him over the first down or goal line.

Its basically a modified quarterback sneak.

Their success rate with this play is so high, the NFL has considered banning it.

To which the Eagles replied, “Go ahead.  We don’t care.”

And they don’t – because they know the real secret to the success of the Brotherly Shove.

What really makes the play so successful?

The foundation they built.

In this case, their foundation is their MASSIVE offensive line.

One of the biggest and best lines in football.

That’s why others who have tried to copy the Brotherly Shove have failed to replicate their level of success.

That foundation is also a BIG (note the pun) reason they are playing in the NFC Championship Game next week.

Perfect example of their foundational success:

Their running back, Saquon Barkley, was a star with the New York Giants.

He’s a superstar with the Eagles, running behind that massive and talented line.

See what a solid foundation can do for you?

How solid is your wrestling foundation?

It starts with MASSIVELY good positioning.

And winning with good position is always where it starts.

Not that fancy move you saw on the Yew Tewbe or Tik Tok right before it got banned (and then un-banned).

The one with the best positioning almost always wins the match.

Its the core foundation of everything in wrestling.

On top, getting pressure to break your opponent’s position.

On bottom, beating your opponent’s hands immediately while maintaining a solid base

On countering legs (like we were training to do in Winter Club yesterday) – understanding how to beat position and doing that immediately (against a top leg rider, it had better be immediate.  You have a split second to beat their position or you can find yourself in a world of hurt).

On the feet:  positioning yourself so you can’t be attacked.  If executed properly, even the quick athletes never touch your leg).

Handfights:  controlling elbows, always beating their head ties, controlling their position every time they put their hands on you.

You can join us for a one-time tryout for our junior high/high school training club – no further commitment required, this Sunday – by going here.  If you are a fit for this program, you will have the opportunity to join us for the rest of the season – or just the month – and apply your one-time fee to your membership.

Go here to read all about it and to join us

I wasn’t the first Randy to earn All-American honors at my college.  I was the 2nd.

The first Randy was Randy Fee, and he was a senior my freshman year.   He was also in my weight class, which is partly why I red-shirted my first year.  

And because I red-shirted….

Randy felt free to take me under his wing and teach me.

I became his partner and did my part to help him – pushing him, supporting him and being the best training partner he could have in the room.

Result of our partnership:  By the end of the year, Randy had earned All-American honors – the first in our school’s history.

I learned a lot from Randy, but one particular move stood the most:   his single leg takedown.

He taught me one set-up.  Exact and precise method for locking hands.  One core finish.

He didn’t show me “one hundred ways to hit a single leg”
Or, the fanciest, coolest way to hit a single leg.

• One method.
• One process.
• One SYSTEM.

Precise, detailed – and simple.

Wrestling doesn’t have to be complicated.  Sometimes we make it complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.  

Sometimes we think we have to learn the latest designer move fresh off ye olde Yew Tewbe.

Unnecessary,  and worse – a distraction for what really wins against quality opponents.

The system of wrestling I teach is not fancy.

It is far from designer.

It just works, because it is rooted in this simple philosophy:  Position is Key

And, if you apply the principles of that philosophy, to every position on the mat…

YOU can simplify YOUR wrestling life, as well.

Thank you, First Randy, for teaching me my first really effective shot – one that became my go-to throughout college – and led me to earn my own all-American spot on the podium.

Randy