IT'S NOT TO LATE

You can still register on line or come to practice on Monday at 4:00pm or 5:30pm

NOTE: WE MAY CHANGE THE STARTING TIMES FOR THE CLASSES IF NEEDED. MAYBE FROM 4:00PM TO 4:30PM.

On October 8th Wrestling Thunder Club is coming to the area. Coach Burdett the new head coach at Westlake High School and is committed to building a great wrestling tradition. A major building block is developing a strong youth wrestling program. On the 8th of Oct. you can come to Westlake and register at the north/east school entrance. You can also sign up at wrestlingthunder.com. Wrestling will start on Oct. 12 and 13th. We want the kids to have a great experience so we are limiting each class to 30 wrestlers. Coach Burdett will be the head coach and will have additional coaches and high school wrestlers helping. The following is some additional information
Jr. Thunder
• Starts in October 12th, 13th and runs for 4 weeks
• Kids ages K through 8
• Cost is $65 which includes T-Shirt
• Prizes will be given out weekly for different accomplishments
• Practice two nights a week for 1 1/2 hours
• 4 sessions are available and only 30 wrestlers per session.
• M, W 4:00 – 5:30, 5:30 – 7:00, T, TH 4:00 – 5:30, 5:30 – 7:00
• Introduction to wrestling, some limited competition
• Need: A good attitude and lots of energy
Each Friday all classes will get together and wrestle.

Conditioning

Monday the 28th Coach Cody Burdet and Coach Ric Thomson will run a conditioning program to prepare for the up coming wrestling season. Monday, Wednesday, Friday we will lift weights. On Tuesday and Thursday we will do some buddy conditioning on the mat. We will be using the weight lifting program that the Iowa Wrestling team uses. Any football players interested needs to talk to your coaches to make sure this works in with your football training.
Coach Burdett
Westlake Wrestling is looking for a few good men
No Guts /No Glory

Riding - Ankle Lift

This is an nice riding move that gets us in a position to score back points.

Put More Time Into Defensive Wrestling by Cary Kolat

I'm all for offensive wrestling and I want everyone I coach to put points on the board but I don't want to just win matches, I want to win championships.

The Europeans approach the sport differently and it gives them an advantage. We have trained ourselves falsely to look at defensive wrestling as a lack of guts, lack of hard work, even a lack of character on the part of the wrestler that chooses a defensive style.

I can wrestle any style I choose to wrestle. I can be on the attack, I can run the middle road and shift gears offense to defense, or I can be total defense. most defensive wrestlers like to frustrate opponents and get them to force action and then capitalize on their mistakes with counter offenses. this is their game and this is where americans fall short in international competition against the best wrestlers in the world.

Not that I like to remember these days, but when I was in college wrestling in open competitions John Fisher consistently beat me with a defensive wrestling strategy. John would sit back and look for mistakes while I continued to press the action. Each time I lost to him the bout was 1-0 or 0-0 at about the 3-minute point. Eventually I got so frustrated and tired that I made the mistake of forcing action. John Fisher was an experienced wrestler on the senior level and he understood defensive wrestling and how to use it to his advantage to take me out of my comfort zone.

Defensive wrestling or counter offensive wrestling, however you refer to it, is very important in high-level competition. This strategy will apply to all athletes with few exceptions, maybe John Smith (6x World Champion) or Satiev (9x World Champion) are extraordinary competitors with a total offense style. But even Satiev was beaten by Brandon Slay of the USA in the 2000 Olympics with Brandon’s defensive strategy. In international competition on the open level this strategy must be studied.

Wrestler 1 spends: 80% of his time on offensive wrestling and 20% on defensive wrestling. He works on 50 different takedowns offensively and then your normal sprawl, stance, re-shot. Offensively there are so many attacks on your feet and set-ups that it takes years to master these and perfect them.

Wrestler 2 spends: 80% of his time on counter offensive wrestling and 20% on true offensive wrestling. He focuses training on defending the shot and then countering the attack. He spends this time on his stance, sprawl, and the other elements of defense, which are not as hard to grasp as the offensive positions. His offensive 20% is focused on the high crotch, double, single, and snap & spin. These are the same moves he will use in his counter offensive wrestling.

The elements of defensive wrestling are so much easier to master than the offensive elements. What if wrestler 1 & 2 are even when it comes to speed, balance and strength. If they both start wrestling tomorrow and prepare to compete against each other in 6 months, who will win? To be fair, lets say that wrestler 1 is only going to focus on 20 moves on his feet. Wrestler 2 has built his defense and focused his re-shots on the same techniques he used in his offensive training. So wrestler 2 can focus more time on wearing you down, frustrating you, defending leg attempts and re-shooting.

How many repetitions does wrestler 1 have spread over 20 shots for 6 months? Has he really mastered all 20 shots? I don't think there would be a drastic difference between these two wrestlers and if they wrestled 10 matches I think it's 6-4 in favor of the defensive wrestler (it’s my blog so I'm winning this argument) being all things equal when they start. If 3-2 represents the score of one match then you stopped one takedown in there during the bout and scored one more of your own on counter offense, winning the championship. Does it really matter if you win the World, Olympic, or NCAA title by a 2-point margin or one takedown?

How do you shift gears and build into both an offensive and defensive wrestler? You build offense over years, not in a season, not in months, and not overnight. If you learn to shoot a single with two set-ups then you have two single legs not just a single. Next season, you add three more set-ups and now you have five singles. You get the point and this is true for all your offensive takedowns.

When I created KOLAT.COM a friend who has more NCAA titles than me (I won't mention his name) said, "how does your single leg series have 75 clips in it?" I gave him the breakdown that I just gave you in the paragraph above and he understood. He already knew this but needed to be reminded. Wrestling comes easy to some of us and we don’t think of it in terms of a different takedown with each set-up but that is truly what it is when you change the set-up or as they say, "there is more than one way to skin a cat."

This article is meant for those who are interested in aiming for the highest level of wrestling competition on a world stage. It will be beneficial to all wrestlers, but if you are attempting to become one of the best in the world, defense wins the championships.

Now don't read this blog and run out and change your training to 80/20 on the defensive side. But do take note and realize that defense is an integral part of the sport. If you are a beginner wrestler in the sport 80/20 might be a good rule for you to get started in the competition and then begin building your offense over time. If they can't score on you, it's going to be really tough to beat you!

cary kolat

The key to a successful takedown is to start with a good setup. All three videos highlight a setup. Watch how the setups create the opening for the takedown.

Arm Drag

Elbow Control

Push - Pull an Go

MOVE to MOVE to SCORE

We need to have a number one move but when it gets stopped we are then ready to follow it with our other number one move. MOVE to MOVE to MOVE to SCORE

Wanted: Volunteers

For the upcoming Wrestling Season we are looking for anyone interested in wrestling to help out with both Jr. Thunder Wrestling and Westlake HS Wrestling. We need volunteer coaches and help generally with building the program. Please contact Coach Burdett if you are interested.

Wrestling Meeting

All students interested in wrestling will be invited for donuts in the wrestling room on September 15. We will discuss the upcoming season. Any person interested in helping with the team please come as well.

Twister Video

This is a great move, you set it up by trying a cement mixer and as he reacts you go the other way. This move become popular when a college wrestler used it to pin several of his opponents. In college he had 104 win with 64 wins by pin. To make this move safe, grab the hand from under the chin and then roll.

Mental toughness

What is Mental Toughness and how to Develop It?

David Yukelson, Ph.D., Coordinator of Sport Psychology Services
Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes, Penn State University
What is Mental Toughness? Quotes from Penn State Student-Athletes:

“Mental toughness is doing whatever is necessary to get the job done including handling the demands of a tough workout, withstanding pain, or touching an opponent out at the end of a race.”
– Jennifer Eberst, Women’s Swimming& Diving

"You can't be a good swimmer without being mentally tough. You wouldn't make it through a single workout if you weren't. Swimmers must have the mental ability to let go of what their body feels and focus on the race, their stroke, or anything else that helps them finish the race."
– Sally Anderson, Women's Swimming & Diving

"Mental toughness is not letting anyone break you." – Jimi Mitchell, Football

“Mental toughness is not being affected by anything but what’s going on in the game or competition no matter what coaches, other players, or refs are doing. It’s being able to block out what’s not important.”
– Jenny Brenden, Women’s Basketball

Definition: Mental toughness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:
Generally cope better than your opponents with the many demands (e.g., competition, training, lifestyle) that are placed on you as a performer. Specifically, to be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, resilient, and in control under pressure (Jones et al, 2002)

Key psychological characteristics associated with mentally tough elite athletes
Jones et al (2002):
• Self-Belief:
Having an unshakable belief in your ability to achieve competition goals
Unique qualities that make you better than your opponents.
• Motivation:
Having an insatiable desire and internalized motivation to succeed (you really got to want it)
Ability to bounce back from performance setbacks with increased determination to succeed.
• Focus:
Remain fully focused on the task at hand in the face of competition-specific distractions
Able to switch f affected by others performance or your own internal distractions (worry, negative mind chatter)
• Composure/Handling Pressure:
Able to regain psychological control following unexpected evenor distractions
Thriving on the pressure of competition (embracing pressure, stepping into the moment)
Accept that anxiety is inevitable in competition and know you can cope with it

Key component of mental toughness is learning how to condition your mind to think confidently and be able to overcome frustration/self-critical negativity (reframe self-talk into what it is you want to occur)

• Yukelson Nugget: Don’t allow frustration to undermine your confidence or focus
Importance of Being Positive:

“You can program yourself to be positive. Being Positive is a discipline … and the more adversity you face, the more positive you have to be. Being positive helps build confidence and self-esteem”
Rick Pitino, University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach

Developing Mental Toughness
1. Starts with the right attitude and state of mind (know what your core confidence is all about):
• Confidence comes in knowing your are prepared and having an unshakable belief in your abilities to reach intended goals
• Also linked to mentality of being a “Competitive Warrior”
• Jerry Lynch (2002): “Confidence is about who puts it on the line, who has the courage to compete like a warrior without fear of failure”
• Courage to leave it all out on the athletic field, play with heart, determination, and full focus

2. Program your mind for success ahead of time with positive affirmations and expectations
• Expect the best from yourself; affirm what it is you are going to do to be successful
o Confident goal oriented statements starting with “I will, I can, I am going to…”)
o Focus on those things you want to occur, rather than things you’re afraid might go wrong
• Script Success: Visualize yourself performing the way you want (confident, energized, full focus)

3. Routinize Your Behaviors: Develop a systematic pre-performance routine that clicks on desired mental-emotional state of mind (practice, pre-game, competition)
• Practice (once you walk through the gate, you commit yourself to giving it everything you have the entire practice – this includes making a commitment to listening, learning, executing skills/drills with precision and full focus)
• Pre-game competition – develop a systematic routine for engineering the environment and getting yourself ready
• During Competition (once you walk b/w the lines, you are committing yourself to being mentally tough and a great competitor throughout the entire game).

4. Poise and Composure: learn how to let go of mistakes quickly if things do not go the way you want
• Key part of mental training is about compensating, adjusting, and trusting
• If plan A does not work, go to plan B or C
• Use of “Focal Points” are effective to help focus attention back onto task at hand
• Be persistent and mentally tough, don’t allow frustration to undermine your confidence/focus

5. Take control of Negative Self-Talk: Reframe “stinking thinking” into positive task oriented suggestions
• Starts with awareness of situations that cause you to get frustrated, rushed, intimidated, lose focus – then reframe the negativity into positive, mentally tough self-suggestions:
• Basketball: Instead of “I can’t hit that shot if my life depended on it”, let go, reframe it back into something more positive and task oriented “get a good look at the basket, see it, feel it, trust it”
• Baseball pitcher pressing, “I can’t get my change up working today”, reframe it, step off the rubber, breathe, refocus, visualize the feel of good release point and follow through, say to yourself “this one is going to drop off the shelf”
• Field Hockey player consumed w/negative thoughts, worried about messing up “This girl is so quick, I can’t shake her”, reframe -“win the tackle, aggressive to the ball, do the simple”
• Ineffective outside hitter in volleyball – “keep bringing it, aggressive swings, read and react, fly to the ball”

6. Look at failure as a stepping stone for future achievement:
Champions approach to overcoming adversity: Play to win as opposed to fear making mistakes
He missed 9000 shots, missed 26 game winning shots, lost 300 games - Michael Jordan, NBA 6 time World Champion “I failed over and over, that is why I succeed”
• Focus on the process of competing well, winning will take care of itself

7. Be a difference maker, step up and have a peak performance when it matters the most

Self-Reflective Assignment: Sustaining Self-Belief – Preparing for Future Events:
In the foreseeable future, what things are likely to affect your confidence and self-belief?
What will you do about it?

Russan Wrestling

This is one of the best examples of never giving up in a scramble. A persistent wrestler can often beat a more talented or more experienced wrestler.

Reshot

We will be working hard on the reshot.

Schedule

Our wrestling schedule is complete. We are going to have three home duals and three away duels. We will be going to five tournaments not counting Region and State. In December we will go to two dual tournaments which means we will wrestle as a team and progress in the brackets as a team. These are nice because each wrestler will get as many as five matches a day win or lose.
In December we will have three double elimination tournaments. These will help prepare us for the Region and State. The Rocky Mountain Tournament is at UVU and will simulate the State tournament as close as you can get.
It will be FUN.
Coach Burdett

Twister

Westlake Wrestling Calendar

Funk 1 / Front Headlock to Spin

Essentials to Becoming a Champion

By Warren Applegate

1. Be academically eligible. If you are you aren't allowed to compete you can't be a champion no matter how good you are.

2. Be strong enough to not be over-powered by any opponent. It isn't necessary to be the strongest wrestler, but it helps. You need enough upper body strength to neutralize your strongest opponent's attempts to over power you.

3. Be in as good or better condition than any of your opponents. Being able to wrestle as hard the last 10 seconds of the match as the first 10 seconds is very important Countless numbers of matches in the NCAA tournament have been settled by someone getting a takedown or escape just before time ran out.

4. Have a superior leg attack defense. The highest percentage takedowns are leg attacks i.e. single leg, double leg, high crotch, Ankle pick, inside and outside fireman's carry. If you can stop all of the takedown attempts of any opponent you can wrestle more aggressively.

5. Have a superior defense on bottom. You cannot get ridden for more than 15 seconds if you want to be a successful college wrestler. A inside leg standup is probably the most common escape used at the college level. You also can't let your opponent break you down or turn you for a nearfall or pin.

6. Master a leg attack series. A single leg or double leg takedown should be the first takedown you master.

7. Master a breakdown/ride. It is important to be able to control your opponent on the mat. In many cases it will be necessary to win by 1 point. In college riding time frequently determines who wins the match.

8. Master a pinning combination series. Half nelsons, cradles, chicken wings, etc. You need to know how to set up your opponent so he'll fall into a pin hold before he realizes it.

9. There will be times when there is less than one minute left in a match and you are trailing by 3 or more points. In these situations a leg takedown isn't going to win the match for you, it will only make the score closer. You need a 5-point move from the down and neutral position in these situations. This is when it is time to pull something out of your "bag of tricks". It will be a move that is fundamentally sound, but is not frequently seen by most wrestlers.

10. Last, but certainly not least is mental toughness. In my opinion wrestling is 90 percent mental. The successful wrestlers in college or at the world level are pretty equal in terms of technical skills. Occasionally there will be one superior athlete compared to the others. However, it usually comes down to the wrestler who wants to win the most that determines the outcome of a match. I've seen wrestlers who weren't as good as athletes as other wrestlers, but they found ways to win. A wrestling match is a test of "wills", if you keep constant pressure on your opponent throughout the entire match eventually almost all of them will give up at some point, because they are exhausted physically and/or mentally.

Underhook to Double - Duck to Throw

Fundraiser

August 11: Westlake Atheltics Department is hosting a golf tournament . It'll be a 4-player scramble starting at 2 pm at Talon's Cove in Saratoga Springs. The cost is $250 per FOURSOME, not per person. There will be prizes for winners and snacks and gifts for all. To register, call Coach Lou Andrus at (801) 836-5687 or Mike O'Connor at (801) 367-3941. Make sure they mention that they were referred by Thunder Wrestling

August 14: Westlake Athletics Department is hosting a Dinner Auction at the school in conjunction with the Open House. Cafe Rio will provide dinner foe $10 and there will be an auction. The items we're going to auction will be provided by each sports team. Any profit from donated items will go into the wrestling.. Any item donated must be submitted by the first of August. Go to school web page for more information.