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Corner Coaching Tips By Steve Fraser April 8, 2010
Here is a list of four corner coaching tips or suggestions that wrestling coaches may want to think about when coaching their athletes.
1. Most coaching and teaching should take place in the practice room and not from the corner during the match.
From the corner during the match it is too late in most cases to teach anything major to the wrestler. Suggesting how to move during the match or giving too much instruction can be ineffective. To actually teach something by shouting it across the mat during the action can be a waste of time. Remember, the wrestler needs to be focused on what he/she is doing. It is very hard for the wrestler to be focused on the coach during the heat of the battle.
Masaaki Hatta who is a World silver medalist from Japan and NCAA champion from Oklahoma State gives his perspective: “All coaching should be done in wrestling room and far enough ahead of time. The coach at corner should be calm and confident with poker face. Show your emotion only if you think it will help the wrestler. You represent the confidence of your wrestler on the mat.”
Dave Dean, a former assistant coach at Michigan State, put it simply "in the spirit of being good corner coach, I won't give much information at all. Go get 'em! (That's my tip)”
2. Be encouraging and positive with your comments.
Using a lot of positive affirmations before the match and positive feedback during the match is a very good approach when encouraging athletes to perform.
Rob Hermann the 1996 Sydney Olympic coach, says he yells comments such as "looking good, nice move, stay focused, keep wrestling". He tries to stay away from yelling specific moves because he wants the wrestler to be thinking on his/her own. Les Gutches, who is a World Champion, states when he was an active athlete: "keep me informed of the time. Shout general things instead of intricate techniques, like - pick up the pace, looking great, keep working, you need a turn. If I am getting frustrated or something particularly irritating happens during a match such as a bad call or late takedown tying the match, remind me to keep my composure and keep my cool. I want only positive things from the corner coach… no matter what - including the body language.” Matt Lindland, who is an Olympic and World silver medalist and now a successful MMA fighter, suggests some great tips: "Say everything in the positive. For example say - good defense or tough defense - as opposed to - don’t get turned. Say - short arms, elbows in - as opposed to - don’t get arm thrown or watch the arm throw.”
All athletes (with the coach’s help) should establish a match strategy. The corner coach, just prior to the match, might ask their athlete (instead of telling them) what their general match strategy is. This will force their athlete to think of specific tasks or tactics that they will execute.
As the National Greco-Roman coach for the U.S., I try to get my athletes to design their own match strategy. I want them to take their match into their own hands. I want them to be thinking for themselves, instead of looking to me for what they should do. I think teaching our wrestlers to take control and make their own decisions on the mat is the way to go. Of course during practice (and right after the match) coaches can help guide their athletes on what might be a good or better match strategy.
Making decisions on the mat: How often do we see the athlete look over to his coach for help in deciding if he should take up or down? The athlete should know before the match what he will do in all situations. I don’t want to tell my athletes every move or decision they should make. I want them to OWN their decisions!
The worse thing I can do as a corner coach is to tell my athlete to choose down when in his heart he wants to choose up. Now he listens to me and chooses down but is thinking “dang, I really wanted to choose up” This indecision or possible small doubt that might now be in his head can ruin the wrestler’s confidence to perform in that moment. The wrestler needs to know – without doubt – that the decision they make is best for them and what they really want to do at the moment.
It’s a matter of teaching our wrestlers to think and act for themselves. We coaches need to cover the pros and cons of these decisions in the practice room so that when the wrestler is in the competition they already know what the correct decision is for them.
When one of my athletes look to me in the corner during the bout and asks “should I choose up or down?” I always throw it back at them – “What do you think? What do you want to do?” Now, if it is more of an obvious decision I might nudge them a bit by saying “What do you think…down maybe?” But it has to be their decision.
How many times do you see a coach from the corner yelling to his athlete while the athlete is on the mat (during a moment break), “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny” wanting his wrestler to look at him so he can give some instructions? There is no better way to break your athlete’s concentration then to force him to look at you during the match. Go ahead, give the instruction if you will - but there is no need for your athlete to look at you too. He should be able to hear you and keep his focus on the mat where it belongs!
Darren Petty, who is a junior coach says, “As a coach in the corner my philosophy is to meet the athletes needs, not mine. This is his match, his career, and his goals. He needs to take control of his destiny.
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