Sure. As suggested by MattM, it would even be nice to put together a "Points of Interest" Packet or video to show what does and does not work, or try and work with ISWA to get a coaches clinic BEFORE Freestyle/Greco starts to show some of the trends we need to focus on as a state throughout the season. Nevertheless, although some states have different identities and styles, these trends aren't anything secretive - it just comes down to solid wrestling.
Some examples in Greco we noticed included the basic importance of maintaining good position with elbows in and a center step. Many of our kids start with elbows in, but it almost seems only for show, because as soon as the whistle blows or we go to engage, our arms come out and we get thrown by, ducked, or worse. Even understanding the importance of a center step has been off because many us are out of position, off balance, or simply get thrown when a proper center step could have completely changed the course of the match. We have missed way too many trapped arm guts, got caught in too many, and haven't properly defended GOOD guts in Freestyle. For example, it wasn't until halfway through the Cadets we had to show them how to catch that leg underneath and step over. When the guys finally started doing it we countered and scored big points 75% of the time. Offensively, many of us have been too loose on our gut wrenches, not positioning our shoulders properly, loose hips, not loading them up, and not using leg drive all the way through the move.
In Freestyle Too many of our kids don't set up all of our shots and shoot with their heads down, which in my opinion is arguably one of the biggest issue facing wrestlers from high school on down. Unfortunately we get comfortable in Folkstyle because guys can just hang on to a leg when they get stuffed and try for a stale mate. But in freestyle you get crotch lifted or scored on. Anytime our head is down and hips are up on a penetration, it's no surprise we get tossed or turned. On the other hand, by maintaining good position on our shots, including our head being up, we should theoretically be able to take 1,000 shots and not be in trouble. Defending the leg lace has been another issue, as many kids have focused more on going hand-to-hand rather than truly defending the lace. Hand-to-hand is fine for the first and only leg lace if they get, but just focusing on that without a complete defense just means we don't get beat as fast. Wrong philosophy IMO.
Collectively, going straight to a turn off of our take downs isn't as much of a habit as it should be. We've almost had to ban gator rolls all together because we aren't getting enough pressure and get caught on our backs the majority of the time. We have not had that "killer instinct" on the edge. We have mat awareness, sure, but it is generally Folkstyle mat awareness where we would go back to the center rather than work the guy out of bounds. Although we score on push outs, we have left A LOT of points out there in that regard. I hear a lot of coaches complain about the push out rule, but those are the rules. People hate it until they win a close match by working the kid out of bounds for 1. Then it's ok. Re-shots aren't there like they should be and stuffing the head, squaring hips, and posting on opponents legs to stop shots are few and far between.
Now don't get me wrong, our kids have went out there and banged. The Schoolboy Greco team finished an All-American 7th, and we had 12 or 13 times as many 5 point throws this year at the Cadets over last year. We should coin the term "Indiana Headlock" because we have scored some devastating points with it, and our toughness is higher than many teams out there. We aren't visibly intimidated by anyone or any team really. We have done a pretty good job of hand fighting on bottom and not getting turned when it counts, although there are a few last second turns we give up that would have won some matches. Having an official camp has been HUGE, as it was evident with our kid's success with both Schoolboys and Cadets. For example, I remember vividly seeing kids approach and execute a clinch EXACTLY how Coach Eppert taught it at camp. It was also evident in other states success, such as Florida's coaches being upset at the Cadets because kids were training individually all over the state, when, having home-field advantage, they felt like they should have had a better showing if everyone was on the same page.
Still, all-in-all, it has a great learning experience for the kids as the coaches don't expect everyone that competes to be a defending World Champion when they step on the mat representing Indiana. Every wrestler should have been able to take something away from both tournaments to help them be a better wrestler in any style. As many of us know, the Freestyle and Greco season participation was down this year because of the growing emphasis on Folkstyle, and all teams made due with what we had. I, along with the rest of the coaching staff, am extremely proud of the kids for competing the way they did. These are just a FEW examples of what habits we need to consider in order to take Indiana to the next level. It will be interesting to see how any of this may or may not affect the Juniors in Oklahoma City next week, or Team Indian in Fargo. Again, none of this is a secret. It's just solid wrestling.
Topic: 2012 - USAW CADET DUALS - (Read 3524 times)