Wrestling is an individual-based team sport that people of all ages compete in on various levels. Whether you are teaching the fundamentals of wrestling to small children or coaching a college team, you can use basic coaching tips to help you get the most of your team, and to help your wrestlers get the most out of their time with you.
Step 1
Identify the ability of each wrestler you are coaching. During warmup exercises and drills, wrestlers, particularly younger and high school age children, should be evaluated for natural athletic ability. Wrestlers that do exercises improperly are likely to have only limited exposure to athletics, and may need more basic help to progress. Practices should move slowly, focusing on fundamentals if most wrestlers are unfamiliar with basic techniques.
Step 2
Spend personal time with wrestlers to provide positive motivation if they need it. Discuss the goals of the individual wrestler to help them achieve what they are looking to do, whether that is to wrestle as a hobby or to develop world-class skills. Obviously, your teaching technique should be based on individual goals as well as team goals.
Step 3
Watch for boredom or lack of motivation during practice. While drills and exercises that teach and reinforce basic technique are absolutely necessary at that level to develop skills and prevent injuries, try to mix in exercises that you know the children enjoy if they start to seem bored. Live wrestling is often more entertaining for children, and should be interspersed along with drills and exercises during practice to help kids stay focused and motivated to learn while having fun.
Step 4
Encourage parents to get involved to support their children and keep them motivated to practice and develop skills. Some enthusiastic parents may even be able to help doing drills and practices as well as at tournaments and practice meets.
Step 5
Set short-term and long-term goals, and milestones for wrestlers of all ages. Goals can range from small to large based on skill level, whether they are winning a single meet or competing in a state championship, goals help athletes stay motivated to practice as hard as possible and build their skills.
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