The fastest rate of growth occurs in the [...]]]> Profile of a Young Athlete
Young athletes are physically developing, from early childhood to late adolescence. This means they have different capabilities for, and adaptations to, exercise and for this reason, young athlete training programs should not be just scaled down versions of adult training programs.

The fastest rate of growth occurs in the first two years, the growth rate then slows until the adolescent spurt when the growth rate increases again. The adolescent spurt last approximately two years and takes place, on average, at 10 to 12 years for girls and 12 to 14 for boys. Growth rate then decreases until full height is reached.

Muscle mass increases steadily until puberty, at which point boys show faster muscle growth.
The hormonal changes at puberty also affect body composition in terms of fat.

•At birth, both boys and girls have around 10 to 12% body fat
•Pre-puberty, both girls and boys still have a similar 16 to 18% body fat
•Post-puberty, girls have around 25% body fat due to high serum oestrogen, which causes the hips to widen and extra fat to be stored in the same area.
•Post-puberty, boys have 12 to 14% body fat.

Most athletic females, post puberty, tend to keep body fat at around 18% (Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Any lower than 12 % body fat for females can be considered unhealthy in terms of maintaining bone density and disrupting hormone levels, which may increase the risk of stress fractures. Coaches need to make female athletes aware that until they are 19, they will steadily gain in muscle and so will naturally be gaining weight and that by eating the right kinds of foods is the way to avoid unwanted weight gain.

Exercise
Exercise does not stunt or promote growth in terms of height but it does thicken the bones by increasing mineral deposits (Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Growing bones are sensitive to stress so repetitive loading should be avoided. The epiphysial plate is susceptible to injury and therefore a fracture to the epiphysial plate prior to full growth could be a serious injury as it could disrupt bone growth.
A more common kind of epiphysial plate injury, and the one coaches must take care not to cause, is called epiphysitis. This is a repetitive strain injury which occurs when excess loads are placed on the tendons that attach to the epiphysis, causing an inflammatory response. In extreme cases, this type of injury can result in a separation of the epiphysis from the epiphysial plate. The most common epiphysitis, called Little Leaguer’s Elbow, occurs mostly in the USA among young baseball pitchers.

Strength
Strength increases with age because of body growth and the development of the neuromuscular system. From research Weltman et al (1986) carried out on the effects of resistance training on young athletes, it would appear that, strength improvements are possible. If coaches are to place young athletes on strength training programs then they must ensure that the young athletes:

•are properly taught (skill development)
•undertake a well controlled progressive program (planning)
•joints are not subject to repetitive stresses (injury prevention)

Encouragement and support without pressure is the key
The key to successful Coaching of young athletes, whether by parents or professionals is to tackle each phase of development differently, according to its context. We would all like our children to be Olympic champions and the worst thing you can do is pressurise your children with your own dream of glory and then blame them for not realising it.

At each stage in life the developing boy and girl have their own reasons for getting involved in sport. It may be a desire for approval, or a wish to make a mark in his or her peer group. More likely, it comes from discovering an aptitude for the sport, which brings a modicum of success. We all need to find things we can do well. Self-esteem feeds on achievement, and sport at club level is an excellent way of doling out spoonfuls of achievement on a regular basis.

Ages 7 to 11:
Avoiding “little league syndrome”
We hear of football clubs sending scouts to primary school matches, and the “pushy parent” phenomenon – or what the Americans call “little league syndrome” – can appear at a very early stage. But at this age sport is just play, and it does not matter who wins. Children need exercise: they need to develop their bodies and their brains, and the best way of doing this is by having fun at the same time.

Exercise also offers a way of learning about the world and how it works. Sport, like life, has its rules, its constraints and its set boundaries. Like life, it tries to be fair but does not always succeed. The child learns the hardest but most valuable lesson of all – that they have limits. The parent has to find out what the child can and cannot do well. They must offer the child lots of opportunities and help them to select the ones which will best help them grow as a person.

The “Tiger Woods model” is not a good one to follow, because this involves a parent imposing a regime at an age when the child is not in a position to make a choice. For every success this model produces, there are hundreds of frustrated children who are being blamed for not living up to their parents’ expectations.

During the primary school years, the child should be encouraged to run, but not forced to do so. A common reason for running is to be like Mum and Dad, and this is fine. If there is a local club, which caters for under 9s and under 11s, encourage them to go along, as long as the regime there encourages variety and non-specialisation.

Ages 11 to 13:
Resist the urge to specialise
At the beginning of secondary school, the child’s choices are generally guided by parents and teachers. The urge to specialise in one particular thing must be resisted: all the evidence is that those who keep up a variety of sports up to age 14 are more robust and less fragile than those who specialise early. Early specialisation may bring short-term success, but is that really what you want?

At this age there will be a huge difference between early and late developers. The arbitrary nature of the age-group system may lead to immature just-11-year-olds running against over developed 14-year-olds. Coaches and parents must be careful about throwing children into competition before they are ready for it, but they should not avoid competition entirely. People develop by overcoming challenges, and the art of coaching lies in finding the right sort of challenge for each youngster.

Ages 13 to 15:
Taking social life into account
During this phase the child has a far bigger share in the decision making process. The other feature of this age group is that social activities have to be taken into account. The running has to be handled in such a way that it does not conflict directly with the other developing interests. Again, if there is a local club with a good team spirit, it will provide the support and companionship, which is so important at this age.

By this time it will be clearer where the child’s talents lie. However, the really talented track runner may be needed for the football or the hockey team in the winter, when most runners are doing cross-country. This should not be a cause for worry, because some running training can be added to the football, and there is plenty of time to get fit for the track season if you start training in March.
Training can now become more organised, but other sports can still be kept in. A typical pattern might be two nights a week of club training, plus a Saturday race, to which can be added one or two more steady runs on the days when there are no other sporting commitments. It is important at this age that someone keeps a training diary, so that the youngster’s state of fitness is clear and training can be increased gradually year by year.

Aerobic and anaerobic development
Cardio-respiratory function develops throughout childhood. Lung volume and peak- flow rates steadily increase until full growth. For example, maximum ventilation increases from 40 L/min at five years to more than 110 L/min as an adult (Wilmore & Costill, 1994). This means that children have higher respiratory rates than adults, 60 breaths/min compared to 40 breaths/min for the equivalent level of exercise (Sharp, 1995). The ventilatory equivalent for oxygen is also higher in children, VE/V02 = 40 for an eight-year-old compared to 28 for an 18 year-old. This means that children have inferior pulmonary functions to adults.

Cardiovascular function is also different for children. They have a smaller heart chamber and lower volume than adults. This results in a lower stroke volume than adults, both at rest and during exercise. Chamber size and blood volume gradually increase to adult values with growth. Children compensate for the smaller stroke volume by having higher maximal heart rates than adults have. For a mid-teenager, max heart rate could be more than 215 beats/min compared to a 20 year-old whose max heart rate will be around 195-200 bpm (Sharp, 1995).

However, the higher heart rates cannot fully compensate for the lower stroke volume and so children’s cardiac output, measured in L/min, is lower than adults (Wilmore & Costill 1994). Children can compensate a little again, as their arterial venous oxygen difference is greater. This suggests that a greater percentage of the cardiac output goes to the working muscles than in adults (Wilmore & Costill, 1994).

It’s useful for coaches to know that aerobic capacity is probably trainable in children with a sufficient training stimulus. This makes aerobic training worthwhile, since it will improve their performance. However, the training effect will not be as great as is possible with adults because the lower stroke volume in children prior to full growth will limit the potential cardiac output increases with training. In addition, until after puberty, a poor running economy limits running endurance. Thus, as before, it is probably best to wait until the young athlete reaches adolescence before starting tough aerobic training, as this is the age when the athlete will truly benefit. Tough anaerobic training is of even more limited use for children since they possess little anaerobic capacity.

The most important areas of training for children are strength, speed, co-ordination, sport-specific skills, and agility. These are areas where improvements can be made through enhanced neuromuscular recruitment, laying down the skills for adulthood. As the nervous system develops, it seems that the potential for improvement in skills is the greatest. Training for aerobic and anaerobic endurance can be improved from adolescence when the body has reached its natural capacity and responses from this kind of metabolic training are greatest.

Gaining the winning edge
by Brian Mackenzie, editor of Successful Coaching, and Rick Newkirk

Mental Attitude
What makes a good player great? Sound basics? Size? Strength? Shooting ability? Speed? I believe its Attitude. The ability to except situations and make them work in their favour. Losers never seem to know why they lose. They blame the referees for bad calls, the gym conditions, the court surface, their teammates, etc. Winners on the other hand play above the problems. A wise man once said, ” It’s not what life hands us, but what we do about it”. I was once asked, what is the most important measurement on a basketball court? With out a doubt, it is the six inches between your ears. Winning and losing comes down to who can stay focused. Great players never let their opponent or outside conditions control their game. They are mentally tough, mentally conditioned. It is easy to get frustrated when pressure and mistakes happen. The more you dwell on it, the more mistakes you’ll make. I cannot count the times I have seen a player get the ball stolen and then commit a personal foul because they were out of control, or becoming outraged because someone was talking about their ancestors. If an opponent can pull you out of your game, who wins? Once you’re mad, you’re through! Referee calls, turnovers, Fouls, missed lay ups, are like the Civil War. Once they happen, they become HISTORY!

Sportsmanship
Show sportsmanship! Its easy to be a good winner, but it takes real class to hold your head up after a tough loss. Great players never take losing well. If you gave 110% during the game, and you were beaten, there is no shame in having lost. Give credit to the team who played better on that given day. Learn from it and let it go. The respect you’ll gain from opponents and fans on both sides are well worth it.

Conditioning
Stay in shape! A hero is no braver than the ordinary person, but they are braver five minutes longer. Spend as much time caring for your body as you put into your game. Eat well, get the correct amount of rest, run three times a week, most of all stay away from drugs and alcohol. Working out on your own isn’t easy, but as Coach Lombardi said, fatigue makes cowards of us all. To lose a contest because you run out of gas in the fourth quarter is unforgivable. If you lose a contest, make sure it was because they were better players, not in better shape.

Until the fat lady sings
Never give up! Winners never quit. “The person who wins may have been counted out several times, but they didn’t hear the referee” (Jansen). Finding a way to win is the mark of a great team. I have watched as our team made up nine points in ten seconds. Nothing is impossible when you believe. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle” (A. Lincoln). You will be surprised what can happen when you never give up.

Commitment and hard work
Work hard and be aggressive. Never be out hustled or out fought. The team who is persistent usually comes out on top. Show enthusiasm! Nothing is ever work, unless you would rather be doing something else. Make a commitment to excel, you never stop improving. When things you did yesterday still look big to you today, you haven’t done much today. There is no substitute for practice. Don’t count the days…..make each day count! The only person that keeps you on the bench and from being a starter…..is you!

Team-mates
Strong players criticise themselves, not their teammates. Everyone has room for improvement no matter what the level of play, and talking about someone else’s shortcomings never helps improve your game. Take an interest in your squad and friendships will grow along with the success of the team. Remember, there is no “I” in team. It takes 14 players working together to become successful.

Leadership
Never be afraid to take charge. When a teammate gets down pick them up with some encouragement and get it back on track. At practice be the first one on the court and the last one to leave. Talk on the court, direct traffic and let people know when someone is open or when there is a flaw in the defence. What you see plain as day may be hard for someone else to see. Never take any opponent for granted, respect everyone’s ability. Be a player who says, “can” not “can’t”. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Be a total player!

Final Thoughts
Play hard! But never take yourself so serious that you forget to smell the roses. Enjoy the game, many lessons about life are taught from your adventures on the field of play. Take what it has to give you and apply it to what life throws your way. Remember that we cannot always control what goes on outside, but we can control what goes on inside. Be mentally tough, Never let what happens during a contest take you out of your game. Concentrate on what is important, experience and learn. Be the best you can, and the best will come back to you. Champions are made, never born. Ability can get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.

“You only achieve what you believe”

How to succeed with young athletes
Coaches must:

• encourage athletes to have strong-minded attitudes and self-assertiveness
• structure the athlete’s training programmes with realistic, achievable and progressive targets
• recognise the athlete’s achievements with positive enthusiasm
• advise athletes on proper diet and training
• convince athletes that their successes are due to their own ability, attitude and training
• insist on correct technique at all times
• use appropriate well balanced conditioning programmes
• display high standards of personal behavior and appearance – be a role model
• place the well being and safety of the athlete above the development of performance
• treat all athletes with equality
• encourage athletes to ask questions about their training and tell you what they think
• accept responsibility for their conduct and discourage inappropriate behaviour in training and competition
• give all athletes in your training groups equal attention
• be sensitive to the non-verbal signals being transmitted by the athletes (their faces usually give a good indication of how they feel)

Coaches must NOT
• over race or make the athletes compete outside their class
• criticise the physique of their athletes
• let the athletes think their success is due to luck or poor opposition
• ever “give up“ on an athlete e.g. tell them they are too slow to be a sprinter (they are still developing)
• encourage athletes to violate the rules of their sport
• promote or ignore the use of prohibited drugs or other banned performance enhancing substances

The first two or three days of practice should be learning experiences, more so for coaches than for athletes. Most coaches don’t realize this fact and take control right away, trying to teach their wrestlers too many things in too little time. What coaches should do during the [...]]]> From Coaching Wrestling Successfully by Dan Gable

The first two or three days of practice should be learning experiences, more so for coaches than for athletes. Most coaches don’t realize this fact and take control right away, trying to teach their wrestlers too many things in too little time. What coaches should do during the first few practice sessions is supervise and observe, not try to teach.

Through close observation and proper evaluation of wrestlers at this time, you can make better decisions for individuals and the entire team. I recommend spending this time filling each weight class and dividing up your team into smaller groups according to individual needs. For example, certain wrestlers may be great in the standing position, but need some help with their technique in the bottom position. Your initial observation will also help you determine which wrestlers have little or no experience so that you can help them stay injury-free and put them with other wrestlers against whom they can have some success.

If available, assistant coaches can be assigned to each of the groups to provide maximum individual instruction. I use a curtain to partition the groups from one another and for some privacy whenever the team has to share the facility with another group. You also can use a curtain to isolate individuals or activities that could be distracting to others.

The initial analysis of the team should include evaluation of these seven essential ingredients of good wrestling:
• Standing wrestling
• Underneath wrestling as well as coming out and keeping the opponent’s legs out
• Strength
• General conditioning
• Flexibility
• Nutrition
• Attitude

I make a chart and rate each wrestler on these attributes and then combine the information for a composite look at the team. Remember, these are minimum characteristics for wrestling, a starting point. If your team has some deficiencies, it’s best to learn about them at the outset, so you can correct them as quickly as possible.

Standing Wrestling
In standing wrestling, leg attacks are by far the most common and most successful for winning wrestling. Two of Iowa’s all-time greats, Jim Zalesky and Rico Chiapparelli, came into the program with heart and the desire to be great. They both had great scoring tactics; however, many of their skills were from the defensive positions. Although they had some early success, it wasn’t enough to set them apart from many of the nation’s best. They both worked extremely hard and developed offensive leg attacks that were dependable in tough situations, which consequently put them with the elite of wrestling.

Along with the offensive leg attacks comes the defense tactic of keeping people off your legs. A wrestler does so by having good hand control, head and shoulder positioning, and blocking skills. A wrestler with a good stance and good motion can perform these skills. By doing so correctly, a wrestler will score, usually with go-behinds or snapdowns. These tactics allow for a constant ability to score whether it be offensive and/or defensive.

Underneath Wrestling
The second category, the underneath position, needs to be mastered also. Oftentimes, a dominant wrestler could have this area as his weakness simply because he might not often end up in this position. As coaches, we need to save some part of every practice for this area. I sometimes find this area is a problem for my team because I coach to dominate and usually that means the offensive takedown area and top position.

The best technique to master in the bottom position is the stand-up done with correct hand control. Keeping one’s opponent’s legs out of yours is the best skill to use while standing up. Sit-outs, switches, and rolls are also easy techniques to learn to be able to help the down position. A combination of all of these tremendously aids your escaping ability. The sit-out with good hand control is probably the easiest escape to learn. Wrestlers must also know how to remove opponents’ legs from theirs and/or escape from opponents’ legs when the opponents have a firm grasp. Not giving your opponent anything to work with is the best solution most of the time.

In regards to learning how to escape, a great example in Iowa wrestling was Bruce Kinseth. Bruce was one of Iowa’s hardest workers. His workouts were legendary, and his intensity and conditioning were phenomenal. The one problem was his underneath position, and the rules at this time put you in the bottom position for either the second or third period. Against the really good wrestlers he sometimes would get ridden for the whole period, therefore, neutralizing his intensity and conditioning.

Coach J. Robinson perfected a sit-out for Bruce, so no one could ride him. All his hard work was finally able to pay off for him; his winning percentage jumped greatly with the development of a single skill. Once his escape was perfected, he finished first in the nation, winning the Most Falls trophy and the Most Outstanding Wrestler award his senior year. He pinned everyone in the Big Ten and NCAA Championships his senior year.

A combination hip-heist movement from underneath is the skill that needs to be perfected in escaping. This skill also is extremely helpful from a defensive position on takedowns as well. When used after the initial counter, it becomes an offensive scoring maneuver. Like a good takedown, the best escape/reversal to use is the one that works.

Strength
Strength is another area that is vital for success. If a wrestler is lucky enough to have the genes that promote muscle and strength development, then this area doesn’t require quite as much emphasis. Depending on the wrestler’s muscle type, you can point his strength training to where it is most needed – power or endurance. The other benefits of strength training are how it can build up a wrestler’s mind and help prevent injuries.

The old Soviet system of athletics emphasized strong body/strong mind preparation at an early age and selected athletes who were “naturals” for their sport. Consequently, their training consisted of more sport-specific activities and less general conditioning and training. A good strength training program is typically part of a wrestler’s training schedule for power and explosion, which are needed to complete and execute a variety of skills in this sport.

An economical way of gaining strength is to work hard at a specific job that requires heavy lifting, building, or digging. The most strength I ever gained was in the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. The job was working with Martinson Construction Company out of Cedar Falls, Iowa, where I worked with concrete and did a lot of hauling and digging. Instead of strength training that summer, I worked extremely hard at the job and gained tremendous strength (and made money at the same time). Other summers, I worked hard at Wheeler-Braun lumberyard in Waterloo and consequently came off the job more prepared for my wrestling matches. Of course continuing to wrestle during this time (two to three times per week) kept the sport close as well.

Wrestlers should do strength training the whole year to make sure they stay fit and to prevent injuries. Former Iowa two-time NCAA champion Chuck Yagla is a great example of what maintaining your strength can do, especially during the season. Chuck, in his first two years at Iowa, lifted weights in the off-season but didn’t continue with this strength training during the competitive season. Chuck also lost quite a bit of weight through the season and his power dropped off as the season was winding down. He did well his freshman and sophomore years, but in his junior year he started a strength program before the season and maintained it through the competitive season. As a result, his performances were much stronger all the way to the end. Chuck won the NCAA Championships in both his junior and senior seasons and was voted outstanding wrestler his final year.

General Conditioning
Conditioning is another one of the essentials. Even though high school matches are only six minutes long, conditioning plays a major role in matches if they are wrestled with intensity. Based on a study I’ve done, when one athlete is forcing the action to his opponent, conditioning becomes a factor shortly after the four-minute mark. This observation assumes the opponent has been training and has been put through highly productive wrestling practices. Opponents of less quality are affected sooner. This observation also assumes that the wrestler who is forcing the action has worked to the point that conditioning is not a factor in his situation.

With this fact in mind, an overall goal of my teams is to have my athletes in such good condition that they can perform at their highest level throughout their matches. Initially, not all wrestlers will be willing to work this hard, but even those who don’t will benefit from this philosophy. As they witness someone who is training at a high level and see his results, they too are more likely to strive for this goal.

The point you must drive home to your wrestlers is that it’s easier to go higher when you start higher; their productivity year-round will be greater if they stay at a higher fitness level year-round. Daily work adds up to a whole lot after a while. Five minutes a day doesn’t seem like much, but it equals close to 31 hours of extra work when added up for a whole year. Add that up over an athlete’s career in high school, and that’s 124 hours of extra work. Add four years of college, and that’s 248 extra hours of work.

A wrestler can develop from average to good or good to great with just a bit more time and effort each day. The key here is to teach the athlete how to push himself. Conditioning is usually the difference when it comes down to the fourth, fifth, sixth, or extra minutes in a wrestling match. Building the desire in the athlete to do extra training is a key factor in his achieving a high performance level and should be of highest priority to every wrestling coach. Another key is to actually put more intensity and work in during the same time period on a daily basis.

To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you [...]]]> Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. This guide will help you through that process.

To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.

Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals, rather than simply bossing people around.

Bass’ (1989 & 1990) theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders. The first two explain the leadership development for a small number of people. These theories are:

Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.

People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today and the premise on which this guide is based.

When a person is deciding if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes, rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are. She uses this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image to their seniors at the expense of their workers.

The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees’ eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organization’s objectives and their well-being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are [be] (such as beliefs and character), what they know (such as job, tasks, and human nature), and what they do (such as implementing, motivating, and providing direction).

What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership
According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that:

Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization.
Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence:

Helping employees understand the company’s overall business strategy.
Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee’s own division is doing – relative to strategic business objectives.

So in a nutshell — you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go. The next section, “Principles of Leadership”, ties in closely with this key concept.

Principles of Leadership
To help you be, know, and do; (U.S. Army, 1983) follow these eleven principles of leadership (later chapters in this guide expand on these and provide tools for implementing them):

Know yourself and seek self-improvement – In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.

Be technically proficient – As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees’ tasks.
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions – Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.

Make sound and timely decisions – Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.

Set the example – Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see – Mahatma Gandhi

Know your people and look out for their well-being – Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
Keep your workers informed – Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.

Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers – Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.

Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished – Communication is the key to this responsibility.

Train as a team – Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams…they are just a group of people doing their jobs.

Use the full capabilities of your organization – By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

Factors of leadership

There are four major factors in leadership:

Follower
Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees’ be, know, and do attributes.

Leader
You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader who determines if a leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed.

Communication
You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you “set the example,” that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees.

Situation
All are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.

Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your people, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your company is organized.

Attributes
If you are a leader who can be trusted, then those around you will grow to respect you. To be such a leader, there is a Leadership Framework to guide you:

BE KNOW DO

BE a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the organization, perform selfless service, take personal responsibility.
BE a professional who possess good character traits. Examples: Honesty, competence, candor, commitment, integrity, courage, straightforwardness, imagination.

KNOW the four factors of leadership – follower, leader, communication, situation.

KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and weakness of your character, knowledge, and skills.

KNOW human nature. Examples: Human needs, emotions, and how people respond to stress.

KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient and be able to train others in their tasks.

KNOW your organization. Examples: where to go for help, its climate and culture, who the unofficial leaders are.

DO provide direction. Examples: goal setting, problem solving, decision making, planning.

DO implement. Examples: communicating, coordinating, supervising, evaluating.

DO motivate. Examples: develop morale and esprit de corps in the organization, train, coach, counsel.

Environment
Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.

Goals, Values, and Concepts
Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions:
The goals and performance standards they establish.
The values they establish for the organization.
The business and people concepts they establish.

Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability.

Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted.

Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business.

These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization’s “personality” or how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place.

Roles ad Relationships
Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about behavior of any job incumbent. Each role has a set of tasks and responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful effect on behavior for several reasons, to include money being paid for the performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of accomplishment or challenge.

Relationships are determined by a role’s tasks. While some tasks are performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often, and towards what end. Also, normally the greater the interaction, the greater the liking. This in turn leads to more frequent interaction. In human behavior, its hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and friendship is a powerful reward. Many tasks and behaviors that are associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new task and behaviors are expected of the present role-holder because a strong relationship was developed in the past, either by that role-holder or a prior role-holder.

Culture and Climate
There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an organization: culture and climate.

Each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size. This results in rites: the routines, rituals, and the “way we do things.” These rites impact individual behavior on what it takes to be in good standing (the norm) and directs the appropriate behavior for each circumstance.

The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes of the organization’s members. While the culture is the deeply rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs; climate is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership. Climate represents the beliefs about the “feel of the organization” by its members. This individual perception of the “feel of the organization” comes from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the organization. These activities influence both individual and team motivation and satisfaction, such as:

How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization? What is expected of us?
What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the organization?
How competent are the leaders?
Are leaders free to make decisions?
What will happen if I make a mistake?

Organizational climate is directly related to the leadership and management style of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as well as the priorities of the leader. Compare this to “ethical climate” — the “feel of the organization” about the activities that have ethical content or those aspects of the work environment that constitute ethical behavior. The ethical climate is the feel about whether we do things right; or the feel of whether we behave the way we ought to behave. The behavior (character) of the leader is the most important factor that impacts the climate.

On the other hand, culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create “tradition” or the “way we do things here.” Things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything you do as a leader will affect the climate of the organization.

For an activity, see Culture and Climate.

For information on culture, see Long-Term Short-Term Orientation.

Leadership Models
Leadership models help us to understand what makes leaders act the way they do. The ideal is not to lock yourself in to a type of behavior discussed in the model, but to realize that every situation calls for a different approach or behavior to be taken. Two models will be discussed, the Four Framework Approach and the Managerial Grid.

Four Framework Approach
In the Four Framework Approach, Bolman and Deal (1991) suggest that leaders display leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Human Resource, Political, or Symbolic. The style can either be effective or ineffective, depending upon the chosen behavior in certain situations.

Structural Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a social architect whose leadership style is analysis and design. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a petty tyrant whose leadership style is details. Structural Leaders focus on structure, strategy, environment, implementation, experimentation, and adaptation.

Human Resource Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose leadership style is support, advocation, and empowerment. while in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a pushover, whose leadership style is abdication and fraud. Human Resource Leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and move decision making down into the organization.

Political Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is an advocate, whose leadership style is coalition and building. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a hustler, whose leadership style is manipulation. Political leaders clarify what they want and what they can get; they assess the distribution of power and interests; they build linkages to other stakeholders, use persuasion first, then use negotiation and coercion only if necessary.

Symbolic Framework
In an effective leadership situation, the leader is a prophet, whose leadership style is inspiration. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a fanatic or fool, whose leadership style is smoke and mirrors. Symbolic leaders view organizations as a stage or theater to play certain roles and give impressions; these leaders use symbols to capture attention; they try to frame experience by providing plausible interpretations of experiences; they discover and communicate a vision.

This model suggests that leaders can be put into one of these four categories and there are times when one approach is appropriate and times when it would not be. Any one of these approaches alone would be inadequate, thus we should strive to be conscious of all four approaches, and not just rely on one or two. For example, during a major organization change, a structural leadership style may be more effective than a visionary leadership style; while during a period when strong growth is needed, the visionary approach may be better. We also need to understand ourselves as each of us tends to have a preferred approach. We need to be conscious of this at all times and be aware of the limitations of our favoring just one approach.

For an activity, see Bolman and Deal’s Four Framework Approach.

Managerial Grid
The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid (1985) uses two axes:

“Concern for people” is plotted using the vertical axis
“Concern for task” is along the horizontal axis.

They both have a range of 0 to 9. The notion that just two dimensions can describe a managerial behavior has the attraction of simplicity. These two dimensions can be drawn as a graph or grid:

High  9 Country Club          Team Leader

8

7

P       6
E
O       5
P
L       4
E
3

2

1 Impovished             Authoritarian

0   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9
Low                                High
TASK

Most people fall somewhere near the middle of the two axes. But, by going to the extremes, that is, people who score on the far end of the scales, we come up with four types of leaders:

Authoritarian (9 on task, 1 on people)
Team Leader (9 on task, 9 on people)
Country Club (1 on task, 9 on people)
Impoverished (1 on task, 1 on people).

Authoritarian Leader (high task, low relationship)

People who get this rating are very much task oriented and are hard on their workers (autocratic). There is little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. Heavily task oriented people display these characteristics: they are very strong on schedules; they expect people to do what they are told without question or debate; when something goes wrong they tend to focus on who is to blame rather than concentrate on exactly what is wrong and how to prevent it; they are intolerant of what they see as dissent (it may just be someone’s creativity), so it is difficult for their subordinates to contribute or develop.

Team Leader (high task, high relationship)

This type of person leads by positive example and endeavors to foster a team environment in which all team members can reach their highest potential, both as team members and as people. They encourage the team to reach team goals as effectively as possible, while also working tirelessly to strengthen the bonds among the various members. They normally form and lead some of the most productive teams.

Country Club Leader (low task, high relationship)
This person uses predominantly reward power to maintain discipline and to encourage the team to accomplish its goals. Conversely, they are almost incapable of employing the more punitive coercive and legitimate powers. This inability results from fear that using such powers could jeopardize relationships with the other team members.

Impoverished Leader (low task, low relationship)
A leader who uses a “delegate and disappear” management style. Since they are not committed to either task accomplishment or maintenance; they essentially allow their team to do whatever it wishes and prefer to detach themselves from the team process by allowing the team to suffer from a series of power struggles.

The most desirable place for a leader to be along the two axes at most times would be a 9 on task and a 9 on people — the Team Leader. However, do not entirely dismiss the other three. Certain situations might call for one of the other three to be used at times. For example, by playing the Impoverished Leader, you allow your team to gain self-reliance. Be an Authoritarian Leader to instill a sense of discipline in an unmotivated worker. By carefully studying the situation and the forces affecting it, you will know at what points along the axes you need to be in order to achieve the desired result.

For an activity, see The Leadership Matrix.

The Process of Great Leadership
The road to great leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders:

Challenge the process – First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most.
Inspire a shared vision – Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers.
Enable others to act – Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.
Model the way – When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do, a leader shows that it can be done.
Encourage the heart – Share the glory with your followers’ hearts, while keeping the pains within your own.

The best preseason conditioning that any wrestler can do is wrestling.  To be great at anything you must train for that activity.  If you want to be good at bench press then you need to bench press.  If you want to be good at swimming then you must swim as much as [...]]]> by lowsingle:

The best preseason conditioning that any wrestler can do is wrestling.  To be great at anything you must train for that activity.  If you want to be good at bench press then you need to bench press.  If you want to be good at swimming then you must swim as much as possible.  To be a good wrestler you have to wrestle as much as possible.  Find a good partner to come wrestle with with during the preseaon.  Drill at 85-100% at least three days a week.  Running is good conditioning for any sport but you need to keep in mind that running long distance will prepare you to for moderate workouts at a steady pace.  Wrestling is an intense work out and the pace of the match changes frequently.  Sprints are the best cardio exercise for wrestlers.  Run 40′s 100′s or suicide sprints also try to do some jump rope, dots, or run stairs to help your footwork.  As far as weight training is concerned it all depends on what your goals are for the season.  If you want to stay at the weight you are at or if you plan on cutting hard this season you need to do sets of 10-12 reps for about 4 sets.  This will condition and strengthen your muscles without gaining a lot of weight from muscle mass.  If you plan on wrestling up a weight this year and you want to get stronger it would be better to lift heavier and do 3-4 sets of 7 or 8 hard reps.  By hard reps I mean your last rep of each set should be a killer.  Depending on how many days a week you are able to work out you should try to lift the most important muscles for wrestling.  Legs are a must, also back, traps, and biceps because they are all pull muscles that you use during wrestling.  Chest, tricpes and shoulders are all push muscles that should be worked out but are not as important in wrestling as they are in other sports such as football.

Lifting-
Chest: Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Decline Bench Press, Flat Bench Flys

Arms:
Biceps:  Standing Dumbell Curls, Preacher Curls, Straight bar Curls, Isolation Curls, and 21′s
Triceps:  Dips, Tricep press downs, Kick backs, Skull crushers, and close grip bench press (or reverse grip)

Back:  PULL UPS, Bent over rows, Lat pull downs, seated rows, and deadlift
Legs:  Squats, Lunges, Leg press, Leg Curls, Calf Raises, Leg Press
Shoulders:  Upright Rows, Military Press, Front Raises
Traps:  Front Shrugs, Back Shrugs, Bent Flys

Nutrition-
Cutting or Maintaining Weight:
When lifting make sure you always eat enough protein in your daily diet.  Also make sure you eating plenty of carbs early in day but watch out in the afternoon.  Cut carbs as the day goes on so they don’t store as unwanted fat overnight.  Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Also eat white meat more than red meat, fish, chicken and turkey are all good sources of white meat.  Try to stay away from processed sugars in candy and soda.

Gaining Weight and Muscle:
High Protein and High Carb
Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Whey protein can be purchased online or at gnc and it isn’t very expensive.  Make sure you eat protein after your workout while your muscles are in a rebuilding state.

Remember the best way to get into wrestling shape is to wrestle.  Mat time is the best workout for any wrestler and finding a partner that will push you to be better is very important.  Any questions just pm me.

Talking with football coaches, I find they labor under the myth that wrestling is an off-season sport that detracts from their program and does not support the goals of football. What are the goals of football? Strength, speed, endurance, quickness, coordination, balance and weight gain are [...]]]> By Jack Fisher
Editor of Texas Wrestling Magazine

Talking with football coaches, I find they labor under the myth that wrestling is an off-season sport that detracts from their program and does not support the goals of football. What are the goals of football? Strength, speed, endurance, quickness, coordination, balance and weight gain are the most sought after outcomes for young athletes in football. I will concede that wrestling does not support the goal of weight gain but encourages its athletes to maintain or cut weight. Football and wrestling are both maligned by the public for the methods often used by their athletes to achieve their weight goals. More has been said about the ill effects of weight gain products than the methods wrestlers use to lose weight. Now with the rule that a high school athlete cannot lose more than 10% of their body weight from the certification weight at the beginning of the season, less controversy surrounds weight loss efforts as it has achieved a more natural process. Having 275 as the limit for heavy weight wrestlers, it excludes offensive linemen tipping the scales at more than 305 pounds. Football coaches need not fear that their behemoth linemen will shrink in size, as they would be disqualified the minute they step on the scales. The sleek, speedy, muscular, linebackers and defensive backs, however, will find wrestling the most enduring off-season sport.

Ounce of ounce, you will not find a stronger athlete than a superior wrestler. Many an unskilled and inexperienced wrestler has achieved victory through strength alone. Those who achieve greatness, however, are skilled, experienced, and strong. Wrestling coaches of winning programs incorporate weight lifting and strength building as a part of their training, some even having weight rooms, free weights and weight machines of their own. Even wrestlers that do not follow a regimen of weight lifting on their own will acquire strength on the mat by the resistance they meet in their opponents. The sport demands that you overpower your opponent, hence the need for strength.

Speed is an indirect outcome of wrestling. It is achieved by the strength and conditioning requirements for a wrestler in training. Just as in track (which by the way is a sport that does not overlap in seasons with wrestling), the great sprinters do much weight training with the lower body, an effective wrestler will work the upper and lower body equally. There is great demand put on the lower body of a wrestler as he pushes against his foe while in the neutral position, or in having to lift his opponent off the mat while bringing him down to the mat under control. As a part of conditioning, some coaches require running distances and sprints to get the body in shape, just as a track coach would do for his runners to build speed and endurance.

I once overheard an outstanding wrestler (state champion at 145 and two-time state placer) who also was an all-district standout in football his junior and senior year at linebacker, comment at the end of football season, “its wrestling season now and time to get in shape!” Those who wrestle and play football will tell you that four quarters of football does not put near the demand on you physically that three, two-minute periods of wrestling will. That is why there is a 45-minute mandatory wait period before a wrestler can get on the mat for the next match. The demand for action at all times is emphasized further by the fact that a referee will caution wrestlers for stalling if they are not actively trying to take down their opponent from the neutral position, pin their opponent if on top, or working to escape if on the bottom. You cannot build a lead in wrestling and coast to the end comfortably. Time outs are allowed for injuries only, not to catch your breath. It is no wonder that a wrestler lies exhausted on the mat at the end of a grueling match. And, then there is overtime and double overtime.

Quickness is often a trait acquired on the mat by experience. A wrestling coach can drill his team on moves over and over again, but until the match experience requires reaction to the moves of your opponent, the wrestler does not learn the value of quick reactions. The takedown, escape, and reversal are moves based on quickness. Though some thought is required in analyzing your opponent and consciously working your opponent, the truly great wrestlers will instinctively and quickly react to situations to gain the advantage. Quickness is a by-product of endurance also, as the quicker wrestler late in the third period of a close match usually prevails.

Coordination and balance are interrelated in that a wrestler measures his opponent, using a series of motions with hands, arms, and feet to lift, trip, drag, push, or pull his opponent to the mat under control. The wrestler uses his momentum and his opponent’s momentum to set up takedowns. Riding your opponent requires great skill in positioning and balance. The great wrestlers keep their opponents off balance at all times with a series of coordinated moves. A two-time state placer in wrestling at 215 attributed his success in football as a two-time all-district defensive lineman to wrestling teaching him how to maintain balance and use his opponent’s momentum to his advantage. He might have been a three-time state place or champion and three-time all-district or all-state defensive lineman, had he not had his knee blown out in football his junior year.
Wrestling is the only off-season sport that supports all facets of a football program. Even weight gain is achieved after wrestling season ends. Most wrestlers will tell you that as soon as wrestling season is over, most of them balloon up to weights well above where they started the season.

There are other benefits that wrestling has over football as a sport, which should be analyzed as well. The injuries in wrestling are less debilitating than in football. It is unheard of to have a wrestler go through knee surgery or shoulder surgery or any surgery as a result of injuries sustained in wrestling. The most frequent cause for matches to stop for injuries in wrestling is for blood time due to bloody noses, scratches or scabs being knocked off.

Though football is a team sport and emphasizes team work for success, a valuable lesson for any athlete to learn, wrestling combines the advantage of team work as a dual team member, while allowing a wrestler to rise to victory based upon his own merits or handle defeat with no one to blame but himself. There is a combination of teamwork and individual acclaim in wrestling. If team unity is lacking or the team as a whole is weak or even non-existent, a wrestler can experience a successful season and even be a state champion as was the case for a young man several years ago from the small town of Pilot Point, Texas.

Great football players would make good wrestlers just based on athletic ability, but great wrestlers would make outstanding football players. Football should become the off-season sport for wrestlers.

Directions:
* Use all of the cards (with the [...]]]> Here’s a unique, fun, killer workout that you can do with a deck of cards and a training partner that will train every wrestling-specific muscle and get you in shape in a hurry. It’s great for something different to mix up your training workouts.

Directions:
* Use all of the cards (with the two Jokers that will be 54 total)
* One wrestlers pulls a card off the top of the deck. The card will correspond with the exercise and number of repetitions listed below.
* As soon as the first wrestler completes the exercise, he then pulls a card for the second wrestler.
* Keep alternating back and forth until the deck is complete.
* You can do this by yourself as well.

FACE CARDS:
Jokers: Bear Crawl 30-40 feet one way, Crab Walk 30-40 feet back
Aces: Burpee/Jumping Squats – 10 reps (reps are counted as ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘ONE’… ‘one’, two’, ‘three’, ‘TWO’… and so on until you reach ten. The last number in the count is when you perform a Jumping Squat)
Kings: Twisting Crunches – 15 to each side
Queens: Back Bridge Pushups – 15
Jacks: One Leg Romanian Deadlift – 10 each side

NUMBERED CARDS:
Black = Pushups – repetitions correspond with number on card
Red = Combat Squats – repetitions correspond with number on card