Ditch the "Grind", Harness Joy and Curiosity Instead
After leaving my full-time wrestling coach job, I’ve had time to reflect. I noticed that my ego had been driving my decisions more than I realized, I was often more concerned about how others saw our program rather than focusing solely on its effectiveness. But being away has let me reassess things. I've realized two crucial things I had been neglecting: joy and curiosity.
Hard Work Isn't the Whole Picture
Lots of people credit tough experiences with building character. But in sports like wrestling, with its long and challenging season, ‘struggle’ isn’t everything. Aiming for struggle or a grind constantly can create frustration, not a team culture. To keep athletes happy and motivated, coaches should make sure that the joy of the sport isn't lost to pressures and intensity of training schedules.
Joy as Fuel
The best motivation for anyone — be it an athlete or not — is to enjoy what they do. For athletes, when training takes the form of games and competition, they tap into a profound sense of enjoyment. Not only that, but the struggle is forgotten and you inevitably find yourself working harder than otherwise. For inherently competitive wrestlers, a playful approach uses their competitive impulses that they’re “grinding” during Christmas break in January and work harder than you would have thought you could have. I think every coach has seen a guy find energy that you didn’t think they had when put into a competitive situation whether a friendly challenge, a warmup game, or a live go with fun stakes. Harness that power.
Curiosity Drives Learning
It's a known fact - curiosity powers learning. The same principle applies to sports. Forcing athletes to learn things they're not invested in isn't the best approach. It's better to introduce topics that they're excited about.
An example to illustrate. During a kids club practice session, when I asked them to pick a topic they wanted to work on, they picked a spladle. As a coach, I hate junk moves like this, but we went ahead with it. They were invested, and it showed. They learned the move in 15 minutes, a stark contrast to the ‘important move they aren’t as interested in.
The unexpected learning was profound as well. While working on the spladle, with a little prodding, they understood, the deeper dynamics of technique like its inherent weaknesses. As a result, they were receptive to using the lessons from the spladle’s weakness to connect it to other more common positions like finishing single legs and the whizzer/seatbelt position.
The spladle 30 minutes took us on an unexpected learning journey. The athletes walked away with important lessons along with deeper understanding of the spladles strengths, weaknesses, and use cases. They did this all while having a great time. And isn't that a win in itself?
Long-term, joy and curiosity are the way forward in sports. As the grueling schedules wear athletes down, their motivation can fade. But if they're having fun and are invested in what they're learning, they continue to progress. They're not learning because they have to, but because they want to. Having these principles at the heart of our coaching methods will likely lead to more sustainable growth for athletes.
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