As the Tokyo Olympics concluded, there are many takeaways and questions. Like what happened to Dake? How did Gable Steveson pull it off? What makes David Taylor so good?
1. Get the Next Best Thing:
Even the best wrestlers have set backs. Even though Dake got teched he came back to get the next best thing, The Bronze Medal! If things do not go your way get after it. The next best thing to do is trust your training and wrestle to dominate your way to the third place medal. Set back reveals your true character and Gilman, Hildebrandt, and Maroulis all took home the bronze!
2. Be aggressive and relentless. Stay in the present moment:
David Taylor was offensive the whole olympics. Never took his foot off the gas pedal and was looking to score no matter what. David Taylor fight and earned ever single point from the trials all the way to the olympic finals. David Taylor talked about staying in the moment. Never look ahead to any match. One match at a time and one takedown at a time. Never stop being on the attack!
3. Have an Element of Fun:
Even at the highest levels an element of fun is very important. Olympic Gold Medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock brought a karaoke machine. She enjoyed every moment of the olympics. The element of fun it takes the pressure off of you and allows you to enjoy and stay in the present moment.
4. Never Ever Give Up:
It went down to the final seconds in the HWT Gold Medal Match between Gable Steveson and Geno Petriashvili. With Steveson pulling the upset with in the final seconds. This is a testament of confidence in your ability As Stevenson would quote “They have a 1/6 chance of wrestling me”! This unstoppable confidence led him to become the youngest gold medalist in the HWT Division. He believed in his offense even with the short time left.
5. Its about the Team/Country:
You are representing more than just yourself. Everything you do is with a purpose and higher reason. All of these US Wrestlers represented this country with great character and it is what young athletes should strive to do at any level. Have pride in who you wrestle for/
We are very proud of all the athletes that represented not only our great country but the oldest and toughest sport in the world!
Below we recap the Olympics and lessons you can share with your team to help them improve this upcoming season.
Blog by: Ray Jaz (Wrestling Mindset Coach)