Hello Everyone!
I hope you all took the opportunity to watch the NCAA wrestling finals this weekend. If you haven't seen it you can still watch it online at ESPN.com. There were many great matches and some awesome examples of wrestlers (that had previously lost to an opponent) finding a new match strategy and coming up with the win. I want to point out one thing I noticed throughout the Finals round. The wrestler that was able to win on his feet won the match. The ability to take your opponent down is crucial to winning matches at the highest level. You will also see many of the athletes constantly moving their opponent's head and hands to gain an angle from which to attack.
There was also a lot of wrestling at a distance this year. What I mean by that is using their extended arm to tap or pull the other man's head. There was also a lot of hand and wrist control being fought for while on their feet. Don't let this confuse you into thinking that these matches were won by shots taken from a distance. If you watch, the actual scoring took place once the athletes obtained dominant head position and inside hand position after closing the gap. The choice to wrestle at a distance until attacking is one dictated by conditioning, strength, and the fact that this a long difficult multi-day tournament that wears even a top college athlete down. A great head snap is perfect for wearing a man down. Mastery of the snap and spin is also key to success as shown in the overtime win by Kellen Russell from U of M. That being said, the key to winning at the highest level is the ability to control and score take downs from the neutral position. I encourage you to take some time and watch the NCAA Wrestling Finals. Look for who gets good head position and inside ties. Watch for how many times the man getting the take down then controls the match to a victory. Also note how often an athlete that gains a lead and then tries to protect their lead, rather than trying to continue to score ends up losing. The other athlete is emboldened knowing he has to score and that his opponent has now stopped trying to attack.
The NCAA finals only comes once a year and is an amazing showcase for technique, conditioning, athleticism, and strategy. Be sure to take the chance to learn from and enjoy this awesome event. It is inspiring and fun to watch and will help to put your own goals into perspective. It is a step in learning what it takes to earn a spot on the Finals platform. It was only a few years ago that the only way to see the NCAA Finals was to actually go and watch in person. I must (sadly) say I have never been to the NCAA Finals myself and hope to remedy that soon. Maybe we can go together, or better yet go to support some of our own Hartland athletes competing on that grand stage. Maybe it will be your son? Or if young athletes are reading this, maybe it might be you!!!!
