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sgallan · 06-09-2008, 10:19 PM

It still depends on the kid. Mine wrestled a little at five but she was good for about 20 minutes of practice and would then wander off and play. By the time she was six she just couldn't get enough of the sport - still no athleticism but pretty fundamental. By seven she was a stud but I just kept things basic...... sprawl, inside control, half, whipover, front headlock, and it was mostly freestyle.

She made a lot of friends in those early years - many all over the country - that are still friends to this day. Keeping it pretty basic, I kept out the bad habits. When she picked up one (picked up by wrestling with the HS team) I just stopped her doing that stuff to get it out of her system. For example; funk with legs as option number one and shooting singles to her knees.

Another thing...... being a very competitive kid I have kept the expectations to wrestling well. Wins and losses are not that important. The effort, and wrestling hard and doing her best - win or lose - counts much more. The kids that truly burn out tend to have those over the top parents who berate the kids constantly, have them cut a lot of weight, and make the whole thing a pressure packed situation, instead of a trip with wrestling being just part of an entire trip experience.

Lastly, when you make the whole competition and training thing as part of life, while doing a lot of other things (we rock climb, scuba, hike, water sports, sight see, and so on), it is not 'really' all wrestling, all of the time. It is a lot of things being done 'while' wrestling.

06-09-2008, 10:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
sgallan Olympic Champ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Parker, Az Posts: 2,786 My Mood: Tournaments Joined: 1 Tournament Wins: 0	Re: what age? It still depends on the kid. Mine wrestled a little at five but she was good for about 20 minutes of practice and would then wander off and play. By the time she was six she just couldn't get enough of the sport - still no athleticism but pretty fundamental. By seven she was a stud but I just kept things basic...... sprawl, inside control, half, whipover, front headlock, and it was mostly freestyle. She made a lot of friends in those early years - many all over the country - that are still friends to this day. Keeping it pretty basic, I kept out the bad habits. When she picked up one (picked up by wrestling with the HS team) I just stopped her doing that stuff to get it out of her system. For example; funk with legs as option number one and shooting singles to her knees. Another thing...... being a very competitive kid I have kept the expectations to wrestling well. Wins and losses are not that important. The effort, and wrestling hard and doing her best - win or lose - counts much more. The kids that truly burn out tend to have those over the top parents who berate the kids constantly, have them cut a lot of weight, and make the whole thing a pressure packed situation, instead of a trip with wrestling being just part of an entire trip experience. Lastly, when you make the whole competition and training thing as part of life, while doing a lot of other things (we rock climb, scuba, hike, water sports, sight see, and so on), it is not 'really' all wrestling, all of the time. It is a lot of things being done 'while' wrestling. __________________ I am 48, bald, ugly, and don't own a single cool thing. Kids like me though.