ultimate signal of success

Ground&Pound · 09-07-2007, 01:11 PM

"The ultimate signal of success is that you make yourself obsolete."

I really like this quote.

To relate it to wrestling, some of the better wrestlers that I ever coached required very little instruction during the match. No yelling or scream required. They were well prepared and knew what to do in most situations.

Some people (parents) have the misconception that the best coaches are the loudest and most dramatic in the corner. While there is a time and place for such, the best coaches shouldn't have much to say during a match.

This also applies to the practice room.

Well motivated and disciplined teams don't need constant proding and yelling from the coach.

A sign of great coaching is when the structure and work ethic remains in tact in his abscence.

comments?

bluestater · 09-07-2007, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Ground&Pound

"The ultimate signal of success is that you make yourself obsolete."

I really like this quote.

To relate it to wrestling, some of the better wrestlers that I ever coached required very little instruction during the match. No yelling or scream required. They were well prepared and knew what to do in most situations.

Some people (parents) have the misconception that the best coaches are the loudest and most dramatic in the corner. While there is a time and place for such, the best coaches shouldn't have much to say during a match.

This also applies to the practice room.

Well motivated and disciplined teams don't need constant proding and yelling from the coach.

A sign of great coaching is when the structure and work ethic remains in tact in his abscence.

comments?

That's something I noticed when watching the video of the world team running the Cog. Daniel Cormier needed to be pushed and prodded like a 5 year old not eating his vegetables. Did they ever have to push Joe Williams? Tommy Rowlands? Nope, they pushed themselves. The only thing that was said to Zadick and Schwab was to stoke the fires of competition between the two. Considering that three of the guys I just mentioned were coached by Dan Gable, yeah, I'd say that quote is dead on. (And I don't think that Daniel's laziness is a failing of John Smith, Kevin Jackson, or anyone else who coached his fat a**. I think that Daniel is just lazy.)

gg121and2 · 09-07-2007, 03:09 PM

It's long been acknowledged that one of the keys to Gable's coaching success was his ability to know what each wrestler needed psychologically. You could almost tell how he was handling his wrestlers by the pre-match head slap. He'd almost take Mena's head off - then just shake hands with Ironside.

A less acknowledged part of that success was knowing how to hire a top assistant who could give his wrestlers a different mental approach - from J to Mark Johnson to Z. I don't think it was a coincidence that some of Gable's "off" years came during Barry Davis' time as top assistant. Nothing against Barry - he's just too much like Dan.

Disney calls this the "Mickey and Arthur" management theory.

ultimate signal of success

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