Varia

Some excellent inspirational quotes and articles are listed below. Feel free to post yours in the forum and if I like it I'll add it in here. =:)




>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>QUOTES<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

"Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy." ~ Dan Gable

"I can make almost anyone a champion ... if they survive." ~ Dan Gable

"If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."

"Winning isn't everything--but wanting to win is."

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up."

"It's not just a lousy six minutes kid, it's what you do in those six minutes." ~ Vision Quest

"If winning isn't everything, then why do they keep score?"~ Vince Lombardi

"The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary."

"If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat. "

"The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost."

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

"Winning is not a sometime thing: it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do the right thing once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."

"It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you've got to have is faith and discipline when you're not yet a winner."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ARTICLES<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Mental Toughness Poem
Many claim to have it, yet few can define it
It is not something we are all born with
and few can be taught to attain it
but it is the base of what we yearn for- success


Talking the game doesn't cut it.
Could of beens whine about the lack of it
Winners don't tell any one they have it
It shows in the passion in their eyes


The sport isn't just a game of skills, it is
a way of life- a constant challenge to
become the best, and these guidlines change day
to day, because mental toughness is playing
against the game itself, not a certain opponent
It doesn't matter how good anyone else
is, only how good you can be day in and
day out. The mind can overcome any
obstacle to achieve a true desire


You have seen them; the ones that make it look
easy, their mind has this power. It is through the
hours of staying when everyone else
went home, it is watching their heroes and
imagining doing the same thing. It
is believing in the mind that no one is better.


Mental toughness is thinking before you
perform, yet not knowing you even thought
before the task was done, it is leading when
no one else has the courage to lead, and it
is sacrificing your body, giving your heart,
and working beyond requirements
discipline, repetition, constant learning and
believeing in your self can give you the
gift of mental toughness. Skills come by fairly
easily, but only the true athletes posess the defintion
of success- MENTAL TOUGHNESS





What I Have Learned from "The Greatest Sport"

I was born in October, just in time for the beginning of the wrestling season. Since I was born, I was always around wrestling for my dad was and still is a coach. As I grew up, I idolized wrestlers and everyone in the wrestling community. Not always just the best wrestlers, the ones standing atop the podium at the end of the year, but also some who failed to reach that top step. Don't get me wrong; I did also venerate the champions, probably more so when I was younger and hadn't learned what the sport was all about.

Being around the state tournament, I have many vivid memories, but one that struck me the most and has remained with me was when a wrestler from my conference who was undefeated lost in the state finals. Within ten minutes of getting his silver medal, he was out in the hallways playing football with his friends, laughing, and having a good time, while that silver medal dangled from his neck. He didn't feel at all that he had failed. Winning a state championship did not determine success in his mind, rather accomplishing what he could satisfied him. From the state tournament, I learned that losing is not failure and success doesn't necessarily pertain to winning.

Being around varsity wrestlers, I have seen first hand the hard work that it took to win. I didn't always learn this from the best wrestlers either. I learned this from my brother. In middle school, he had a record of 4-11. He worked hard, wrestling and lifting throughout the spring and summer, and eventually made it to state and placed fourth as a sophomore. He was injured at state and tried to wrestle again the next two years, but it just did not work out. Before he had to call an end to his career, I learned what it took to make oneself tough. I admired my brother for all the work he put in, and I vowed to work as hard and even harder than he did. From wrestlers, I learned about work ethic.

Being around beginning wrestlers, I have learned about The Little Train That Could. I have seen beginning wrestlers stick at it even after losing 90% of their matches. I have seen how big the hearts of true champions are. I remember watching one wrestler who won only a couple matches out of a hundred keep trying and refusing to give up. After a couple years of hard work, he qualified for state as a junior and had a remarkable record. I respect him for his hard work and refusal to give in. From beginning wrestlers, I have learned to persevere through any challenge and obstacle that arises.

Being around coaches, I have learned about the love for the sport and life itself. Our past coach is the epitome of a perfect person: Passionate, caring, God loving, and committed. While coaching, he'd do anything for his wrestlers, and now it's evident to me that this commitment is carried over in his life also. He has served missionary duties in his retirement and still attends many wrestling events. Just like he was committed to his wrestlers, he is committed to fellow beings and is still committed to the sport. From coaches, I've learned that passion and commitment are key aspects of life.

Being from a wrestling family, I have learned much about how wrestling pertains to life. From my dad, I've learned to be humble. Win or lose, the reaction should be the same. One should expect success, but one should also accept defeat when it arises. My dad volunteers thousands of hours of his service to many causes and expects no recognition whatsoever. I admire anyone who has enough humility to not expect nor want recognition for good deeds or success. From my family, I have learned that true champions are judged by their humility.

All of what I have learned from wrestling would not mean anything if I had not pertained it to my life. I have used the skills I have learned from wrestling in everything that I do. I put my whole heart and all of my effort into every aspect of my life. I strive to outwork everyone in everything that I do. When a challenge or defeat comes up, I use what I have learned to persevere until the very end. When things do not go my way, and I know that there is nothing I can change about what has happened, I take what I have learned and accept that how much I have accomplished, not how much I have not, is the true measure of success. I advise you to take some time and think about what you have honestly learned from wrestling, and then you will know how lucky you are to be involved in "The Greatest Sport".
Ty Clark



STATE
The competition grows stronger, not much longer to wait

One more goal to reach, now that I made it to state

My mother is elated, her prayers answered at last

Just making it to Madison, is all that she had asked

My father is so proud, I can see it in his eyes

With one win he'll say, "Son, you hung right with those guys"

My coach needs a couple wins, he's preached of the finals

He's driven me toward excellence, ran with me for miles

My approach is still the same, I'm just in a big gym

In six minutes the man across from me, will know I'm better than him

My arm is raised in victory, my career is now complete

Sometimes I strive for victory, today I won't be beat.




“The importance of off-season wrestling” (Part 1 of 2)

By Ben Askren

“High school” season is over and the “real” season is just beginning for “die hard” wrestlers.
How can you spot “die hard” wrestling warriors?
They were probably the ones winning state high school titles in dominant fashion.
Even in the state finals these wrestlers make it look easy.
There are many reasons for this. First, they have dedicated much more of their life to
wrestling than most other people. They spend countless hours in the gym each spring,
summer and fall. Second, they have found better competition. They find this at national
tournaments and wrestling the best people from other states. Doing this, one realizes
how good the competition in their home state really is. Lastly, they’ve developed
more confidence. They now believe they’ve “out trained” everyone and they were
beating much better people only a few months ago.
“Off season” wrestling will allow you to increase your level of wrestling exponentially,
and take you to a new dimension of wrestling. There are so many opportunities.
Take advantage of them.
For me, on a personal level, I loved wrestling and was always on the mat, even on
days when I was “down”, I went in the room and worked hard, because I knew it
was needed to accomplish my goals. In high school I can count on my hands and
feet the days I didn’t wrestle, and on 2 fingers the days I didn’t work out. This is the
kind of dedication that is needed to make it to the next level.
In the off-season I also made sure I got the best coaching and competition possible.
From fifth grade on I went to Ringers Wrestling Club. I can thank Ringers for a lot
of my freestyle and Greco success. Stefan Ivanov, Jim Schmitz, John Harms, and Matt Abad
were just a few coaches I was fortunate to have. They all emphasized great technique, so
early on, that is how my wrestling developed. Wrestling at Ringers meant I always had
great partners. Some of the wrestlers that went there were Ryan Lewis, Erick Swick,
Brandon McNab, Rudy Ruiz, Brad Russell, OB Mungon, Jack Jensen, Glen Pero, etc., etc. etc.
There wasn’t a better collection of wrestlers in the state anywhere and all of them fed off each
other to become better. I don’t see the same collection of great wrestlers getting together today.
I was lucky so many great wrestlers were gathered at Ringers and at Steiners Advance Wrestling
School when I attended. In my later high school years these were some of my most important
practice opportunities In order to have those opportunities today, the great Wisconsin wrestlers
need to get themselves to Ringers and Steiners to better one another.
Another part of my off-season wrestling was done in my basement. I was very fortunate to have
a father that realized a wrestling mat might pay off. He brought one home when I was in third grade.
It isn’t huge, but it definitely gets the job done. It started out as 12’x12’, but after much use was
expanded to 24’x12’. In junior high and early in high school, when I didn’t have lots of good
partners, I would do lots of shadow drilling. Drilling for hours by myself. Practicing my moves
over and over again. This is one thing NO wrestler can claim they did not have the opportunity
to do. All you need is yourself.
From my sophomore year on, I had a consistent wrestling partner. After my sophomore year
he’d come over, usually, 3 days a week. My junior and senior years it was everyday.
Most workouts would consist of 40 minutes of drilling and about 30 minutes of wrestling.
We would go hard, but always had fun. It wasn’t too much. It was just enough to get the
edge I needed. We went freestyle from the day state was over until the day high school
season started. Alternating styles was more fun and then high school provided a good change.
Besides that partner, I had a ton of drill partners, who would call me a couple nights a week
and drive in to wrestle with me. The two I wrestled the most were Brian Meier and Joe Milburn,
it provided a good change of pace and I always liked helping them. Teaching others about
wrestling is a really great way to learn it better yourself. If you want to learn something, teach it!
I also had lots of friends from across the state who would come in for a weekend and hang out
and wrestle. The Crass brothers, Josh Wagner, OB Mungon, Matt Pell, the Blumenthal brothers,
Jack Jensen, Chris Johnson, etc. were all great partners.
The last option for wrestling in the summer is camps. I did not go to very many camps, because
I was wrestling at home. I always went to Junior National and Cadet National camps and had a
great time. I learned a lot at these camps. I encourage everyone to attend them.
Other options, for the off-season, are lifting and cardio work. I always lifted, but not very hard,
in high school. You can become well conditioned and technically skilled enough so that tremendous
strength really isn’t necessary to beat most high school opponents. However, I now realize spending
more time on strength work would have been helpful. Being stronger would probably have made my
college red-shirt year, here at Missouri, unnecessary. I do encourage lifting, however NOT instead of
wrestling. Always wrestle, before anything, if possible. Conditioning really isn’t an off-season
thing unless you are competing. If you aren’t competing, then it really only takes 4-6 weeks to get
in shape so you won’t have to do it until October or so.