As a former wrestler, I am often asked by young athletes if I can give them any wrestling tips that would help them be successful on the mat. My answer is always the same; I can tell you what worked for me, and if you put what I say into action, you are probably going to be successful.
First and foremost, a wrestler must have good conditioning. This is probably the most important of all the wrestling tips I can give, because a wrestler has to be able to go three periods.
There are a number of things a wrestler can do to build stamina, but probably the best thing of all is running. This is something that can pretty much be done anywhere, and it is a great way to build up your endurance as a wrestler. Just getting mat time and working out with teammates also helps a lot in this respect.
Another very important tip is to master the basics. The fundamentals of wrestling are so important to winning so many matches, because a lot of guys don't learn them very well. Things like shooting, sprawling to avoid a take-down, scrambling and tie-ups are so important to a wrestler's development.
One of the wrestling tips that will help your team a lot is learning how to finish an opponent, and by that I mean learning how to pin him. The fact of the matter is that you will get more points for a pin or fall than you will for just winning a match.
Probably the most important of all the wrestling tips I can provide is to prepare yourself mentally for each match. Take the time to learn about each opponent you will be facing or could face in a tournament. Think about every move that he could make and how you would respond, and envision yourself winning the match and having your hand raised by the referee.
There is an old saying that 80 percent of success is just showing up. I truly believe that at least 80 percent of success on the wrestling mat comes from showing up mentally prepared for the match. If your opponent is mentally unprepared or over-emotional, you are far more likely to have success if you are focused.
Wrestling is a sport, and it was meant to be fun, but you are going in there to do a job as well.
These are a few of the wrestling tips that I found to be successful in my career. I wrestled for three years in high school and only lost four matches, and I think by employing some of these strategies, anybody that has the desire and work ethic can have a successful wrestling career, too.