What coaching methods and training strategies have proven to be successful for advancing the skills of young wrestlers?
Hellickson: Talent alone can make a wrestler good, but persistent practice of technique with a good drill partner is essential to make a wrestler great. Drilling of maneuvers over and over allows a wrestler to simulate as many situations as possible in preparation for whatever he may face in a match. A wrestler needs three or four attacks with four or five methods of finishing the attack. He can never predict how an opponent will react, but by simulating in practice as many positions and responses as possible, a wrestler will be able to execute a successful finish that scores points. Drilling speeds for new technique should be slow at the start, but eventually the wrestler should be executing at speeds similar to those used in competition. The partner needs to react in ways to provide the offensive wrestler the proper feel of position, pressure, and leverage. Reactions will vary too, to simulate all scenarios. The key here is repetition. Repetitions engrain the motor skills so the wres
