Handling Nerves

The biggest reason a wrestler gets nervous, has anxiety, and/or even fear before a big wrestling match is because they treat it completely different than other matches and practices, says Jeff Zannetti Co-founder of Wrestling Mindset, a company that helps wrestlers reach their full potential in wrestling, school, and life.

“Their self-talk, mental preparation and what they do before the match is vastly different than in practice and other matches,” says Zannetti, who graduated with an Economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania and studied business at Wharton School of Business. He was also a nationally ranked All-Ivy League wrestler at the University of Pennsylvania.

It’s not the competition, match importance or stage/arena that creates nerves, stress, or fear. It’s one’s emotional and psychological response, says Mark Schwab. Schwab spent 23 years as a college wrestling coach (Purdue, Minnesota, Buena Vista, North Iowa CC, Northern Iowa) and is now helping individuals on and off the mat by giving them the “best opportunity to grow, develop and succeed regardless of the arena” through his Opportunities to Succeed and Mental Warriors training programs.

“Nerves, stress or fear are natural until they become irrational or when the stress turns to anxiety,” Schwab says. “If I asked you to fetch me a bucket of fear, you’d come back empty. Pressure or stress, fear, nerves or the extreme—anxiety—are an inner response to real or imagined fears.”

The more a wrestler prepares for the big match—in practice, and by creating a consistent pre-match routine—the more one can eliminate those potentially negative emotions ad thoughts.

“Most youth or high school athletes just pace around nervously with no idea how to manage their nerves, energy, and emotions,” Schwab says. “Not nearly enough time is spent on a consistent or managed approach. It’s very random and with this, you get random performance.”

Pre-Match Routine

Dan Willaert, head coach at St. Paul’s Cretin Derham Hall High School and a coach with St. Paul Wrestling Club, tries to solve this by making sure each wrestler on his high school team creates a pre-match routine. This starts well before a match is even wrestled and is practiced, regularly.

“Our wrestlers develop a procedure of stretching, calisthenics, and getting dressed for the match that helps them prepare the same way for every match, regardless of the setting or the opponent,” Willaert says. “The order of snapping on headgear, removing warm-ups, and doing one last stretching sequence should be consistent and practiced so that wrestlers can focus on getting to the same, optimal level of preparation for every match. The routine can be comforting and help the wrestlers center themselves prior to the start of the match.”

Willaert also has each wrestler fill out a “Match Game Plan” worksheet early in the season. It includes fill-in-the-blank sentences such as:

• In the neutral position my best takedown is ________.
• I set this up by __________.
• If that isn’t working I switch to _________.

This also includes a similar section for top and bottom positions.

After wrestlers fill these out, they are scanned into a .pdf file so coaches can access it from their phones or iPads.

“Our coaches are able to talk with our wrestlers about a game plan they believe in if they are looking like they might be psyching themselves out before a big match,” Willaert says. “We also have wrestlers update this worksheet prior to section tournaments in case they have developed something new that they want to include or found something that is working better than it was at the start of the season.”

Like most things in wrestling and sports, preparation and practice are key. Developing a controlled, set routine is a big way to minimize pressure, says Dr. Christopher Stankovich, Ph.D., a graduate of The Ohio State University and the Founder of Advanced Human Performance Systems, an athletic counseling and human performance enhancement center. Stankovich has also authored several books for athletes and parents and teaches athletes how to maximize their athletic abilities. He offered some advice for athletes under pressure:

Start by using deep breathing to control anxiety, and focus solely on the things you can control (effort, being aggressive) rather than worrying about things you can’t control (who you will wrestle, who is watching in the crowd), Stankovich says.

He says pressure is simply a term we use when we feel we are overwhelmed and/or feeling incapable of completing a task and we all experience pressure differently. One wrestler sees pressure, another sees the same situation as an exciting challenge. 

“I have found that how we perceive the world around us has the biggest effect on how our minds and bodies respond,” Stankovich says.

Pressure, therefore, is 100-percent developed between the ears, so to speak, meaning it can also be minimized, and eventually eliminated altogether.

“Remember, what you see in an opponent is entirely up to you. If you see the opponent as really tough, you are likely to experience pressure, but if you see the opponent as merely another human being trying to wrestle hard—just like you—then you will experience a healthy challenge and likely wrestle your best as a result,” Stankovich says.

Think about this, says Zannetti: During practice, wrestlers almost always drill hard within minutes of wrestling live. Before matches, many wrestlers only bounce and pace around the mat. They don’t even touch another person for sometimes an hour leading up to the match. That never happens in practice. Their self-talk is also usually very different. In practice they are thinking about wrestling hard and being aggressive. They aren’t overly focused on winning, the score or the outcome. They are simply wrestling with a clear mind.

“Before big matches many wrestlers are often thinking too much about winning or losing, who they are competing against, what if they get tired, team score, qualifying for state or nationals,” Zannetti says. “Again, the self-talk and mental prep is completely different than practice.”

A pre-match routine, again, is the simplest way to combat this and to compete consistently, Zannetti says. He says to consider five components: hands-on drilling (on deck or double deck), deep breathing, dynamic stretching, an element of fun, and positive self-talk.

“The pre-match routine needs to be developed, written down and practiced,” says Zannetti. “Every wrestler’s routine will look different and that is okay.”

When Zannetti and the Wrestling Mindset team last worked with Rutgers University wrestlers, they took the team through the pre-match routine lesson. The next day the team came into practice and worked on their pre-match routine before wrestling live. 

The key, like anything else is repetition and consistency.

“With time, a solid pre-match routine will help get you physically and mentally ready before matches," Zannetti says. "Do it before every match. Not just against the tough opponent.”

The Coach’s Role

Coaches can play a crucial role in ensuring wrestlers are mentally prepared. At Cretin, Willaert assigns one coach to be a “bullpen” coach before dual meets. This coach does not have any responsibilities or focus on the match that is actually happening on the mat. This coach is solely responsible for being with the upcoming wrestlers that are behind the bench or in the warm up area.

“This coach would be the one talking through the match game plan and encouraging and prepping our wrestlers,” Willaert says. “Some wrestlers need to be pumped up before a match and others need to be calmed down to perform best. The bullpen coach gets to know what each kid needs and does what he can to make that happen. Sometimes if we have two wrestlers weighed in for the same weight, I'll defer to the bullpen coach on which one to send out. He has watched them warm up and knows which wrestler is dialed in for a good match.”

Some people get a reputation for “coming up big” in the big matches. How do they consistently do this?

Seizing Big Moments

The main reason for this is that these individuals make big matches a personal challenge, they have fun in anticipation of the big event, and they go all-out when performing and don’t worry about the outcome as much as giving effort, Stankovich says. As these individuals experience success in big matches, their confidence grows, and they continue to 'come up big' in the big matches.

“The good news for all wrestlers is that these are not biological, DNA traits that only some wrestlers possess, as all wrestlers can improve their mental toughness and perform “big” when the lights are on,” Stankovich says.

Coaches can break down a lot of pressure by simply believing in their wrestlers and telling the team that the real goal is effort, not the final score. 

“I find that many times the pressure wrestlers experience, ironically, is letting down their coaches and teammates,” Stankovich says. “This can all be eliminated when savvy coaches speak directly to this concern.”

The reality is this: 50 percent of wrestlers will win the big match. 50 percent will lose. The journey to that big match, and what happens after is what defines the person.

“We are very clear with our wrestlers that their seasons and their careers are not defined by any single match or tournament,” Willaert says. “We are proud of them regardless of the outcome of the match that is before them. If they did their best to prepare and wrestle their hardest out there, they can come off the mat with their heads held high, shake their coaches’ hands and be proud to rejoin their teammates on the bench. The sun will come up tomorrow and they will go on to bigger and better things than high school wrestling. The lessons that they’ve learned here and the experiences that they’ve had will help them find success in the future.”