What Makes a Great Wrestler

Every year, wrestlers throughout the country push themselves to the limits, and exceed expectations, achieving things they once thought impossible.

The great thing about wrestling is there is no one size-fits-all method that leads to success.

But there are several qualities, traits, and habits that all the best wrestlers possess. This holds true at the youth, middle school, high school, collegiate, and international level.

Here are the qualities of top wrestlers, as told by coaches:

They love to be coached and trust themselves

“The best wrestlers I have worked with love to be coached,” says Jeff Buxton, coach of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club and Buxton School of Wrestling. “There is a trust between athlete and coach but more important, a constant communication in their development throughout the season as the best have an awareness on being on the same page as the coach.

“These great athletes are always thinking of winning and have no fear of any opponent and look forward to the challenge from the very best. When the lights are on, they live for that moment. They have trained, studied, and prepared for that moment to excel. They live it everyday!

They aren’t afraid to try new things

“The kids who aren’t afraid to open up and try new techniques in the practice room will succeed on the mat,” says Deanna Betterman, women’s director with Colorado USA Wrestling. “If you shut down in the practice room because you don’t want to lose and never try new things, you will never learn and get to the next level.

“They also have the right attitude and toughness. These are qualities that usually cannot be taught by a coach. They are disciplined. They get an extra workout in instead of hanging out with friends and choose a piece of chicken over a piece of pizza. They are also eager to learn. You should never stop learning as a wrestler. You can always improve somewhere—technique, mental toughness, conditioning, or eating habits.”

They have an unbreakable mindset

“The greatest have an unbreakable mind as a competitor,” says Matt Lindland, USA Greco-Roman National Team coach. “They also have a great work ethic and patience, because it takes time, patience, and a willingness to struggle and sacrifice.”    

They exude confidence

“The best wrestlers are diligent,” says Joe Russell, Manager of Freestyle Programs for USA Wrestling. “They have the willingness and ability to show up and do the hard things, day in and day out. They believe. They trust the system—trust in themselves.

“They have the ability to dig deep. They are better able to handle adversity thrown their way. They are comfortable being uncomfortable and find a way to come out on top. They love the fight. Ultimately, they all have the confidence and ability to get the job done.”

They are disciplined and grateful

“The best wrestlers are coachable, disciplined, and grateful,” says Troy Nickerson, head coach at the University of Northern Colorado. “When wrestlers have success, it is easy for them to get over-confident and content. The best are always looking to improve and as coaches, it is our job to continue to push them past their comfort levels and make them even better.

“Discipline is a tough one. Nothing in life worthwhile comes easy. Everything has a price. When an athlete can make those decisions for themselves, it makes it hard for them to not give 100 percent when they compete. Average wrestlers look at discipline as sacrificing things. The best look at discipline as making choices.

“Lastly, the best wrestlers are grateful for the opportunities that are presented to them. They live in the moment and not for the “what if’s.” They look at every experience as a positive one that can make them better because of it.

They are focused and detail-oriented

“The greatest athletes I’ve worked with have a focused attitude during practices,” says Teague Moore, head wrestling coach of American University.

“They work extremely hard to get the details down. Whether it’s technique, strategy, or strength, they give themselves to the process and work to master, not just learn, a position or situation. Competitively they usually tend to need you the least. They know the warm-up, and they have a routine they want to follow in preparation for the whistle. They are the athlete that you just offer support or verbal reminders to.

“Following competitions, they tend to accept critique or criticism the best. They use it to eliminate weaknesses and sharpen their strengths. And best of all they usually offer thanks to those around them.”

They are consist and tough

“I think the biggest thing I see from the best athletes is consistency,” says Mark Reiland, former head coach at Iowa City West High School. “Consistency in their training and diet ultimately transfers to their wrestling. When they compete with consistency, they tend to make big jumps in their performance.

“The other characteristic that I have seen with great success is toughness. Not just being physically tough and beating a guy up physically, but mentally tough enough to fight through bad days and rough circumstances. The best guys to step on the mat for me were guys that were consistent and tough.”

They are able to adjust

“The best wrestlers that I have been fortunate to work with haven’t been the best athlete, but one thing that they had in common was a combination of their willingness to learn from one match to the next, and their ability to make adjustments during a match,” says Jim Moulsoff, head coach, Augsburg University. “They also had fun while competing, no matter what tournament it was, and were able to keep things in perspective and have peace of mind moving forward.”

These are some of the qualities of the best wrestlers, as told by coaches. What other qualities do you see in the best wrestlers? Share and comment below!