Ways to Stay Engaged and in Shape from Home

Wrestlers adapt and change. The best are comfortable when things are uncomfortable.

Right now, in the world of wrestling—and sports and society in general—things are uncomfortable.

All 2020 NCAA championships were cancelled. The Olympics are postponed until 2021. USA Wrestling suspended all sanctioned events and national events through May 10.

And wrestlers of all ages are forced to stay at home and avoid any and all team activities. It's unprecedented territory.

But members of the wrestling community are still regularly communicating with their club and team members, and finding unique ways to stay engaged, active, and motivated.

Social media is playing a big part in helping the wrestling community stay connected during this time and coaches, parents and wrestlers welcome the ability to connect with resources such as these:

• Matt Lindland, USA Wrestling Greco-Roman National Team Coach, posted a video of himself at home chopping wood, focusing on the physical benefits of the task.
• Danny Struck, head coach at Jeffersonville High School (Jeffersonville, IN) is sharing body weight workouts that can be done from anywhere and drill ideas, such as snap-down drills using bands in a garage.
• McKendree University wrestler Emma Bruntil wrote her own article on how wrestlers can stay motivated during this time, providing a section on how to improve one's mental focus.
• Katherine Shai posted a series of workouts that can be done at home, such as circuit routines or stance-in-motion drills.
• Nashon Garrett, a 2018 USA Wrestling Senior World Team Trials champion at 134 pounds, and NCAA Champion and four-time All-American at Cornell, suggested a TikTok dance off between wrestling teams and clubs.
• Olympian and World Champion Jordan Burroughs posted that he has "traded mats for carpet, human bodies for Bulgarian bags, and sprints for Peloton pedal strokes, adding: "Imperfect? Yes. Ideal? No. But I'm far from stationary and I won't be stopped. There' still gold on the table. Let's go get it."

During these difficult times, it's important to control the things you can control, says Ed Duncan, State Chairman of North Carolina USA Wrestling. Stay strong mentally, remain positive, and view this as an opportunity, not a setback.

"We are all going through it together," says Duncan. "Some will come out better because of it. Be one of those people. Keeping a positive attitude and doing something every day to better yourself is key."

Online Workouts

Danny Felix is trying to do just that. The former USA World Team Member and Owner of Felix Wrestling Academy LLC, a Morgantown, West Virginia-based youth wrestling organization, is using Facebook Live to create virtual practices. He often works with his son Luca Felix to demonstrate technique, do drills, and push through a workout one can do at home or in limited space.

"I will admit it is a bit different not having a wrestling room full of kids," says Felix. "A lot of times before practice begins I start to feed off the energy of the room. Now I can't do that because the room is empty. For me my mindset has almost gone back to when I was a competitor. There were many times I worked out alone and had to motivate myself when no one was around. Over many years of competing at the highest level you learn to motivate yourself."

That's the message Duncan is also sending his wrestlers. He's encouraging them to run (practicing social distancing if in public), do pushups, sit-ups, or shadow wrestle, among other individual drills and exercises.

"We have choices of how to use our time," says Duncan. “Whatever you do, just do it consistently, and perhaps you even have time to do more of it since some of the regular things of life have taken a backseat for now."

Focus on Mental Health

The No. 1 priority for Georgi I. Ivanov, Executive Director of Nebraska USA Wrestling, has been on each individual’s well-being. He's been reaching out making sure they are in a safe place and understand the severity of what's going on, while emphasizing the importance of staying on top of both their schoolwork and wrestling homework. He's assigned them a series of at-home drills to work on in their own time. They then report back to him and discuss how it went.

"The athletes are disappointed about not being able to attend practice or compete at tournaments, just like we all are," says Ivanov, a 2016 Olympian at 74 kg for Bulgaria. "But we can't focus on the negatives and what we are currently missing in our lives, we must focus on the positives and the things we have. Things like health, family members, food in the house. Attitude of gratitude is what is much needed in these times of uncertainty."

Study Video

Ivanov is also encouraging wrestlers to use this time to study video of their own matches, and videos of wrestling legends within the sport on the USA Wrestling YouTube channel, Trackwrestling, and FloWrestling, among other sites.

"This is the perfect time to sit down and study film of your previous matches and of your heroes in the sport," says Ivanov. "Watch, dissect their styles, see what moves fit your style, learn, and make them yours. Make them work for you. Visualize performing these moves in key matches like the state tournament."

Duncan said many of the top high school and college wrestlers in North Carolina are making daily workout videos and those are being shared with younger wrestlers. It's also motivating athletes to come up with something new and different—and has created personal challenges among athletes to see what they can come up with next.

"The biggest surprise is the creativity of the athletes," says Duncan. "They are coming up with some great stuff."

Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

Both wrestlers and coaches can use this time to invest in their future in wrestling in different ways.

Coaches can find a variety of educational resources through USA Wrestling. Have you thought about becoming an official? Start the process now.

Youth and high school wrestlers can't get into the wrestling room, but they can search for new ways to get a workout in. Parents can provide a push too.

"Help your parents with yard work projects or carrying things," says Duncan. "Turn those into workouts. You will get a workout and score brownie points with your folks. In short, stay positive, be active, and do something every single day to make yourself a little bit better than the day before."

Felix agrees, reminding athletes, coaches and parents to take it one day at a time.

"There will be many challenges for athletes during this time," says Felix. "Stay focused and motivated. Keep your eye on the prize. Find alternative ways to train and stay a head of the competition. Everyone is in the same boat right now. We cannot let it be an excuse. Instead find a way to turn this into an opportunity."