Coaching Pet Peeves

Tom Trautman, head coach of the Bishop Lynch High School (Dallas, TX) wrestling program, has a simple ask of his team, parents, and fans.

And it has nothing to do with how they train or compete on the mat. It’s imperative that when his team attends an event or tournament that they leave their area within the bleachers at the event cleaner than when they arrived.

“Wrestling is a discipline sport and I feel that we should leave the area we use at tournaments spotless so that our hosts don't have to clean up after us,” says Trautman, who has led Bishop Lynch to back-to-back (2019/2020) Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) state championships. “To me it’s a simple matter of respecting others. It drives me crazy to see people throw trash and leave it for others to pick up. On more than one occasion I’ve had to go to the bus, step on and remind them that the area we used wasn’t cleaned. This happens usually once or twice a year before they get the message and do it themselves. Sometimes it takes a couple of times before our new freshman and JV wrestlers learn how we do things at Bishop Lynch. This also goes for the bus we use on trips. I know the bus driver has to return the bus cleaned and the guys have learned the hard way that we don’t trash the bus.”

Coaches across the country all have pet peeves. That’s one of Trautman’s. He has many others—as all coaches do. Here’s a look at some of them, as a reminder of proper behavior and wrestling etiquette, both on and off the mat.

Misplacing Head Gear

“Although all our wrestlers have all been taught how to size their headgear and keep it with them at all times, a few decide they will set it somewhere,” Trautman says. “Of course, panic ensues when they forget where they put it, and they borrow a teammate’s headgear right before a match. It’s very hard to focus on a coach’s instructions from the corner when you are fighting the headgear and another wrestler at the same time. The double whammy hits when the person’s headgear they borrowed has the very next match. And then the glare from the referee the fourth time the headgear comes off in a match is priceless.”

Dress Code Violations

University of Iowa standout wrestler Spencer Lee isn’t helping August Manz manage his pet peeves. Manz, head coach at Lewis Central High School (Council Bluffs, IA) isn’t a fan of wrestlers wearing pajama pants to and from a wrestling meet. Lee, the 2020 Hodge Trophy winner as the nation's most dominant competitor, of course, is known for wearing his University of Iowa-branded pajamas while cheering on his teammates after a match. Still, today's youth wrestlers emulate the standouts at the collegiate and International level.  

“I don’t ask kids to dress up in shirt and ties, but wearing pajama pants to and from matches looks really tacky,” Manz says. “It’s been harder to get my point across since Spencer Lee wears his all the time.

“Thanks a lot Spencer," Manz adds with a laugh.

Being Late

Steve Thorpe, head coach of the Sweet Home High School (Sweet Home, OR) wrestling program and chairman of Oregon USA Wrestling simply despises wrestlers being late. “Thorpe Time” he calls it, means be early. If Thorpe says the bus is leaving at 7 a.m., that means arrive and be ready to leave at 6:45 a.m.

“I do not hold the bus if someone is late,” Thorpe says. “That includes coaches.”

No Attention to Detail

“I am highly organized when it comes to being prepared for road trips, overnight stays, and multiple day tournaments,” Thorpe says. “I make an itinerary so that every question is answered. I give them to my wrestlers, post it on the team room door and have extras next to the scale. I tell them to take it home, take a pic of the itinerary. Then, at 9 p.m. the night before we are leaving, I get a text from either the kid or their parents asking questions about the tournament. What time does it start? When are weigh-ins? Where are you guys staying?” 

“That kills me,” Thorpe says. “I have started telling parents and kids to look at the handout I gave them.”

Poor Attitude

Ed Duncan, State Chairman of North Carolina USA Wrestling has several pet peeves, including wrestlers sulking off the mat after a match.

“Wrestlers are supposed to be mentally tough and in great shape,” Duncan says. “One six-minute match should not be so tough that you don’t have enough energy to get off the mat. Win or lose, I want a wrestler to pick themselves up, shake their opponent’s hand, and jog off the mat.”

Appointments During Practice

“If you've not coached long enough to have this one, just hang around,” Duncan says. “Haircuts are a necessary part of life. So are doctor’s visits, car repairs, and a host of other things. And after school may be the most convenient time to get them. Doing this on rare occasions may be tolerable, but it smacks of selfishness, which is poison to a great team atmosphere. I encourage athletes to minimize personal activities during practice time. There are 22 other hours in the day to handle personal business. Team-first athletes are every coach’s dream, so try to be one.”

Promoting a Single Wrestling Style

This one is for other coaches, Duncan says.

“Wrestling is the greatest sport in the world,” he says. “It is a universal art practiced in every corner of our planet. To expose kids to only one style of wrestling and insist that they only concentrate on that one style seems silly to me. Wrestling is wrestling, no matter the style, or the scoring/rules, or the uniform. We should educate kids on the many styles of wrestling and let them try some of the other styles for fun. Exposing kids to multiple styles of wrestling broadens not only their skill set, but also their connection to the great universal sport of wrestling.”

Inexcusable Absences

This one is a pet peeve that really stands out to Conor Fitzgerald, head coach at Olathe South High School in Olathe, KS.

Fitzgerald has created a Guts Club that honors and celebrates wrestlers who achieve 100 percent practice attendance throughout a season. Their name is placed on the wall of their wrestling room just like state medalists and champions.

“We put a big emphasis on the importance of consistency and commitment to the practice room, Fitzgerald says. 

If a wrestler needs to miss practice for any reason, a parent or guardian must send Fitzgerald an email prior to the start, or the absence is unexcused. Unexcused absences are paid for with extra conditioning the following day. If a wrestler exceeds three unexcused absences, they’re kicked off the team.

“This system has served us well over the years and has strengthened the commitment and consistency of our wrestlers,” Fitzgerald says.

Every year before the start of the season Fitzgerald holds a parent meeting and explains to the group the two reasons their child should ever miss practice:

1. Illness
2. Death of a family member or friend

That’s it.

Yet, each season Fitzgerald receives emails with excuses from wrestlers and parents for missing practice for laughable reasons, including these real-life examples:

• A brother has a haircut appointment.
• The wrestler needs to watch the neighbor’s dog.
• They simply won’t be attending practice (no reason given).

“While I find these excuses frustrating and annoying, I typically twist them into valuable teaching tools for the wrestler in question,” Fitzgerald says. “I remind them that we get what we earn in this sport and in this life. If something is important to you, you make it a priority. If you want to be successful on the mat and become a great wrestler, next to nothing should keep you from the practice room. If chaperoning your younger brother to get a fade is more important than being at practice, don’t come crying to me when you’re not getting your hand raised. As they say, ‘if it matters you’ll find a way, if not you’ll find an excuse.’”

Know-It-Alls

It irks Georgi I. Ivanov, Executive Director of Nebraska USA Wrestling, when student-athletes act like they know everything and/or are not coachable. These athletes find excuses for not doing something asked, or pretend to be listening or paying attention, but aren’t. Or, they simply do it their way, or their parents’ way because they feel that’s better than the coach’s way.

“Every coach loves a coachable student athlete, an athlete that’s a student of the sport, the one that is always learning and improving, being curious, asking well thought out questions, and paying attention,” Ivanov says. “This transfers to the real world as well. A coachable athlete becomes a coachable employee, or a fast-learning entrepreneur. Pay attention to the details and you will learn and grow.”

What are your coaching pet peeves? Share or comment below!