Listening sounds like such an easy task yet so few people do. Most of the time we act like we are listening but are really thinking about something else, doing something else, or even talking instead of listening. We were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. We were designed to listen twice as much as we were to talk! Try closing your lips and breathing through your nose. Think about this for a second then realize what it is asking.

Coaches have seen a lot in their coaching careers. They have seen the highs, the lows, and learned from them. When a coach is offering you advice such as do not hang around with this person, pay attention in class, train harder, control your weight, be more aggressive, stay focused, avoid parties, or whatever it may be, there is a reason they are telling you. During one time or another all coaches have had athletes mess up from one of the above situations and learned from it.

Your coach will give you advice on a lot of different areas. Specifically for wrestling, one area of listening is when deciding what to pick for the second and/or third period. During a match you need to have a game plan for what you are going to choose in the second and/or third period. Coaches can see things during the match that you as an athlete either forget or cannot see.

If you know what you want to do in the second and/or third period then choose it on your own. But, if you look over at your coach and ask them what you should do you had better listen.

Another area where you need to listen to your coach is on weight management. In high school, many wrestlers starve to make weight. Young wrestlers think this is weight cutting. Coaches will tell you numerous times how to do it correctly, but there is resistance. As a result your grades may go down along with your overall performance. Many high school wrestlers do not realize how to properly cut weight until it is either too late, or at the end of their career. Once you realize you have to eat to lose weight and that it all comes down to the amount of calories you are eating, you will feel better and can train harder.

Continue to listen to your coaches and absorb everything like a sponge. The more you listen the more you will learn and you can never learn too much. You will hear Dan Gable say he is still learning about wrestling. If he is still learning, all of us need to continue to listen and learn about the sport. Dan Gable will forget more then most of us will ever know! If you ever get to the point where you feel you know it all you need to get back to reality and realize you can still learn more and perfect what you do know.

Use the two ears you were given and listen twice as much as you speak and you will be truly amazed at what you can learn and what you have been missing all this time.

Continue to listen to your coaches and learn from them. They have learned a lot from past experiences with other athletes just like you. Do not let yourself get to the point where you think you know everything.

Always keep humble and continue to learn this great sport!

Until next time, Dream Big...Work Hard!

Chad Tunink