All coaches drill during practice but how can you be sure your team is drilling effectively? Consider this scenario: You tell your wrestlers to pair up and drill the inside stand-up three times each. One pair is finished in under a minute and is now resting along the wall. At the same time another wrestler is providing his partner with absolutely no resistance and just lets him go each time. At the other end of the room the opposite is occurring with another pair of wrestlers "drilling" as if it were the State Finals! None of these three examples constitute effective or efficient learning.

Across town another coach tells his squad to do the same drill, but the last thing he say is, "M3-75". The M3 means "Modules of 3" which is to say that each wrestler does three reps alternating with his partner until the coach signals them to stop. No more sitting along the wall! The "75" is the percent of resistance that the partner should give. Wrestlers often have difficulty knowing how much resistance to provide during drill and this terminology makes it easier for them.

Other variations include "M1-50" where they alternate each time at 50% resistance. "M3-Vary" means the partner gives resistance of 25%, 50%, and 75% on each of the three reps. When first learning a move we would say, "M2-0 Learning Speed". Here the wrestler literally talks himself through the move going slowly to ensure that he does all steps correctly. His partner offers no resistance, however, he should always provide the correct or appropriate body position. As they master the skill the resistance level is increased.

In truth the partner needs to be more of an assistant coach than anything else. Not only does he have to give the proper body position, suitable resistance and appropriate speed, but he should also provide constant feedback, correction and encouragement. Aside from the coach, a good partner is the most important person in a wrestler's training.

How do you know when your team has it right? The day a visitor walks into your wrestling room and asks, "How long have they been scrimmaging?" and you answer, "They're not; they're drilling."