Part I - It's a challenge.
by Greg DeMarco

Coaches face a multitude of problems not the least of which is poor turnout, high attrition rate, and lack of athletes' work ethic. The solution to these problems can be found in one word: motivation. However, most people believe that the ability to motivate others is an art and, as such, you either have it or you don't. Legendary coaches such as Knute Rockne, Vince Lombardi and Dan Gable had it. You and I, plus 99% of the rest of the world, don't have it. We don't know what to say, nor when to say it. Worse still, we sometimes try to motivate our athletes via large doses of yelling and badgering. While a few coaches may experience some short-term success with this technique, in the long run it is counterproductive. As a case in point, consider the coach who constantly badgers his wrestlers in the off-season hoping to get them to attend tournaments. The result: the coach notices that he doesn't see his wrestlers very often once the season is over! Another coach took a totally different approach forbidding himself and assistants from mentioning the subject of wrestling during the off-season. Yet every weekend 10-25 of his wrestlers would be on the mats participating in various tournaments. How is this possible? What was the coach's secret? Well, it turns out that while motivating people can be an art, there is a flip side to the coin in that it is also a science. This is good news to people like myself because once one learns the principals of this science, he or she can be a motivator.

Motivation consists of three components: challenge, achievement and recognition. Collectively, they spell the acronym C.A.R. Increase any one of these components and a person or team will be more motivated. Let's go for a test drive and see how to apply the first component, challenge, to your program!

People respond to challenges and the more challenges a coach can offer his athletes the better. Let's look at a few examples, both big and small, where you can create more challenges for your wrestlers:

Letter to Potential Wrestlers - Many coaches send a letter to potential wrestlers inviting them to the preseason team meeting in the hope that they'll join the squad. Somewhere within the letter insert this: "It is our belief that with the proper training and a little desire you could become a Champion Wrestler. We must remind you, however, that wrestling is a demanding sport. Discipline and sacrifice are the key words to becoming a champion. Many would like to be good wrestlers, but few are willing to pay the price. Do you have what it takes? If so, attend..." Instead of just telling them about the meeting, you're also presenting them with a challenge.

Team Meeting Poster - consider the simple matter of making posters to advertise your preseason, team meeting. Below are some examples:

The first poster, giving only information, is dry and boring. The last two give the same information, but also present a challenge. It's the same sheet of paper, but the difference is considerable!

Preseason Team Booklet - The most important publication a coach can create for his wrestlers is a team booklet given out at the beginning of the season. Included in this booklet are pages of team and individual records and lists of various tournament champions and/or placewinners. Even if that's all you do, there is an obvious, unspoken challenge: Are you good enough to get your name written here? You could enhance this effect by adding comments such as: "You could be a DISTRICT CHAMPION, but remember, you must give 100% in every phase of training. An 80% or 90% never won a championship! Are you willing to accept the challenge?" Another example is: "Dedication and a lot of hard work led Darren to the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP and you could do the same. The only question is: Will you be the next State Champ?"

Wall of Fame - Similar to the team booklet, a Wall of Fame that could include pictures can also motivate athletes. Pat Milkovich tells the story of a state championship board in his high school gym made in the shape of Ohio. It listed all of his school's state champions and he was greatly motivated to get his name added to it. Present a challenge and athletes will respond.

Calisthenics - Consider the case of when I conducted the team's calisthenics. I'd say, "All right, let's do 50 push-ups. Up 1, up 2, up 3, ..." Around 20 I'd be saying in a loud voice, "Come on! You can do better than that! Let's go!!" At 30 I'd be yelling, "My grandmother can do better than you guys!! YOU CALL YOURSELVES WRESTLERS?!!" By 50 the kids were beaten and drained. Anyone can beat down and belittle a team or individual. That's external motivation at its worst. Fortunately for the team, I didn't lead the calisthenics very often. That task was performed by an excellent assistant coach. He'd have a deck of cards and say, "OK, time for push-ups. Let's see how many cards you can do." Their eyes would widen and he'd flip over a card. "8". They'd scramble to do eight push-ups. While flipping over the next card, he'd ask, "Are you a two-card wrestler or a 20-card one? King. That's ten push-ups." The difference in the wrestlers' efforts and enthusiasm was remarkable. They were eager to do push-ups and, in fact, most did far more than 50 and the coach never raised his voice! The wrestlers were internally motivated, never worked harder and couldn't wait for the next time. What a difference a challenge can make!

Student Contests - Your challenges need not be limited to your wrestlers. If you want to increase students' interest in your program, conduct a contest. For example, put up a poster that reads, "Win a Wrestling T-shirt if you correctly guess the total number of Varsity and Junior Varsity pins for our team at tonight's home meet. Wrestlers are not eligible." To increase interest in the State Tournament conduct a "Pick the State Champions" contest.

Gimmicks - Most gimmicks are about presenting a team or individual with a challenge in some dynamic or memorable fashion. One coach whose school never had a state champion, went to a trophy shop and bought a wrestling medallion the size of a dinner plate with a huge red, white and blue neck ribbon. At the end of the preseason, team meeting he showed a film of two greatly mismatched, collegiate wrestlers. In a thrilling finish the underdog wins and as his hand is raised in victory, the coach shut off the film and turned on the lights. He reached into his gym bag, pulled out the medallion and said, "This is the medal given to State Champions. If you're like that underdog and respect ALL your opponents, but fear NONE, this can be yours!" Well, the wrestlers all got bug-eyed and each wanted a turn trying the medal on for size. After the meeting, the coach placed the medallion in the trophy case with a sign that simply read, "Who will be the first?" Each day the wrestlers passed the medallion on their way to practice... Well, we've run out of space. The end of this story and the other two components of motivation, achievement and recognition, will be discussed in a future article. Until then, keep generating those challenges!