Wrestling Tough by Mike J. Chapman

Author:Mike J. Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Human Kinetics, Inc.

CHAPTER

12

Art of Preparation

How big a role does luck play in sport performance? Luck can certainly be a factor from time to time, but over the long haul, it tends to disappear into the woodwork. Athletes who consistently find victory at the highest level are the ones who have prepared themselves to win at that level. Preparation is the key.

“Luck is randomly drawing your name out of a barrel of 1,000 names,” wrote Lee Kemp, three-time world champion, in his 2017 book. “You win because you expect to win. You win because you are prepared. You win because you actually know what you are doing. You win because you hate losing. You win because you finally believe in yourself.”

For years, one top coach refused to use the words “good luck” when talking to someone or signing an autograph. He didn’t want anyone, least of all a wrestler, to go away thinking that luck determined one’s successes as much as hard work and preparation. Instead, he often spoke or wrote the words “work hard.”

Of course, that puts emphasis on another familiar saying that many successful people like to quote: “I believe in luck … and the harder I work, the luckier I get!”

Practice sessions are often, but not always, the key to how one competes. The challenge for each wrestler is to find out what works best for him or her and then prepare in that vein.

In any regard, the preparation for competition takes place in the practice room. If you are a wrestler who likes to loaf during practice and work hard only in spurts, chances are that you are training yourself—both mentally and physically—to compete that way. The way you practice, according to wrestling legends like Dan Gable and John Smith, is the way you will compete, for the most part.

Jim Zalesky won three NCAA titles for Iowa under Gable in the 1980s and then became Iowa’s head coach when Gable retired in 1997. He now is the head coach at Oregon State University. Zalesky once referred to the Gable formula as magic. “He makes us believe that the most important thing we do isn’t the winning but the effort we put into winning. It’s magic” (Looney 1984, 509).

“I always practice as I intend to play,” said Jack Nicklaus, one of the greatest golfers of all time and a man known for his iron resolve and sensational ability to focus.

“If I don’t do what I need to do to win, I won’t win, no matter who is on the other side of the net,” said longtime tennis star Andre Agassi.

Tom and Terry Brands competed with such ferocity during their four-year careers at Iowa that many fans were either stunned or turned off by their aggressive, nonstop style. They were intent upon breaking their foes mentally during every single match. Tom won three Big Ten titles and three NCAA titles. Terry won two NCAA titles and three Big Ten titles in their respective college careers. Tom’s winning percentage was .952, and Terry’s was .

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