This is designed to support you with the basics of wrestling so that when you show up with your team at your first meets, your athletes can be safe, have fun and hopefully learn a little from the competition.

HOW TO GET EXPERIENCED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH YOUR PRACTICES:

Contact your local High Schools, Wrestling Clubs & Colleges/Universities to let them know you'd like some volunteers to help you with your season.

They don't need to commit to every practice to be helpful.  Any amount they can be there will help.

Also take advantage of any kids who have wrestled before or who pick up on things quickly to help you demonstrate.

FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS:

Send messages to wrestlingforbeginners @gmail.com 

If we are available or know someone who may be available to help with your practices, we will do our best to arrange for someone to attend.

CALGARY WRESTLING CLUBS:

First Practice Coaching Example

Tips & Games For The First Practices Of The Season

Warmup drills for more experienced wrestlers 

Beginners Wrestling Stance

Directly face your opponent, both feet facing forward, lead foot's heal in line with back foot's toe.

Hips low, head up, hands up, elbows in and lead elbow protecting lead knee.

Stance - Tumbling - Stance

Use the tumbling warmups to drill proper stance. 

Split athletes into lines to roll the length of the mats, have the first line roll and correct their stance when they get up before they roll again. Repeat forwards and backwards. 

You can also have them do the drill with their eyes closed to really get in touch with their body - opening eyes and correcting after each roll.

Add shoulder rolls once they can do summersaults and add cartwheels after that if they are relatively athletic.

Wrestler's Stance Review

Until your athletes have the basics of the wrestling stance, teaching them wrestling moves can wait.

Use Games Before Teaching Moves

Games like British Bulldog, Grab The Bacon in The Middle, Knee Tag & Frozen Stance can all help develop wrestling skills for someone with no wrestling background.

Stretching

Once warmed up with some exercises that repeatedly drill stance into the athletes, begin stretching exercises.

Hand Fighting To Snapdown

Begin with both partners in a stance where they are facing each other, hips down and elbows in.

Partner A will grab partner B's forearms and then Partner B will wind their hands INSIDE Partner A's forearms to get the advantage.

Repeat slowly and gently at first, then getting a little faster and firmer each time.  ALWAYS WORK UNDER AND IN.

You can do this with partners in a circle and switch partners on the outside one to the right to keep it fresh.

Stretching MUST be done before any Snapdowns and when first doing Snapdowns it should be very gentle - 10% intensity to start with defender allowing their head to be moved.

Whenever possible, have an experienced wrestler at the practice to demonstrate the proper details of the Snapdown.

Next Level Warmup Exercises

When working with beginners, focus on safety, fun and fundamentals for a few practices before getting into moves.

Once the athletes are looking comfortable with everything to this point, then you can add these more advanced partner exercises after tumbling and stretching are complete.

The "Fidget Spinner" is the important one for what comes next, the others are optional depending on your athletes.

Wrestling From On Top (From a sprawl)

Novice wrestlers are going to tend to respond to a more experienced wrestler's attack.

This will involve a sprawl against a leg attack.  Use this series of progressions to train the athletes to do something that feels unnatural until they do each step correctly.

It is CRITICAL that the partner who is the table/base is strong in their position.

Scoring From On Top

Most first points in novice matches are scored from this series of moves - getting 2 points by getting behind their opponent.

There are a number of variations shown here, some more technically correct than others.

Under pressure in their first season they often go the wrong way around or leave out steps.  That's probably going to be ok if they're wrestling against an opponent just as novice.

Scoring their first points in an actual match is something positive they can build on in future practices.

Attack & Defend From Flat On Mat

Once the wrestling is on the mat, it is important to know how to attack and defend.

This is a series of exercises that will help the attacking wrestler learn how to apply their weight "heavy" and the defending wrestler to position themselves to avoid being pinned.

Half Nelsen

The Half Nelsen is NOT about rolling your opponent over sideways.

The Half Nelsen turns your opponent onto their back using LEVERAGE.

Summersaults & Breakfalls

Breakfalls MUST be practiced before you begin practicing leg attacks which will knock opponents sideways and backwards.

Summersaults - 1:00

Shoulder Rolls - 2:10

Breakfalls - 3:20

Leg Attack ("High Crotch")

You will require someone who knows how to do this move properly to help teach it.

The key is that you SET UP YOUR ATTACK before you PULL YOURSELF INTO THEM. 

You are NOT grabbing at them without setting up with a snapdown or pulling their leg to you.

Snap - Let them react by pulling their head up - Drop your right knee between their feet - Drive your arm between their legs, you shoulder into their pelvis - wrap their leg up with both arms and push them over with your EAR against their ribs

Workout With Just A Chair

Weights and a gym are handy, but you don't need them to get stronger or into better shape.

Get Creative For Conditioning

Make up something that is fun that represents the kinds of muscles you'll be using and then push yourself to 100% for 2-3 minutes.

Wrestling Can Take You As Far As you Want To Go

Everyone starts as a novice, but in wrestling, as big as your heart is, that's where you can go!

Below are a few clips from Anika's journey from first year to her competition at the 2018 Pan Am Games and Buenos Aries Youth Olympics