Motivation

Many readers might not know this, but in addition to what I do for “Faith and Wrestling”, I am also a member of the speaker’s bureau for the United States Wrestling Foundation (USWF). Among other things, this organization is involved in creating marketing strategies for the sport of wrestling in order to help grow the […] More

I remember walking in the middle of the night through a neighborhood in San Diego because I couldn’t sleep. I was visiting my older brother who was a marine stationed there. The day before, I had made the difficult phone call to the assistant wrestling coach at Cal State Bakersfield that I wouldn’t be returning. […] More

For quite some time, I have tried to understand the issue regarding why the sport of wrestling struggles in terms of growth – both in participation as well as fandom. Recent years have shown that perhaps the tides are changing; but generally, wrestling has struggled in this area. There were a couple common routes I took in trying […] More

In the last several years, we have seen an upsurge in a focus on “mindset training;” the recognition that the competitive mindset – this mental muscle – is something that wrestlers should place significant focus and value upon in the course of their growth in the sport. Obviously, I am one who has aligned with […] More

As some of my readers know, I do some traveling and speaking throughout the country, particularly in the summer and fall months. Some of these speaking engagements involve large venues and audiences, while others are smaller and include presentations to high school and college wrestling programs. Back in October, one of my stops was at […] More

In reality, there are several different facets of the wrestling community. There are family, friends, and fans of the sport. There are wrestlers from the past, those who paved the way for the sport – some still living, some who made their exit from this world long ago. And of course, I find it important […] More

Wrestling can save the world. Picture what this means within the contour of your own mind, and follow me as I work through this… Community in wrestling has long been an area of intrigue for me. Wrestling is easily recognized as an individual sport. However, the closeness apparent in the wrestling community is beyond anything […] More

There is joy in victory. If the subject is wrestling, we can confidently say that wrestlers experience joy in victory. And it’s not just because of victory in and of itself, but because of all that preceded it: that is, the sacrifice, suffering, training, endurance and dedication. Now, it’s true that joy in victory is fleeting. […] More

My previous article was intended to be my last for the season; but I found myself stuffing down inspiration for something that was on my mind as I saw post after post of excitement on Facebook from Missouri coaches and parents so proud of their wrestlers qualifying for the State tournament this week. I’ve written […] More