Why Your Wrestler Needs to "Win" Every Day in Training

Let's talk about something HUGE that gets missed a lot in kids' training, especially in a demanding sport like wrestling: how they feel about their progress.

We all want our kids to be tough, to push through adversity. But if their training constantly leaves them feeling defeated, like they're just spinning their wheels and not getting anywhere, something's wrong. That’s a fast track to burnout.

Your kid's training, even when it’s brutally hard, should ultimately make them feel like they're winning – even if it's just a little bit, almost every single day. It should build them up, not just break them down.

The Psychology of Progress: Why Small Wins Matter Big Time

There's a lot of wisdom out there about human motivation, and one of the most powerful insights, often highlighted by thinkers like Dr. Jordan Peterson, is pretty simple: we get a huge chunk of our positive emotions – that feeling of happiness, drive, and engagement – from making tangible progress towards a meaningful goal. Taking a step forward, no matter how small that step might seem.

Now, think about that in the context of your wrestler. Their big goal might be a state championship, earning a college scholarship, or simply being the absolute best version of themselves they can be on the mat. Those are awesome, inspiring goals.

But how do they know they're getting closer to that big goal on a random Tuesday in October, or a tough Thursday practice in July? If the only feedback they get is whether they won or lost a live go, or if coach yelled a bit less (or more), it's a tough way to stay fired up long-term.

The Common Pitfall: When Progress Becomes Invisible

This is where a lot of well-meaning wrestling programs, especially those that only focus on mat time, can unintentionally drop the ball. Wrestling itself, in its daily practice form, can be tough to measure incrementally.  A live scramble is chaotic. Did they really get 5% better at their high-crotch today? It’s hard to say with certainty.

Kids can go weeks, even months, without any concrete, tangible proof that all their sweat and effort is actually paying off. And man, let me tell you from years of experience, that KILLS morale. That’s when you see that spark start to fade. That’s when the excuses start to creep in, the desire wanes, and sometimes, kids waste their potential and end up quitting the sport they once loved.

The Fix: Make Progress Visible, Measurable, and Constant

But here’s the good news: there’s a straightforward fix. It’s a core, non-negotiable part of how I train athletes, including how I brought up my own sons in this sport. We MEASURE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE, especially in their Strength & Conditioning.

Why? Because S&C, done right, is incredibly measurable:

• Every lift has a load you can track.
• Every conditioning piece has a time or distance you can beat.
• Every set has reps you can increase.

When you measure stuff consistently, you create almost daily opportunities for what we call Personal Records (PRs). That small PR – an extra 5 pounds on their squat, one more rep on their pull-ups, shaving a few seconds off a benchmark run – that’s the tangible proof. That’s the little dopamine hit that tells their brain, "Hey, what I'm doing is WORKING! I'm getting better!"

That feeling, that knowledge of progress, is the fuel. It's what makes them want to come back to the gym tomorrow, eager to make the sacrifice of time and comfort, ready to push through the hard stuff again. Because they know, and they can see, that it’s leading somewhere.

Setting Targets, Building Monsters

When I coach, my athletes always have clear performance targets. For their lifting technique (because movement quality is a skill we measure too!), for their benchmark lifts, for their conditioning pieces. They know what they're aiming for.

And I don't sugarcoat the "why." I tell them straight up: "When you hit these numbers, when you master these movements, you're on track to become an absolute monster out there. You'll be a beast, a formidable force that opponents will dread facing." Using those strong, emotional words isn't just hype; it connects the dots between the daily grind in the gym and that big, exciting vision of who they can become on the mat. It underscores the importance of hitting those targets.

This approach gets kids physically stronger, and faster.  It also builds unstoppable momentum, unshakeable belief, and a deep love for the process of improvement.

Give Your Wrestler the Gift of Measurable Progress

If you want your wrestler to stay fired up, to feel that constant sense of achievement, and to build the kind of resilience that lasts a lifetime, their training needs to provide these opportunities for daily and weekly "wins."

My "The Complete Wrestler: The Off-Season Training Manual For Wrestlers Who Want To Dominate" is built around this very principle. It’s not just a pile of workouts; it’s a system designed with clear plans, measurable benchmarks for strength and conditioning, and a structure that allows wrestlers to see and feel themselves getting better, step by step. It shows them they're winning, long before they ever step out for that championship match.

Because the truth is, those big victories on the mat are almost always built on thousands of tiny victories in the training room.

Ready to Turn Your Wrestler's Training into a Progress-Making Machine? Get the Manual Here!