As your wrestling season reaches its culmination, now is the time to be wise and intentional with your approach. The final stretch isn’t just about making it to the end—it’s about finishing strong, avoiding injury, and setting yourself up for success when it matters most. How can you stay in the fight during this time of the season? Here are three key ways to maximize your final weeks on the mat.
1. More Intensity, Less Volume
At this point in the season, your body has endured the grind. The hard work is done—now trust your training and shift gears. Focus on shorter, high-intensity sessions instead of long practices. Keep workouts around an hour, sharpen technique, and prioritize rest and recovery. At least once a week, incorporate intense offense/defense live sprints with varying point deficits, mimicking real match scenarios. Even in the final seconds, scoring is possible—just ask Gable Steveson or Tyler Berger, who won critical matches in under seven seconds. Only start these sprints when recovered, ensuring you stay fresh, fast, and injury-free for the state tournament.
2. Don’t Just Go Through It—Grow Through It
It’s easy to fall into a routine and simply go through the motions as the season winds down. But every practice, every match, and every challenge is an opportunity to improve. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this practice? How can I get 1% better today? At the end of the season, you may have some bad practices or lose a match or matches you should not have lost. That is okay if you fail forward, make necessary changes, and grow through it. But, you must make the necessary changes because if nothing changes then nothing changes. Wrestlers who keep a growth mindset and grow through adversity will be the ones who peak at the right time.
3. It’s All About Being Greater Later
The regular season is important, but the ultimate goal is to wrestle your best when it counts—at the state tournament. Every decision you make now should support that goal. Are you getting at least 8 hours of sleep? Are you eating healthy and fueling your body well? Are you recovering properly by always cooling down, stretching down, and consuming protein within 45 minutes after practice? If you can, get a weekly massage to help flush soreness and toxins out.
Are you mentally locked in by visualizing yourself scoring your #1 and #2 attacks and seeing yourself getting your hand raised? Are you studying videos with your coaches on your main competition at Regionals and State? Make sure you have a strategy for getting your hand raised! Stay focused on the big picture, because the work you put in today determines how great you’ll be when it matters most. The lessons you learn during the season are all about becoming GREATER LATER when it matters most.
Finish Strong
The end of the season isn’t a time to coast—it’s time to dial it in and stay in the fight. Train smarter, stay mentally engaged, and keep your eyes on the prize. When you step on the mat at the state tournament, make sure you’re the best version of yourself.
I’ll finish by telling you what I told myself at the 2000 Olympics and what I tell my wrestlers. Do your best and let God take care of the rest!
