Who Is Right?
This Monday, Ben Askren answers a question he gets often although it is a difficult question to answer. He attempts to answer the question from as many perspectives as possible because of the difficulty of this question. “What should an athlete do if a coach is encouraging them to only perform the technique that they’re coaching?” As a club coach, Askren is asked this frequently from athletes referring to their high school coach. In order for an athlete to perform at their best, they have to be open to different ideas but they also have to trust in their coach. Because of this, Askren tells his athletes at Askren Wrestling Academy to listen to their main coaches. If there is a certain move or technique that an athlete knows isn’t good then don’t use it in a match or when wrestling live.
Take The Ego Out
Askren coaches at the Badger RTC which is stacked with high-level coaches. Askren trusts them and if an athlete tells him that another coach told them to execute a move a slightly different way then that’s perfectly okay. If Askren sees flaws in a certain move he’ll point those out but whichever way the athlete finds works best for them is the one they should continue forward with. The end goal is to help the athlete be as successful as possible. Having too many cooks in the kitchen is a very real problem and Askren thinks about two guiding coaches is the perfect amount.
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