PSU wrestlers: semi & finals prep

[diggerpup]

I’ve always been curious to this:

Question:


When the PSU kids get into the meat of the bracket - the quarters, semis & finals...

For preparation & scouting their next high-level opponent...

How much film do they watch on their next opponent; vs having their asst coach give them an individual briefing of the opponent tendancies ?

Or even work on the mat with “feel” of what the next opponent tendancies ?

I was always curious on the types of prep the coaches offer our wrestlers for individual opponents.

Not expecting “trade secrets”, just a little insight.

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[CentexLion]

I’ve always been curious to this:

Question:


When the PSU kids get into the meat of the bracket - the quarters, semis & finals...

For preparation & scouting their next high-level opponent...

How much film do they watch on their next opponent; vs having their asst coach give them an individual briefing of the opponent tendancies ?

Or even work on the mat with “feel” of what the next opponent tendancies ?

I was always curious on the types of prep the coaches offer our wrestlers for individual opponents.

Not expecting “trade secrets”, just a little insight.

Thanks ahead of time.

I rewatched the finals last night, and the thing that hit me, was the shots of the PSU wrestlers BEFORE their match, in the warm up areas, they seemed to be smiling and loose. Nolf was joking around with Zain right before Zain came out. They really looked like they were having fun, and not uptight. I really believe they have the mentality of not caring about giving up a takedown, or even if they lose a match, as I've heard before, and this mentally and physically allows them to perform better. Imar looked so tight and worried and rushed before and during the match. Cenzo was cool as a cucumber. To your questions about scouting, no idea.

 

[86PSUPaul]

It has been said that they do not game plan individual opponents. Just plan their season and work the plan.

I am not sure I totally believe that, I think they must tweak a bit for different style opponents.

 

[dbldoofus]

I agree there must be a plan for certain opponents: Cenzo-I-Mar for sure. Also Bo-Myles. You know Bo has learned and has a different plan over the years. For most other matchups, I agree: "work the plan".

 

[RoarLions1]

I agree there must be a plan for certain opponents: Cenzo-I-Mar for sure. Also Bo-Myles. You know Bo has learned and has a different plan over the years. For most other matchups, I agree: "work the plan".

Not according to the wrestlers. Talked to many over the years, and they want to force their will on others and make them change their approach, their style...in essence take them out of their game. No need for the PSU guys to change anything match-to-match, regardless of opponent.

What I think folks are seeing is that the talent across the starting line is so much better when it's an IMar, a MyMar, and the like. Our guys still wrestle the same, and take what they can get...the windows of opportunity are just much smaller.

Familiarity happens too, as in the cases of Cenzo vs IMar, and Bo vs MyMar.

 

[nerfstate]

My take is that the wrestlers themselves are not encouraged to watch film, nor focus on tactics. However, I believe Casey and Cody do watch a lot of film, and that for instance, Cenzo gets a lot of lefty underhooks in practice, etc. Totally guessing though. They certainly don't say "iMar is really strong, so don't go upper body w/ him."

I feel for Isaiah a little, because I think Perry and his other coaches are very tactical, and when you couple that with his own reputation for mental toughness, the pressure to execute a particular game plan has to be really intense for the kid. His physical gifts are so big, but he stopped wrestling "free" after his freshman campaign, if you ask me (at least against top talent). I would love to see him come to NLWC, just to see if our coaches could get his head game in a better place. Prolly not gonna happen, for obvious reasons though....

 

[tomsc]

In reverse, Bo was asked before the finals about MyMar's preparing for him, since they've wrestled so many times. Bo said in essence, "I don't even know what I'm going to do, so good luck preparing for that."

 

[RoarLions1]

One coach watches more tape than the others, but none of them really have time to do it that much. With their involvement outside their full-time jobs as coaches; at the youth level, the NLWC, recruiting, and being Dads and husbands...not much time.

The concept/thought/principle/tactic/strategy of forcing wills on others minimizes need for film watching. Still done, just a little as I understand it.

 

[nerfstate]

One coach watches more tape than the others, but none of them really have time to do it that much. With their involvement outside their full-time jobs as coaches; at the youth level, the NLWC, recruiting, and being Dads and husbands...not much time.

The concept/thought/principle/tactic/strategy of forcing wills on others minimizes need for film watching. Still done, just a little as I understand it.

I probably overstated myself by saying "a lot of film." Hard to argue with how they handle it though, isn't it?

 

[billrag]

Neither of my sons ever wrestled in college (other than one of them being on his college team for a few weeks), but they were both pretty good high school wrestlers. I was more a student of the sport than either of them was and I'd often try to give them scouting reports before their matches if I had seen their opponents previously. Both of my sons hated the scouting reports because they thought it clouded their thinking and didn't allow them to just go out and do their thing. It's one of my many failings as a parent, as I always thought that I was doing them a favor (and in hindsight know that I was just messing with their heads). I mean, it's one thing to say, "don't tie up with this guy because he's really good at upper body throws" versus game planning an entire match.

 

[James Toney]

I am not sure what the PSU coaches do with scouting and watching film. I have my approach to scouting. If I know the kids a fish, I tell my boys to just work some different moves before pinning them. If I know he is pretty good I tell them to be ready and be aggressive. If I am unsure who they are I google them and watch some vids. If that don’t work I make sure to skip my sons match to watch his opponents on a different mat. Sometimes I also will talk to the kids coaches, parents, and or teammates to check on his credentials. Or if they look tough or have a fancy singlet or come from a good club I tell my boys this kid is real good. This is probably why I am not a coach at Penn State.

 

[PSUbluTX]

I assumed there is a fair amount of scouting that occurs, especially ahead of important matches. But I’ve now heard enough PSU wrestlers say they don’t watch film, gameplan matches, etc, that it seems to be rare here. I suspect the coaches neither encourage nor discourage it, but help each wrestler adopt a preparation process that works best for him. Regardless of process, the results certainly speak for themselves.

 

[nitlion6]

Just guessing, but different strokes for different folks.

For the most part wrestling is a flow of trained movements that are either initiated or reactive.

The idea that occasionally there aren't specific plans put into place would be indicative of less than world class coaching. I guarantee the PSU staff is world class.

Matt Brown changed his typical attack process when wrestling Mike Evans. For whatever reason, Evans quit doing anything offensive and all of his scoring was done defensively. Matt wrestled Evans and stopped shooting. From neutral Matt stalked and mauled Evans, he escaped immediately and repeated stalk and maul and then would ride. During Matt's senior year Evans suffered some of the most physically viscous 2-0 loses possible.

Nico's sophomore season he worked very intently preparing for Delgado and Delgado's defensive style.

For the most part though I agree with the preparation is all season (year) long, and a lot of that prep is mental.

 

[tabenn]

My take is that the wrestlers themselves are not encouraged to watch film, nor focus on tactics. However, I believe Casey and Cody do watch a lot of film, and that for instance, Cenzo gets a lot of lefty underhooks in practice, etc. Totally guessing though. They certainly don't say "iMar is really strong, so don't go upper body w/ him."

I feel for Isaiah a little, because I think Perry and his other coaches are very tactical, and when you couple that with his own reputation for mental toughness, the pressure to execute a particular game plan has to be really intense for the kid. His physical gifts are so big, but he stopped wrestling "free" after his freshman campaign, if you ask me (at least against top talent). I would love to see him come to NLWC, just to see if our coaches could get his head game in a better place. Prolly not gonna happen, for obvious reasons though....

Imar and the NLWC--I have been saying that for 2 years now-I would think that you would want to be coached by the same staff as the only 2 wrestlers that beat you in your college career--