Many coaches, parents and wrestlers want to know what it takes to win more wrestling matches and increase a wrestlers chance to earn a scholarship. There are many ingredients that can make a difference like commitment, hard work and belief, but besides those essential elements, the “difference maker” is getting involved in freestyle wrestling as early as possible.

Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are known as the international styles because they are the Olympic styles and the only styles which other countries compete in. We are the only nation in the world which uses folkstyle. The fact that there are many different styles of wrestling and that collegiate wrestling has other names is a big reason why wrestling is not as popular in the U.S.

If the truth be known, most Americans are confused with real wrestling. We Americans want to eat fast and understand things quickly. As I try to explain the different styles to potential fans, I began to lose them because it takes 10 minutes to explain all the intricate differences. Plus, to explain the differences to them correctly I need a partner for a demonstration.

This explanation scenario does not apply for basketball, football, baseball and golf. For the most part, there is only one discipline of these sports and they can be understood very quickly. For wrestling, you have to be a connoisseur to understand all the different styles. My grandmother (Mema) watched me wrestle for 18 years and she still doesn’t understand all the different styles. This shouldn’t be the case.

Many people don’t agree with me. I wish the United States would switch from folkstyle to freestyle in all the high schools and colleges. Wrestlers could choose to also compete in Greco-Roman during the summer. And as they got older, they could specialize if they dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion. The sooner a young wrestler can learn freestyle or Greco, the better chance they have of accomplishing their Olympic dreams. Like American Express, they don’t take collegiate wrestling (folkstyle) at the Olympic Games.

The essence of freestyle is to take your opponent across his back in any way necessary and you don’t have to hold him there to score points. If you expose your opponent’s back for a millisecond, you can score points. Therefore, to become great at freestyle you have to learn to avoid your back at all costs — unless you are exposing your back in the process of exposing your opponent’s back.

Simply, freestyle will improve your collegiate skills because it teaches you to always be aware of where your back is in relation to the mat. Collegiate wrestling allows you to roll across your back as many times as you like as long as you don’t stay there for two seconds or more while you’re being controlled. Think how tough it is for elite-level wrestlers to switch gears to freestyle after their collegiate career is over!

I’m so thankful that I began to wrestle freestyle and Greco when I was 10 because it gave me adequate time to prepare for the Cadet and Nationals (15-16 year olds) and Junior Nationals (freshman-senior in high school). These are the biggest freestyle and Greco tournaments for youth in the country.

Fortunately in 1990, I was able to win the Cadet Nationals in Greco. This qualified me for the Cadet World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where I placed third in the world. I truly realized at this tournament that I could become one of the best wrestlers in the world and I did have the potential to become an Olympic champion.

So besides the bonus of getting to travel outside of the U.S. for the first time, the seed for my Olympic dream was fertilized. As I continued to wrestle freestyle and Greco, other trips to compete in Canada and South America made my high school wrestling experience more enjoyable and strengthened my chances of wrestling in college.

Little did I know then, but the Junior Nationals is where college coaches go to recruit. I was a three-time Texas state champion and got second my freshman year, but that didn’t mean much to college coaches. They care about two main things. First, they look for guys who are truly serious about wrestling and make it a year-around sport. Once you get to college, coaches encourage you to wrestle all year to increase your chances of winning an NCAA title and reaching your goals.

Second, college coaches look for guys with national success. It’s great if you can beat everyone in Texas. But if you can’t beat some of the toughest guys from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Oklahoma, coaches will not be as interested in recruited you. College wrestling scholarships are not a dime a dozen. College coaches place a lot of value on the scholarships they do give out.

Therefore, they don’t want to take a big risk on a high school wrestler who hasn’t proven himself nationally. When I was a sophomore, I placed fifth in the Junior Nationals in Greco and beat a returning All-American senior who was on his way to the University of Pennsylvania. Penn’s head coach Roger Reina saw this young Texan beat one of his incoming college freshman. After that match, he continued to watch my progress and began recruiting me my senior year.

Because of Coach Reina’s vision to take Penn wrestling to the top and the opportunity to get an Ivy League education, I choose Penn and am so thankful that I did. If I would have never wrestled freestyle and Greco in tournaments like the Junior Nationals in the summer, Coach Reina and other college coaches would not have recruited me as heavily as they did.

So you want to win more wrestling matches and earn a college scholarship? Summer wrestling will make huge difference. Learning and competing in freestyle and Greco makes a huge difference. Competing in the Cadet and Junior Nationals makes a huge difference.

But, just wrestling freestyle will not get you there. It takes the deep desire to commit to your long-term dream, the ability to handle failure while failing forward and the belief you can make that dream come true.

Your ultimate dream may or may not come true. But, if you can look in the mirror knowing you gave your best, full, and complete effort, that is what makes you a winner. It’s not all about the gold. It’s about something greater, which comes from faith, effort and integrity. I encourage you to strive for life’s greater gold.

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