Ask J-Rock! These are a few of the questions I was asked by Marcos Costa of California in the first installment of Ask J-Rock: 1.) Zain Retherford and JDen Coxs success so far as freshmen has been great to watch. More and more true freshmen are stepping in on the Division 1 Collegiate level and excelling. Why do you think that is? This is a segment Ive posted on recently , actually. But, we should and can revisit it. First, lets remind those at home that years ago freshmen could not compete in NCAA action - so even if they were capable, they were not allowed. For example, Dan Gable only competed 3 seasons. Also, in years past, once freshmen were allowed to compete, several guys have made their mark directly out of HS ( just like Cox and Retherford): Lincoln McIlravy in 93 won NCAAs; Cary Kolat in 93 was runner up; Dustin Schlatter won in 06. Kyle Dake is another.TRUE freshmen is a BIG difference from REDSHIRT freshmen. To walk directly onto the collegiate mats w/o a full year of college under your belt to develop and grow ( not just as a wrestler but also as an individual). To address your question, Marcos, there is surely a higher # of TRUE freshmen in recent years with early victories. I spoke specifically to that point a month ago here on Facebook. Many reasons exist. Mainly, in my honest opinion, its a matter of the Club or Personal Coach aspect. In almost insane #s/rates the youth wrestler is getting his hands on high level coaching and training so early on in their development that they are able to advance at a much quicker and more effective rate. Do camps and clinics help? Yes...but very minimally, by comparison to a Personal Coach, who has his hands on a student several times per week for years and years. That type of tutoring is a fine recipe for success. It advances and speeds up the learning curve & rightfully so, provides an environment for the wrestler/student/athlete an opportunity to get a look in at what the high level performers do ( or have done). I teach 5 year olds the same basics and fundamentals I teach 15 year olds. I teach 15 year olds the same stuff I teach college students. If you are working on the same skill set from age 5-6 until you are a freshman in college you are so way ahead of the curve its ridiculous. Tiger Woods ( the former Tiger, the one who used to dominate) had been working on his craft and sharpening his skills since he was barely able to form proper sentences. Peyton Manning has been hard wired to operate like an NFL QB since his dad instilled that in him at an early age. The longer you have in a specific setting ( under proper advice and training etc.) is allowing you to get more and more reps with those skills....win - win. As with anything in life...any advantage you can get is a good advantage. -- If anyone wants to ask me a question I can answer it for you here... Ask J-Rock!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 02:15:15 +0000
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