with Bill Zadick,
US National Freestyle Head Coach;
2017 World Team Champions (Men's Freestyle);
2006 Freestyle World Champion, 1996 NCAA Division I National Champion (University of Iowa)
and Jon Pfeifer,
University of Nebraska Wrestling Strength Coach; NSCA-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Ever wonder what the difference is between the American freestyle and what's happening on the international scene? In this video, USA Men's National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick breaks down the major trends in international wrestling that allowed the Men's National Freestyle team to capture their first team World Championship since 1995.
Additionally, Jon Pfeifer breaks down the approach he has used at the University of Nebraska to produce of one of the toughest, best-conditioned teams in the NCAA. He walks you through their approach for each phase of the year and how he works with different weight classes and builds specific lifting programs for them during the season to help build or maintain strength.
On the Mat: Trends in International Wrestling
For many wrestlers and coaches in America, NCAA wrestlers are the most studied and imitated. Relatively little attention is paid to the techniques and trends in the broader world of freestyle wrestling, where the best wrestlers in the world compete.
Bill Zadick has been through it all, from winning a National Title to winning a World Championship. He has coached the best in the world and now brings his insight to you. Coach Zadick has broken down international freestyle wrestling to see what other countries are doing to gain the advantage.
Head Positioning
Too often, coaches focus simply on maintaining a good stance, when in fact the most important thing to do is to control the head position battle. Using the example of Iranian wrestlers, Zadick breaks down an approach that will allow wrestlers to keep opponents off their legs while creating their own angles. He also shows a variety of drills and hand fighting methods that will create angles that allow for leg attacks against the fastest and most disciplined opponents.
Underhook Defense
The underhook is the most advantageous control tie in the current world of freestyle wrestling, as it allows the underhooking wrestler to push forward, scoring push outs and controlling the center of the mat for shot clock purposes. Zadick breaks down the drills being used by national team wrestlers to prevent leg attacks and clear the tie quickly. He puts special emphasis on the current methodology being used by the national team to prevent push outs.
Par Terre Defense
Par Terre is an area of freestyle wrestling where Americans have traditionally struggled - it's completely different from the mat wrestling found in folkstyle. Zadick breaks down the finer details of hip movement and scooting that are necessary to prevent an experienced and skilled opponent from completing a gut wrench turn.
Coach Zadick breaks down the trends in the modern freestyle world, with many ideas into how one can incorporate this into developing your program and athletes for both the short and long term. He also provides many cutting edge insights into the techniques, approaches and styles of the current national team members, and many other international competitors.
Lecture: Year-Round Strength Training for Wrestling
Strength and conditioning plays a key role in the performance of any wrestler, whether it's the strength to finish a takedown or complete a stand-up, the quickness and explosiveness needed for a high-level shot, or the endurance required to fight through the third period and overtimes.
Managing Different Phases in a Yearly Cycle
Too often, coaches and wrestlers make the mistake of trying to tackle everything at once: strength, size, explosiveness, conditioning and wrestling skill. University of Nebraska Wrestling's Strength Coach, Jon Pfeifer, explains that this is impossible, and that these skills need to be emphasized during different parts of the year. Breaking the year down into four seasons - pre-season, in-season, post-season, and off-season - he explains how to tackle weight training and conditioning during each phase, and how to balance time on the wrestling mat and in the weight room during each season.
Wrestling Specific Training
Frequently, strength programs are adopted from templates designed for football or power lifting. They don't account for the unique demands of wrestling, specifically the overwhelming importance of training grip and neck strength. Pfeifer explains how they approach training these muscles, which frequently require a different approach than lifts like squats or deadlifts. He delves further into how they have programmed other wrestling-specific workouts, like banded resistance shots, weighted stance and motion drills, and footwork drills.
Coach Pfeifer details a specific approach to training wrestlers year-round (in fact, over multiple years), to get the most out of time spent in the weight room. Additionally, he gives you the tools to make your own decisions and adjustments in order to fulfill your program's needs.
Produced at the 2017 USA Wrestling Silver Coaches Clinic in Lincoln (NE).
163 minutes (2 DVDs). 2018.
WRD-05313B:
with Matt Meuleners,
Brown University Assistant Coach;
former University of Nebraska Assistant Coach;
Back-to-Back NCAA D-II National Champion and 4x All-American at Northern State University
and Lindsey Remmers,
Director of Performance Nutrition at the University of Nebraska; works specifically with the University of Nebraska wrestling team
Matt Meuleners shows you the tricks and techniques he used to win two NCAA D-II titles. He demonstrates multiple attacks - focusing heavily on the high crotch and single leg - from multiple tie-ups and positions. Although the technique is designed for heavyweights, it is applicable to athletes of all sizes. His skill set is universal and he's masterful at teaching the little details that make it so effective for everyone.
Lindsey Remmers has been working specifically with the Nebraska wrestling team. Therefore, she understands the constant need of wrestlers to maintain their weight and the rigors and demands of the sport. She presents a deeper understanding of the importance of correct eating habits and strategies to ensure your wrestlers are able to always make weight in a safe and effective manner - without draining them and optimizing their peak performance.
On the Mat: Shot setups from ties, defense and short-offense
Coach Meuleners learned to use his size and skill to defeat some of the toughest wrestlers in the nation. He breaks down his best techniques for positions that heavyweights notoriously use to slow matches down.
Collar Ties
Learn how to get an inside tie when your opponent collar ties you, and how to adjust your stance so your posture doesn't get broken down. From the inside tie, you will learn a couple of offensive options depending on the reactions of your opponent.
From offensive collar ties, you will see how to get to a single leg when your opponent tries to get an inside tie, and how to get to a high crotch after switching to another collar tie with your opposite hand.
Modified 2-on-1
The modified 2-on-1 resembles a reverse arm drag in regard to hand position. This tie is great because as you circle into it, you have an excellent chance of getting deep into a high crotch, which is low risk and requires minimal effort; or, if your opponent squares up as you are circling in, he presents you with the opportunity to get a snatch single.
Underhooks
The number one move for a heavyweight from an underhook should be the snatch single on the same side. Meuleners goes into detail on how to get to the snatch single and finish it. If your opponent has head position, he shows how to easily snap the opponent down and get to a front head lock.
As a smaller heavyweight, Meuleners became well-versed on how to clear underhooks and turn them to his advantage. He demonstrates three easy and simple ways to clear and get out of the underhook.
Leg Attack Defense and Counter Offense
Meuleners will explain why the common reaction of pulling your leg back while trying to defend either of them is incorrect. After successfully defending the leg attack, Meuleners combines this with a section on short offense. He demonstrates ways to score when:
- Your opponent starts standing.
- Your opponent grabs the elbow you are using to hold the front head lock.
- Your opponent starts quad podding.
Lecture: Nutrition for Wrestling
Lindsey Remmers dispels outdated, dangerous methods of weight-cutting and sheds new light on how to make weight in a safe manner that optimizes performance and eliminates the feeling of hunger, which plagues most wrestlers when it comes time to make weight.
Remmers illustrates the importance of eating proper meals throughout the day, and how this optimizes an athlete's muscle mass, reduces the level of body fat, and prevents the temptation to binge eat. Explanations are given on how consistently eating right can help wrestlers lose weight, and dispels the misconception that eating frequently hinders weight loss, when it actually speeds up metabolism. She provides examples of what could be consumed during the day at breakfast, pre-workout meals, and post-workout meals.
Recovery
It's common for wrestlers to skip eating something immediately after practice, for fear of gaining weight. Scientific studies are used to show that consuming carbohydrates and proteins during the early phases of recovery will positively affect exercise performance. Remmers also dispels the common misunderstanding that you must consume the largest portion of protein after working out, stressing that for optimal muscle building, protein should be consumed throughout the day.
Weight Loss and Weight Gain
Since dehydration plays such a big part in weight-cutting and wrestling culture in general, Remmers provides recommendations on what percentage wrestlers should stay above their weight division hydrated to make for an easy cut. If they follow the recommendations carefully, then when it comes time to cut weight, they will have roughly 1 to 2 pounds to lose.
Graphs are displayed to give an example of the eating and hydration pattern a wrestler should follow when they are either trying to gain weight and move up a weight class, or lose weight. Additionally, several tips that adhere to safe practices for in-season weight-making are provided to help wrestlers lose any extra weight they might be concerned about. This will teach wrestlers how to eat correctly, maintain a feeling of satiety throughout the day, and perform optimally come competition time.
Produced at the 2017 USA Wrestling Silver Coaches Clinic in Lincoln (NE).
124 minutes (2 DVDs). 2018.