Shoot your shot, come in hot!
How leaders can transforms their athletes mindset and use limiting beliefs as the stepping stones to the top of the podium
With 30 seconds left and the score tied 1-1, one wrestler is warned for stalling. His coach pleads, "Shoot, shoot! You have to SHOOT!" Knowing his wrestler's passivity could result in a penalty point, the coach's concern becomes reality when no takedown attempt is made. The other wrestler is awarded a point with 15 seconds left, securing the win.
In another match, the score is 4-3, and the opposing wrestler is down by 1 with 20 seconds left. The coach pleads for a shot amid the chaos of crazed parents and teammates. However, the wrestler fails to commit, losing the match by 1 point.
The first scenario involves the #1 and #4 college wrestlers in the country, representing two elite teams. The losing #4 ranked wrestler is a returning All-American and cadet gold medalist, with his coach, an Olympic gold medalist, yelling "SHOOT, SHOOT!"
The latter is a high school match between unranked opponents at a local Colorado tournament.
Watching both scenarios, I couldn't help but chuckle at the similarity. A former Olympian and a high school coach, both urging their wrestlers to shoot—one, an elite athlete, and the other, an unranked junior in high school. Both wrestlers-despite their extraordinary gap in skill, age and success, were operating from a place of fear, scarcity, and self-doubt.
Sometimes, we believe achieving something makes these fears vanish. However, whether you're a high school athlete, a college wrestler, or aiming for the Olympics, these fears persist until addressed. The antidote? If I were the coach in these scenarios, I would bring the wrestler's fears to conscious awareness. If we aren't conscious of these fears, as Carl Jung said, "they will dictate our life, and we will call it fate."
Most coaches typically focus on working harder and more strategy, but an elite wrestler is already doing these things. I would ask the athlete, "What do you believe would happen if you opened up and took more shots?" Perhaps fear of getting blown out and embarrassed in front of the home ground is holding them back. Granting full permission to face that fear, I might even challenge the wrestler to take an excessive number of shots in the next match. Because, in reality, he's really good; he just doesn't believe he can be the absolute best. Coaches need to create an environment where improvement and taking risks are rewarded-address the reason why the wrestler is wrestling from scarcity and fear, then critique and work strategy.
Life mirrors this, as constant growth and achievement mean raising our floor. When we raise our floor, familiar fears resurface. As coaches and leaders let's foster an environment of honest dialogue, free from judgment, enabling wrestlers to transform self-limiting beliefs and patterns as stepping stones to greatness-this is transformational coaching. There's a team creating this environment in wrestling, can you guess who it is?-hint, they've won 10 national championships since 2010.
Thanks for reading!
Peace and Love
JB