Coach Mac,

My son is 8 years old and seldom gets reversals or escapes from the down position.  Is this common and what should I work with him on?

 Young wrestlers typically do not have the body strength to stand up with someone of equal weight on their back.  You may want to consider concentrating on getting your young wrestler to explode off the whistle before his opponent can get all their weight on them.

Coach Mac

What level of expertise should a wrestler have in order to go to a Gold Buckle Wrestling Camp? Even though we're moving to TEAM Camps this summer and the competition will be much steeper,

A wrestler simply needs to have a desire to learn an be an advanced beginner, intermediate or advanced wrestler  in order to really benefit from one of my Gold Buckle Camps.

Each camp will provide technique for every level and if the need arises, we'll seperate the beginners from the rest of the camp and give special attention to those not able to keep up with the more advanced wrestlers.

It is my firm belief that wrestling needs to be fun at every level. But especially when a young athlete is just trying the sport out to see if they're suited for it, they need to experience enough to know that there are few if any other sports that will require as much mental and physical commitment as the sport of wrestling. But with that commitment comes a level of accomplishment and satisfaction that is also seldom matched in other life experiences.

It's the simple truth that competition is much easier to enjoy when an athlete experiences a certain level of success while competing. It's no fun to lose and  we don't for one moment buy into the politically correct and new age mentality that everyone needs to feel like a winner so we'll make sure we let everyone experience success. Success in life comes from hard work and few things in life are as hard as wrestling. We will try to instill a mindset of determination and goal setting as we teach technique and a strategy to become a winner. Within that framework we will also show the athletes how to have a lot of fun while they learn to push themselves harder than they've ever pushed before.

Throughout each session we will also be sharing how discipline, integrity, honesty and other positive character traits can be and needs to be integrated into one's personal training and goal setting if you expect to have a fulfilling experience in this great sport. 

Some of the most gratifying experiences I have from my many years in wrestling are the many valuable friends and opportunities God continues to bless me with.  And I look forward to every chance I'm given to have a positive influence in somebody else's life. 

I'm deeply concerned about the sad direction a large part of our culture has taken. I can't change most of it but I'm committed to doing my part to influence those that God places in my path. I take much time choosing those people who will be assisting me in my Gold Buckle Camps. I hope and pray that they will try to impart both the athletic skills and life experiences that have taken them to the point they're at today.

I'm not at all ashamed to tell people I'm a Christian and there's nothing more important in my life. That in no way has negatively affected my level of accomplishment in this sport. In fact, I'm convinced that I would have never reached the levels I did without God having cleaned up my life back in college. He allowed me to train, compete and experience so many wonderful accomplishments and life lessons that my poor decisions no doubt would have derailed had I continued on the destructive path of my own choosing. I'm so thankful God intervened and showed me a new path and I'm thankful today for the opportunity to share these lessons with each of you!

Coach Mac