Level Up Wrestling: Coaches Resource Center
Wrestling resources, guides, videos & practice plans designed to help you become a better coach.
Book to Help Guide Wrestling Parents
In How to Succeed (and Fail) as a Wrestling Parent, Coach Donovan Panone uses his 28+ years of coaching experience to help parents navigate the world of wrestling. He is also the father of a wrestler and shares his unique perspective. You will learn from what he’s seen done right, wrong and way wrong.
How to approach referees (and hopefully get more calls)
Believe it or not, there is an art to talking to referees. Despite what you might think, they…
Why Teach Offense Before Defense
I purposefully don’t teach the defense to a move until kids have had at least a week or…
The Top 6 Principles & Skills to Teach
Coaches often teach moves independent of each other with no particular sequence or order. Principles will apply across…
Methods for Breaking Bad Wrestling Habits
One of the hardest things as a coach is breaking a wrestler’s bad habits. Wherever it came from, it’s now your responsibility to help them fix it and create new habits.
Teaching vs. allowing them to learn
This is both a philosophical question and one with practical applications. How much should a coach teach the…
Stop using a shot gun
Some of my wrestlers recently attended a clinic by a well known national coach and complained to me…
Quotes from J’Den Cox at Practice
We had the priviledge of having 2x World Champion and Olympic Medalist, J’Den Cox visit practice yesterday. I’ve…
Tips for improving how you teach wrestling technique
In a different post, I provide tips for verbally explaining technique that will improve how quickly and effectively…
10 Tips for Explaining Moves Better
Ever show a move, send your wrestlers off to drill it, and it’s almost like they weren’t even…
Deliberate Practice – How to Speed Up the Learning Curve
As the wrestling season goes on it’s easy to fall into a routine of drilling simply for the…
The Progression of a Wrestler
Where it Starts Every wrestler starts with different tools to be successful. Some are naturally strong, some are…