JohnA Passaro's Blog, page 44
March 13, 2016
What Has The Sport of Wrestling Meant to You?
Today I was inspired to hear seniors at a wrestling awards dinner give a speech on what the sport of wrestling has meant to them in their lives.
I would like to pose this same question to everyone on this page –
“What has the sport of wrestling meant to you in your life?”
Please email your replies to johnapassaro@icloud.com
Each day I will post the most impactful essays on this blog.
From The Thread of Their Coach
Today I had the pleasure to attend the Westhampton Beach Wrestling Awards dinner on an invite from my friend and former coach, Coach Paul Bass.
If I had to describe Coach Bass in one word, that word would absolutely be PREPARED.
The dinner was first class in every aspect.
My favorite part of the day were the speeches Coach Bass asked his seniors to give on what the sport of wrestling has meant to them in their lives.
To hear what came out of these young men’s mouths and from their heart, really resonated with me because I realized that they really got what the sport of wrestling is all about.
There was no doubt that all of the graduating seniors are better prepared to enter life because they wrestled for Coach Bass.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the event.
“The only limit that you have in your wrestling career is time.”
“Coach you bought into us just as much as we bought into you.”
“Self review is very valuable.”
“When they were freshmen, my 9 seniors had a combined total of only 10 wins.
Look where they are now.
More importantly look who they are now.” – Coach Bass
And that coach, is because of you and the program you have built.
A program where it is just as important for you to prepare young men for life as it is for you to create champions on the mat.
That’s how life champions are made – from the thread of their coach.
You know you have a great coach when the look of pride on your coach’s face watching you give your senior speech is even brighter than the look of pride he had when you got your hand raised in the County Finals.
If there were two words that describe coach Bass, the other word would have to be FAMILY.
Over and over today I heard the word family woven into every wrestler’s speech.
Leaving the dinner today I had an overwhelming sense that each and every wrestler was a valued part of the Westhampton Beach Wrestling family, and each is now prepared for life.
What more can you ask from a coach and a program?
March 9, 2016
There Is An Open Circle Poster
This is the actual poster – it will be in color.
There Is An Open Circle – Now Available as a Poster
LAMINATED
12 x 18 – Laminated – $24.99
18 x 24 – Laminated – $34.99
24 x 36 – Laminated – $54.99
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
12 x 18 – Mounted – $29.99
18 x 24 – Mounted – $59.99
24 x 36 – Mounted – $99.99
All prices are plus shipping.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
March 6, 2016
UIF Poster
This is the actual poster – it will be in color.
UIF: Undefeated in February – Now Available as a Poster
LAMINATED
12 x 18 – Laminated – $24.99
18 x 24 – Laminated – $34.99
24 x 36 – Laminated – $54.99
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
12 x 18 – Mounted – $29.99
18 x 24 – Mounted – $59.99
24 x 36 – Mounted – $99.99
All prices are plus shipping.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
March 4, 2016
A Member of a Secret Club Poster
The side color is only for website purposes and is not part of the actual poster.
Now Available as a Poster
LAMINATED
12 x 18 – Laminated – $24.99
18 x 24 – Laminated – $34.99
24 x 36 – Laminated – $44.99
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
12 x 18 – Mounted – $29.99
18 x 24 – Mounted – $59.99
24 x 36 – Mounted – $99.99
All prices are plus shipping.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
That’s What the Sport of Wrestling Is For Poster
The side color is only for website purposes and is not part of the actual poster.
Get One For Your Room
“That’s What the Sport of Wrestling is For” is now available as a poster.
LAMINATED
12 x 18 – Laminated – $24.99
18 x 24 – Laminated – $34.99
24 x 36 – Laminated – $44.99
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
12 x 18 – Mounted – $29.99
18 x 24 – Mounted – $59.99
24 x 36 – Mounted = $99.99
All prices are plus shipping.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
Get your of copy of “Sharing Inspiration And Optimism”
Which includes:
Be Incapable of Discouragement
And 18 more short stories.
Or purchase a copy at:
The Pursuit Poster
Get One For Your Room
“The Pursuit” is now available as a poster.
LAMINATED
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
All prices are plus shipping.
Please note that the picture on the poster is the picture that is on this blog page.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
Get your of copy of “Sharing Inspiration And Optimism”
Which includes:
Be Incapable of Discouragement
And 18 more short stories.
Or purchase a copy at:
March 3, 2016
It Has To Hurt Poster
Get One For Your Room
“It Has To Hurt” is now available as a poster.
LAMINATED
All prices are plus shipping.
MOUNTED
All prices are plus shipping.
Please note that the picture on the poster is the picture that is on this blog page.
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
Get your of copy of “Sharing Inspiration And Optimism”
Which includes:
Be Incapable of Discouragement
And 18 more short stories.
Or purchase a copy at:
Gyroscope Coach
There is a book that I have read and re-read many times titled “Bird by Bird”, by Anne Lamott.
Every time I re-read it I am moved by something that I didn’t see before.
Reading it once again before attending this year’s State Tournament, this passage jumped off of the page and resonated with me:
The Gulf Stream will flow through a straw p rovided the straw is aligned to the Gulf Stream, a nd not at cross purposes with it.
I’ve been to the NYS Wrestling Tournament many times in my life.
It is an event I look forward to attend every year.
I have watched the tournament in many different roles, seeing it through many different perspectives.
Everytime I attend the event I am moved by something I hadn’t seen before.
In 1983, I attended the NY State Tournament as a dejected non qualifying wrestler, looking in from the outside. A road trip that I remember to this day, with half of my teammates jammed in a car listening to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”, over and over.
In 1990, I attended the tournament after convincing my 9 month pregnant wife that it would be fun to travel 8 hours each way to Syracuse to watch the state finals.
From 2008-2011 I attended the NY State Tournament as a father of two aspiring sons who longed to wrestle in the tournament one day.
From 2012-2014 I attended the tournament as a father of wrestlers competing in the tournament.
Last year, I attended as a fan.
This year, I attended as the father of two coaches who had wrestlers competing in the tournament.
This year I viewed the tournament from the perspective of the importance of a good coach on a wrestler’s life.
I always get to the tournament a day early.
I love to watch the wrestler’s in the pre-tournament workout at the Times Union Center.
I just love being around the aura.
This year was no different.
As I was hung over the boards talking with Coach Bass from Westhampton, a coach whom I have become real close with over the last few years, a wrestler approached us and said:
“Coach, I did everything that you wanted me to do, what should I do now?”
It was Dan McClure.
He was polite, respectful and clear eyed.
He was asking his coach – Coach Bass, for direction.
There are times in your life when words stand out, as if they come out of someone’s mouth in italics for emphasis, for you to remember.
When I heard McClure ask for direction from his coach I couldn’t stop to think how fitting his words were.
After asking his coach for direction, McClure was attentive, eager for his coach’s answer.
He would have done anything his coach asked of him.
And why not?
By doing everything his coach asked of him was exactly why he was standing on the floor of the New York State Tournament, warming up.
I first learned of Dan McClure’s story earlier in the year when Coach Bass humbly shared with me that he had an under the radar wrestler I should keep an eye on as he felt that he could do some damage in the county tournament, even win it.
He then went on to tell me Dan McClure’s story and his transformation over the last two years.
How, for most of his life Dan McClure was a self proclaimed “knucklehead”, a bad student, a kid who was getting thrown out of everything, a kid that could have gone either way.
Photo by Ray Passaro www.lisportsshots.com
And then two years ago, with zero varsity wins under his belt, McClure approached Coach Bass and told him that he wanted to be a county champ.
As would be the case with most veteran coaches, Coach Bass’s initial reaction was laughter, as he understood what it took to become a county champion.
Then he went to work.
He devised a list of 5 things McClure needed to change in his life in order to become a County Champion.
4 of them had nothing to do with wrestling.
Become a better person, a better student, get your life in order…
Only 1 item on the list had anything to do with wrestling.
Coach Bass did what all great coaches in this sport do, he used wrestling to provide a platform for McClure to get his life in order.
In essence Coach Bass realigned McClure’s internal compass to be for pointing towards success in life.
Bass convinced McClure that in order to become a county champion that he first had to get his life in order.
And to his credit, McClure did.
As soon as he accepted Coach Bass’s list, wrestling provided McClure with stability, with direction, as pursuing a County Championship became the navigation tool Coach Bass used to guide McClure into manhood.
Fast forward two years and McClure is standing on the floor of the New York State Tournament as a County Champion asking his coach for more direction, more guidance.
“You’ve done everything you needed to do son. You’re ready.”
The sport of wrestling is about preparing young athletes for life, for manhood.
Great coaches understand this.
They use wrestling as a gyroscope, a navigational tool to align young men with the gulfstream of life.
Because they know the river of life will flow through them if they are not at cross purposes with it.
This is the true essence of the sport.
That is what this sport is about.
No, Dan McClure didn’t step on the podium in the NY State Tournament this year.
He got something more.
He got his straw aligned with the gulf stream of life.
And that is the real prize.
And for the last 37 years, Coach Bass has been preparing young men for the world “Bird by Bird.”
READ “6 Minutes Wrestling with Life” – Online
March 2, 2016
CRAVE 15
If you were to ask anyone what the goal of a wrestling match is, most, if not all, will answer, “the goal is to win the match.”
It is not.
At least, not for the wrestler who aspires greatness.
The goal of a wrestling match for the wrestler who aspires greatness is to win that match, his next match and every match that is to come in the future, against any opponent, at any time.
The purpose of a match is to showcase who you are, how hard you have worked and to clear the path for yourself so your future opponents part waves, give up, and don’t wrestle up to their true potential when they get the unfortunate draw of having you as their next opponent.
At this point I am assuming that you are a very good wrestler who aspires to become a great wrestler.
Remember if you think the way everyone else does, you will get what everyone else gets.
And by definition, only a few are allowed to be called great.
If you are trying to enter the narrow doorway into greatness you need to understand that greatness is not for the masses, it is for the unique individual who prepares himself to succeed under all circumstances, against all opponents, at all times.
If you are a wrestler that aspires to win a championship you must separate yourself from being very good, as greatness is only for a few.
You must have a unique way of thinking, of acting, of training.
For a wrestler who aspires greatness, the purpose of a wrestling match is to dominate.
Sounds intense.
It is.
It is a philosophy, when embraced, will catapult you to the top of the podium.
When you reach a certain level in wrestling your true opponent is not the wrestler who lines up across from you.
You have worked hard enough to create that separation.
Your real opponents will be more intangible.
Unseen.
And they will pop their heads up only at critical times in your journey.
Your true opponent is anything that you would expect and everything that you didn’t.
A bad call from a ref, a mistake at the scorers table, etc.
You need to be able to protect yourself from the unforeseen.
The philosophy to dominate and leave no doubt will drive you to become better, it will eliminate the major traps that there are in wrestling, it will best prepare you for post season and it will separate you from all else by being able to beat all of your opponents – the visible and the invisible.
It will make you fun to watch, crowds will form, people will talk, anticipation will build, fear will emerge in your opponents head, they will hesitate, yield and allow you to complete your mission.
Here is the secret.
Become a non-stop point scorer.
At all times.
Under all conditions.
Against all opponents.
Score 15 points a match.
Always.
When you embrace becoming a point scorer, every second, of every period, of every match will be utilized to scoring your next point.
You have to.
You only have 360 seconds to score 15 points.
You need to be jealous of your time.
You need to always be moving forward.
Never playing defense.
When you are up 7-1 with a minute left, you are not sitting on a lead, you are offensive.
When you are up 12-3 with 1:43 left, you are CRAVING to outscore your opponent by 15.
When you adapt this mindset you are eliminating many intangible opponents.
What separates great wrestler’s from very good wrestler’s is a wrestler’s ability to continuously put points on the board.
Everything else is noise.
In order to be able to put points on the board a wrestler has to be proficient in all three positions – neutral, bottom and top.
But it is the top position that will transform a wrestler from very good to great and give him the ability to beat great opponents.
Nothing breaks an opponent more than being on their back.
So after nationals, when next season begins and you start preparing for your run at a championship, commit to becoming a non-stop point scorer.
CRAVE 15.
Don’t set a win goal this offseason, set a points scored goal.
Your whole off-season should only be about putting points on the board.
600 points is a great number.
In order to score 600 points over the offseason you would need to have 40 matches where you score 15 points or more.
That should get you to train appropriately, to have the proper mindset, attention to detail and sense of urgency.
Getting back points is the key to being able to put 15 points on the board each match.
Getting back points wins matches.
Back points are generated from TOP.
End every period on top.
There is nothing more important to becoming a great wrestler than a wrestler’s ability to score back points.
Against any opponent.
In any circumstance.
At any time.
Everything else is noise.
Welcome to the philosophy of the Inner Circle Wrestler Development System...
