What We Can Learn from The Two Most Exciting Wrestlers at the US Open

I dislike defensive wrestling. I have always been a fan of wrestlers who attack no matter what the score of the match is.

US Open runner up, Nashon Garrett, is a great example of the kind of wrestler that I like to watch. He is fast, explosive and constantly attacking. He scored a total of 31 points in just his last two matches at the Open! That’s crazy!

Then on the other side of the bracket there was Joe Colon. I am embarrassed to say, I haven’t watched him wrestle much before going back and watching this year’s US Open. Joe Colon won the whole tournament with most of his scoring coming off of other peoples’ shots!

This is the exact style of wrestling that I dislike!

But as I watched Colon more, I realized that he doesn’t give a rip what I think about his wrestling style. Or what anyone else thinks for that matter. He wrestles the way he wrestles because it works for him. And Nashon wrestlers the way he wrestles because it works for him. And both guys score a ton of points! 110 points combined in the tournament to be exact. (56 for Nashon and 54 for Colon)

Here are a few things we can learn from these two very different, but both absolute studs of competitors at this year’s US Open.

1. Stick to What You Do Best

Throughout the entire tournament, both of these wrestlers were in some incredibly competitive matches against some of the best wrestlers in the country (and the world, for that matter). But despite being down in matches on various occasions, they both continued to wrestle their style. Colon kept scoring with his chest wrap defense and Nashon with his double leg takedown.

When I say this, it feels like I am stating the obvious. But, the reality is, when most people give up a big move or get down in a match, they abandon their game plan. They let the score affect their wrestling. As a coach I see it all the time. A wrestler might get thrown in the first period and the rest of the match they are trying to hit moves they NEVER hit to try and get back into the match. They stop trusting in their training and what they know they are good at, just because they are losing. Instead, they should be even more committed to their game plan, because they know it works.

A great example of this was when Colon was down 10-4 to Garrett in the first period, but instead of panicking and doing stuff he wasn’t good at, he waiting for Nashon to shoot a double and scored 4 points off a headlock as he they were going out of bounds.

And even though it didn’t work out for him, that same situation was also an example of how Nashon kept attacking with his double. A lot of wrestlers would have been content to play it safe and be defensive the rest of the match. But not Nashon. He continued to do what he does, which is attack no matter what the score is.

2. Don’t Worry About How The Match is Called

If there is one thing we know about freestyle, it’s that we don’t really know anything about freestyle…

Sometimes the same situation could be 4 for one guy or 4 for the other guy depending on the ref.

When Joe Colon was down 5-4, with just over a minute left in the first period and got tripped on the edge and the ref originally called 2 for Nashon. Then his coaches challenged and instead of 2 Nashon they changed it to 4 for Nashon plus 1 for losing the challenge!

So now Colon was down 10-4 instead of 7-4. But instead of getting flustered and throwing up his arms like a lot of guys do, Joe Colon just kept on wrestling. He looked like he didn’t even care. He was clearly confident in his ability to get back in the match no matter what the ref called.

These kind of situations happen all the time, and sometimes it does make a difference in the match. But the bottom line is, you can’t control what the call on the mat is. You can only control your effort and your attitude in the match. Everything else you worry about is just wasted energy.

So no matter what the score is or what the ref calls, the best way to give yourself the best possible chance of winning is to just keep wrestling and let the score take care of itself.

3. Sometimes The Outcome of The Match has Nothing to do With How You Wrestled

We’ve all probably heard the quote from former Cowboys Coach, Bill Parcells – “You are what your record says you are”.

While this is true in many respects, I think people have gotten carried away with this way of thinking. Especially in sports.

If you win, you are a winner. If you lose, you are a loser.

However, when I watch Nashon Garrett’s loss to Joe Colon in the US Open finals, I don’t see a “loser”. I see one heck of a wrestler wrestling his butt off and coming up short on the scoreboard. Even when he gave up big points he was close to scoring big points of his own.

As a fan of the sport, I would much rather watch high scoring, attack style wrestling than guys stalling and trying to hold onto a lead. And that is what Nashon gave us all tournament long.

As a coach I have learned to ask my guys how they wrestled after a match. Sometimes they will answer, “Well, I won 8-2” or “I lost 5-3”. So I correct them and say “I didn’t ask what the score was, I want to know how you wrestled”. Did you get off bottom? Did you continue to attack the whole match? Did you stick to what you do best? Did you get frustrated or stay focused?

These are the questions that coaches need to ask. Too often, the way that we respond to our wrestlers after a match has WAY more to do with what the outcome of the match then HOW they wrestled. We get so caught up in winning that let it affect how we treat our wrestlers.

I could go on this rant for a while, so I’ll try to wrap it up now. But the gist of it is this: We equate winning with wrestling well, and losing with wrestling poorly. And a lot of times there is no correlation at all. Outcomes are just that – outcomes. Nothing more nothing less.