In the Mind of the Wrestlers

Through a photo assignment I had the chance to speak with a sports counselor. His title is somewhat misleading (he does much more than just counsel athletes), but he knows his wrestling and he's a big fan of Dan Gable and Tom Brands - so we had much to discuss.

He too, attended the NCAA Championships. So our first order of discussion was this: Brent Metcalf? How did that even happen?

He doesn't work with Metcalf, but he explained to me that Caldwell was breaking Metcalf down mentally, takedown by takedown. By the time, Metcalf got his own takedown, it was too late. Mentally he was already off the mat. But he didn't give up completely. I don't think a day will ever come where Metcalf gives up completely, but his mind was drifting.

How did it get there though? If Caldwell was lucky on the first takedown, that was basically all he needed.

And this is what I gathered from Mr. Adams:
Metcalf doesn't lose. That's the problem. He doesn't know how to be behind. He doesn't know how to be taken down. And he definitely doesn't know how to respond to thousands in the crowd cheering at his loss.

He doesn't know how to lose because he doesn't lose. Even in the wrestling room, he dominates the outstanding wrestlers who come to Iowa and the outstanding wrestlers who stay at Iowa to help coach and train.

Many wrestlers come to the UI undefeated in high school, with four-time state championship honors. Once they step onto a mat with former Olympic Champions, their winning days are over. It breaks that "I don't know how to lose" mentality. But apparently, Metcalf's wasn't broken.

Interesting.

So what's inside the head of junior Ryan Morningstar, who took third at NCAAs? Two words: Overtime Pressure.

Apparently this guy has worked with Morningstar, and although everyone else's hearts are jumping out of their chest during his matches - it doesn't even phase him. Because he's been in that position many times and he practices it, he's able to stay focused. Contrary to the rest of the season, he demonstrated at NCAAs that he's able to pull through.

Incredible.