Have you finally decided that you want to become a student-athlete? This is wonderful news, but it means that you have lots of additional work to do. Keeping up with your college studies, remaining an athlete, and not abandoning your social life is a hard task.
Due to this reason, there is no time to waste if you’re still in school. Here are some major factors for your consideration and preparation to aid you on your journey to become a student-athlete.
Enhance Your Technical Ability in Wrestling
College wrestling isn’t a joke – you’re entering a national scene. There are tons of dedicated and motivated to win competitors of your age, and you need to keep up! As an NCAA college wrestler, you’ll be competing with the best other colleges have to offer. Here are a couple of things to amend while you’re still in school:
It’s Simple Don’t Be at the Bottom
All wrestlers at a college level are introduced to riding time – having control over the other wrestler on the mat for over 60 seconds. Although awarded only one point, it can easily make all the difference during close matches. Amend your ability to get yourself out of sticky situations and put yourself on top.
More Control
As soon as you enter the college scene, you’ll notice immediately how much the starting positioning is better. Everybody is physically stronger and greater in size, so scoring easy and quick wins on the start won’t be a frequent option at all. You’ll have to practice more angles, more motions, control grabs, balance domination, and so on.
Ending Moves
In close matches, securing a leg just won’t do the job – you must finish your takedown to win. Practice, practice, practice with your drill partner the smallest of takedown aspects. This includes hand positioning, head placement, the amount of given force – the devil is in the details.
Performing Well in Academics
If you believe that you just need to be a great wrestler to become and stay a student wrestler, you’re wrong. The NCAA reviews and takes into account the in-class performance of the candidate just as the competitive wrestling performance.
So, don’t be afraid of getting an essay writer to help you with your homework. All of your SATs, ACTs, and course score will play a big role in your college future. Having a great academic track record also empowers your college choice.
Commonly enough, many great potential student-athletes get denied membership in the NCAA due to their horrible academic performance. Don’t become one of those people and get your grades up as much as possible.
Pick Your Fights Correctly
There are several national tournaments, which are regularly by college agents that seek new talent to recruit. Although it is preferable when you crank it out during all competitions, you surely want to concentrate on outperforming everybody else in these tournaments. This might be your direct path to a college scholarship.
Get Yourself Noticed
Suppose no college coach reaches out to you directly – no problem. Take the initiative into your own hands. Many institutions of higher education have information available online on their websites. Most commonly, you’ll easily be able to contact the athlete recruiting team and get yourself talked about.
Eat Properly
School wrestling has 14 weight categorizations while the college level has only 10. Why is that? – it’s simple, in wrestlers in school are more prone to having jumps of growth in their height and weight. In college, wrestlers usually stay inside one class their whole career. In preparation, you must think which class would suit you most and bump up or cut down accordingly.
Learn to Keep to a Timetable
Your parents won’t be in college to keep you both learning and training. You’ll have to do that completely on your own. Don’t give in to temptation and slack off – this will inevitably bring an end to your student-athlete career.
Research how you can spend your time effectively and create a healthy balance between studying and training. Also, if you can’t keep up with the rhythm, don’t be afraid of asking for outside help or discussing this with your tutors.
Commit All the Way Through
If you’re just a talented wrestler and have been putting minimal effort into training and performing during competitions, this won’t be enough. Putting in only a minimal amount of effort will only get kicked out from the team and off of your scholarship.
Just like with anything in life, if you want it badly, you’ll have to work hard for it. So, work hard and work diligently. Don’t wait for that perfect day to start your preparations. Begin today, and your work will pay off.
