What Lynyrd Skynyrd taught me about coaching wrestling.

Ever wondered who taught the rock stars. Sure they have producers and most probably had taken formal music lessons, but who put the polish on their music. Who taught them the finer points of their trade. I was at a Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert the other day asking myself that question.

I think they figured most of what they do through jam sessions. I think back in the day when I was a wrestler and remember countless hours in the gym with my buddies wrestling without coaches, just having fun. We had fun, and we learned a lot, learned by doing. What we did was something like a jam session, not with music but  movement.

We can learn a lot from the Rock Stars, we need to let our athletes jam - learn by doing. Some suggestions:

• Schedule time in practice allowing your athletes to just play and explore different situations
• Encourage collaboration between team members on technique or strategies
• Organize games or situations that will lead to exploring specific situations

It is hard to stay ahead of the game if you are just teaching your athletes things you were taught or things you have seen. The problem with that is it is already out there. Try to lead by creating your own technique and setup system, not just following one.