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His-Story & Lessons Learned
Mental Toughness:  An Essential Wrestling Ingredient
By Dave Caslow
From the April 2010 issue of PWN

     First, stupidity has no place in the realm of mental toughness.  Foolish risks are not desirable in any aspects of life and are not to be encouraged by any parent, coach, teammate or fan.  Second, mental toughness is not confidence or self-assurance.  Rather, it is the ability to maintain one’s confidence and persevere during extremely difficult circumstances.   In most aspects of life, the road to success is inevitably filled with potholes and roadblocks.  Strong determination is an essential part of wrestling and the ability to overcome difficult obstacles a way of life on the mat.  Dan Gable’s frequent quote, “Once you have wrestled, everything else is easier” is popular because it accurately describes this wrestling concept.  Simply put, wrestling requires large amounts of mental toughness because wrestling is a very tough sport! 

     There are numerous circumstances that make wrestling a difficult struggle.  The greatest of these is a capable opponent who loves the sport and is equally determined to achieve wrestling success.  When equally talented and determined wrestlers compete, wrestling is exciting and appealing to watch.  However, mental toughness is not something that is only important while wrestlers are competing.  One of my favorite coaching slogans is “Train tough to be tough!”   Mental toughness is even more important during training than in competition.  It must be frequently rehearsed through practice!  Any significant goal requires an understanding of the process necessary to acquire the desired achievements.  Ambitious wrestlers must have a daily strength of will that is accompanied with a strong sense of purpose.  Purpose and perseverance cannot be separated. Wrestlers need constant reminders of their purpose and goals.  I frequently taught my wrestlers that my role was not to set their goals, but to remind them of their own goals and the process required to achieve them.  A wrestler without a strong sense of purpose is impossible to coach.

     Stories of mental toughness abound in wrestling circles.  The legend of Dan Gable and his training methods are well known.  His strong work ethic combined with a sense of purpose stemming from the death of his older sister contributed to his greatness.   For decades, stories about Gable’s fierce work ethic, mental toughness and competitiveness have greatly impacted the training methods of many.  My only concern with Gable’s impact is that some youth coaches apply mental toughness training in inappropriate amounts to kids and drive them out of the sport.  The degree of mental toughness training must match the psychological readiness stage of the athlete or negative results will occur.  Mental toughness experiences must be progressive!

     I’ve always liked the quote “Tough times don’t last, tough people do!”  Long after their wrestling careers ended, many of my former wrestlers gave me feedback describing how their wrestling experience enabled them to struggle successfully through difficult times.  Tim Bainey, a 1976 Philipsburg-Osceola state runner-up once told me that frequent recollections of tough times in wrestling helped motivate him while establishing a very successful business career.  He has certainly been mentally tough, on and off of the mat.  Although Tim was born with competitive instincts, a very tough practice partner named Jeff Fahr helped him develop his success-oriented nature.  They were intense training partners who pushed each other daily for four scholastic seasons.  Fahr also became a PIAA state runner-up 1n 1976 and has lived a very successful life.  Bainey and Fahr wrestled in back-to-back weight classes for four years and were also very good friends.   It is very common to see outstanding wrestlers who compete in consecutive weight classes.  When two determined and enduring wrestlers struggle through rigorous daily practices, the result is “iron sharpening iron”.  We all need a good partner to help us keep “the cutting edge” all through life.

     One of the wrestlers I would have to rank at the top of my all-time toughest people is Jody Parks.  Today, Jody makes his living by climbing and cutting tree limbs that interfere with electric lines.  He has absolutely no fear of failure and he wrestled the same way!  Jody worked hard every minute of every day in practice.  One day he walked into practice, flashed his great smile at me and said, “Which wall, Coach … which wall do you want me to run through today!”  At another time upon our team’s arrival at an away match, he said “Where is he?  Coach… let me at him, I can’t wait!”    After two good seasons, his hard work, mental toughness and coachability led Jody to a 1986 District 6 championship.  Jody Parks was not the most talented wrestler but his loyalty and mental toughness made him a coach’s dream. 

     Jon Condo also ranks at or near the top of my all-time list of wrestlers based on mental toughness. Jon was named as the long snapper to this past year’s NFL Pro Bowl.  This is a very unpredictable accomplishment considering the fact that Jon was previously cut by two NFL football teams.  Jon began his high school wrestling career in a similar manner as he was pinned 6 times during his 12 losses suffered during his sophomore year.  However, Jon’s work ethic and mental toughness were ferocious throughout daily practice!  When practice was over, he engaged in his own half-hour routine that consisted of intense sprints, push-ups and shadow wrestling.  After his shadow wrestling, he would scream “Crazy … Crazy!” before pausing briefly and then repeating his routine until he was exhausted.  He consistently was the last one out of practice, went home for dinner, and then went to the YMCA on his weightlifting nights.  Consequently, Jon improved in all areas of his wrestling, compiled a 32 – 7 record and placed fifth in the state as a junior.

     I’m going to digress and relate an interesting story about the conclusion of Jon Condo’s senior season.  The story is an illustration of two talented and mentally tough athletes who created one of the most exciting experiences of my entire coaching career.  During his senior season, Jon moved up to 275-pound class (there was no 215-pound class) but could not get his weight above 211 to 215 because he worked so hard.  Jon Condo went undefeated until the Northwest Regional semi-finals, when he lost by a 7-4 score to three-time PIAA state place winner Tim Taylor from rival Clearfield High School.  Condo had dramatically defeated the much bigger Taylor in a regular season dual meet to hand the state’s top ranked wrestler his only loss of the year.  When Taylor avenged that loss in the Northwest Regional Tournament, he celebrated by blowing kisses to the raucous Philipsburg-Osceola fans.  The noisy reaction by the Philipsburg-Osceola fans nearly blew the roof off the Clarion University gymnasium.  Taylor followed by winning the regional championship and Condo wrestled his way back to place third, setting the stage was set for the third Condo/Taylor match at the PIAA State Championships the following week.

     One of the local newspapers printed a large photo of Tim Taylor blowing kisses toward the rowdy Philipsburg-Osceola fans while celebrating his regional win.   Someone made numerous copies of the photo and posted them in the halls at Philipsburg-Osceola High School.  The hype from fellow students, fans and media was extreme!  Along with mental toughness, focus, poise and strategy would be necessary for Jon’s mission at the PIAA State Championships.  Condo and Taylor both won their first two matches at the state tournament to set up their third match in the semi-finals.  Taylor had scored four takedowns over Condo in their first two matches; however, he failed to score any in their state semi-final bout.  Condo scored a takedown toward the end of the first period and won 3-2.  He went on to win in the finals and finish the season with a 36-1 record.  The four wrestlers that Condo defeated in the 2000 PIAA State Tournament eventually won a total of ten PIAA state medals between them.  Jon followed up his state championship by winning all-star matches in the Challenge of Champions and the Dapper Dan Classic Pennsylvania vs. USA. 

     Mental toughness is an essential wrestling attribute that extends beyond wrestling.   Jon’s inner strength also led him to become a first string all-state linebacker, first team all-state catcher, and rank 11^th in his class academically.  Multi-tasking requires even more mental and emotional discipline than specialization.  I believe that the successful multiple-sport student-athlete is better prepared for life because he/she has been forced to persevere under a greater variety of continual challenging circumstances.  

      It should be noted that the U.S. Military institutions were among the first to establish wrestling as a sport.   Our fighting forces fully understand that difficult commitments not accompanied with mental toughness are meaningless!  Since our military forces are well aware that wrestlers possess an abundance of this trait, they publish frequent recruiting advertisements in wrestling publications, sponsor wrestling clinics and tournaments.  The previously mentioned Tim Taylor from Clearfield currently wrestles in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) and placed second in the 2008 Olympic Greco-Roman Trials.  It is no secret that wrestlers make very good Navy Seals and the Seals make strong efforts to attract wrestlers.   One of the first combat incidents of the war in Afghanistan involved Steve Toboz, a Navy Seal who was a 1987 District 6 champion at Lock Haven High School and continued to wrestle at Clarion University (Steve was my son’s roommate).  After failing to fully recover the full use of his wounded foot, Toboz chose to have his lower leg amputated and replaced with prosthesis in order to remain in the Navy Seals and return to duty.  That is ultimate mental toughness!  Our nation shall always need mentally tough young people like Toboz who are willing to serve a high purpose.  That is why, whether wrestling or serving in our military forces, it is necessary to “Train tough to be tough!”